June 2006 ISSUE
Marc Boulet
STUDENT COLUMNS
Summer Heats Up
With U of C Research Projects
BY MARC BOULET
University of Calgary
Student Contributor (Geosciences)
“What is research, but a blind date with knowledge?”
-Will Henry
The
annual exodus from the university is now underway, as a large number of geology
and geophysics students trek to downtown Calgary and farther afield to gain their
first experiences in the resource industry or seek employment in other domains.
However, a number of students have opted instead to stay at the university and further their academic aspirations — by participating in the prestigious Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada program.
The NSERC program, co-administered and funded by the Government of Canada and participating universities, grants funding awards to students so that they may gain experience in a research setting under the supervision of a faculty member. In 2004-2005, about $100 million was allocated to earth-science research, including the fields of energy and natural resources.
For 2005-2006, NSERC will allocate $865 million to 22,000 students and post-doctoral fellows, as well as support research initiatives by 10,000 university professors in the engineering and the natural sciences. The council also co-ordinates the participation of 500 Canadian companies in university research.
Students who wish to receive NSERC funding must go through a rigorous application process and maintain a B-letter grade (equivalent to a 3.0 GPA) throughout their course of study. The University of Calgary is proud to have eight geoscience undergrads participating this summer in a wide array of research areas.
They are
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Nathan Cronin, Geomorphology, Origin of Rock Striations in Non-Glacial Environments
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Melissa Newton, Sedimentology, Mineralogy of Bitumen — Saturated Sands in the McMurray Formation
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Nathan Green, Hydrology, Hydrology of a Glaciated, Alpine Watershed in the Rocky Mountains
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Adrian Karolko, Meteorites, Prairie Meteorite Search
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Janna Lee Seitz, Stratigraphy, Micropaleontology
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Ian Porter, Stratigraphy, Micropaleontology
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Andrea Mellor, Petroleum, Geological Characterization of a Petroleum Reservoir Seal
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Thomas Weedmark, Climatology, Paleoclimate Recorded in Lake Bonneville Sediments.
Congratulations to these undergraduate students for their hard work and dedication. Updates on their progress will follow in this column in coming issues of The PEGG.
MORE INFO
Visit www.nserc.gc.ca