Earth Sciences Palmer Lecture Series

The Palmer Earth Sciences Lecture Series is made possible by an endowment from Dr. and Mrs. Donald and Anne Palmer. Dr. Palmer is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Earth Sciences and former Chair of the Department of Geology and Dean of the Honors College. This endowment supports a visiting lecture series dedicated to major issues and advances in Geology/Earth Sciences and Environmental Science.

The Department of Earth Sciences welcomes guest speakers on Fridays in room 234 at 12:00 p.m. (unless otherwise noted).

Spring 2025

DATESPEAKER/EVENT                                                                                                                                                           
Jan. 17Evan Solomon, University of Washington
Jan. 24Faculty meeting, no colloquium
Jan. 31Joel Johnson, IODP Lecturer, University of New Hampshire
Feb. 7Spring reviews, no colloquium
Feb. 14Spring reviews, no colloquium
Feb. 21Steven Pekar, City University of New York
Feb. 28Christopher Daniel, Bucknell University
Mar. 3Bayani Cardenas, Birdsall-Dreiss and LaMoreaux lecturer
Mar. 7Faculty meeting, no colloquium
Mar. 14Spring break, no colloquium
Mar. 21Faculty meeting, no colloquium
Mar. 28Metin Erin, Kent State University Anthropology
Apr. 4He Yin, Kent State University, Geography
Apr. 11George Guice, Towson University
Apr. 18open
Apr. 25Brian Huber, Smithsonian Institute
May 1Keynote Speaker for Law Day
May 2Faculty meeting, no colloquium 

Fall 2024

DATESPEAKER/EVENT
Aug. 23Faculty meeting - No colloquium
Aug. 30      Grad student lunch - No colloquium
Sept. 6open
Sept. 13Grad student presentations
Sept. 20Dr. Myron Lard, PhD Student, Louisiana State University, Investigating Soil-Bound Toxicants Present in Samples Collected in the Wake of the East Palestine Train Derailment                                                                                    
Sept. 27GSA - No colloquium
Oct. 4Fall Break - No colloquium
Oct. 11Faculty meeting - No colloquium
Oct. 17Dr. Timothy Walker, Professor, University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth (4PM - MCG 302), Climate Change and Historical Research: Extracting Global Maritime Weather Data from Age-of-Sail Ships' Logbooks (1740-1960
Oct. 18Dr. Caitlin Hodges, Assistant Professor, University of Oklahoma, Exploring the significance of redox interfaces in soils across scales
Oct. 25Dr. Miquela Ingalls, Assistant Professor, Penn State, Diagenesis and disequilibrium in the terrestrial carbonate record
Nov. 1open
Nov. 8 Dr. Evan Ramos, Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh, How lithology regulates the carbon cycle
Nov. 15Dr. Evan Soloman, Professor, University of Washington, Geochemical constraints on forearc dewatering, megathrust pore fluid pressure, and slow slip at the Hikurangi subduction zone, offshore New Zealand
Nov. 22Faculty meeting - No colloquium
Nov. 29Thanksgiving - No colloquium
Dec. 62nd year MS meeting

Spring 2024 

Date      Speaker/Event
Jan. 19Interview Talk                                                                                                                  
Jan. 24Interview Talk
Feb. 2Graduate Student Spring Reviews - no colloquium
Feb. 9Graduate Student Spring Reviews - no colloquium
Feb. 16Dr. Andrew Steen, University of Tennessee - Deep dark secrets: Insights into life in the subsurface lifestyle from microbial extracellular enzymes
Feb. 23Dr. Donald Penman, Utah State University and U.S. Science Support Program Ocean Discovery Lecturer - Carbon and Silica Cycle Coupling During Cenozoic Warm Periods
Mar. 1Faculty meeting - no colloquium
Mar. 8Open
Mar. 15Alumni - Kiersten Duroe (MS), Mary Plauche (MS), Dulcinea Avouris (PhD)
Mar. 22No colloquium
Mar. 29Spring break
Apr. 5Open
Apr. 12Dr. Brian Stewart, University of Pittsburgh - Rare earth elements in acidic coal mine drainage: Sources, sinks, and opportunities
Apr. 19Dr. Shelby Rader, Indiana University - From rocks to stalks: Understanding and applications of metal mobility within the critical zone
Apr. 26Dr. Brian Kelly, Penn State - Triassic reef recovery and biodiversification in the ocean’s mesophotic and twilight zones: implications for the origin of metazoan ecosystems and coral reef conservation
May 3Faculty meeting - no colloquium

Fall 2023 

Date      Speaker/Event
Aug. 25Faculty meeting/no colloquium                                                                                                    
Sept. 1Grad student lunch
Sept. 8Grad student presentations
Sept. 15Dr. Dorothy Vesper, University of West Virginia - Caver in a coal mine
Sept. 22   Dr. Tyler Doane, Indiana University - Topographic roughness as an archive of geomorphic processes and weather events
Sept. 29Dr. Nicole Gasparini, Tulane University - What's more important for controlling mountain river erosion - water or rock?
Oct. 6Fall Break/no colloquium
Oct. 13Dr. Nalaka Ranasinghe, Lake Superior State University - Indian Ocean Dynamics and Humanity
Oct. 20Faculty meeting/no colloquium
Oct. 27Dr. Reza Soltaian, University of Cincinnati - Spatiotemporal dynamics of solute mixing and redox dynamics in riparian floodplains
Nov. 3Dr. Justin Dodd, Northern Illinois University - Biogenic opal oxygen isotope values, diagenesis and brine formation in the Ross Sea, Antarctica during the Pliocene
Nov. 10Veteran's Day
Nov. 17Dr. Isabel Fendley, Penn State University - Understanding Earth's largest volcanic eruptions: Large Igneous Province gas emissions and environmental effects
Nov. 24Thanksgiving Break
Dec. 1Open
Dec.8Faculty meeting/no colloquium

Spring 2023 

Date      Speaker/Event
Jan. 27Faculty Interview Talk (11:00 a.m.)                                                                                              
Feb. 3Faculty Interview Talk
Feb. 10Faculty Interview Talk
Feb. 15Faculty Interview Talk (Wednesday)
Feb. 17Faculty Interview Talk
Feb. 24Faculty Interview Talk
Mar. 3Faculty Interview Talk
Mar. 8Faculty Interview Talk (Wednesday)
Mar. 10Faculty Meeting
Mar. 17Dr. Andy Montgomery, Montana State University
Mar. 24No Colloquium
Mar. 31Spring Break
Apr. 7Open
Apr. 14Dr. Ann Dunlea, ODL, Woods Hole
Apr. 21PhD Presentations
Apr. 28Faculty Meeting

Fall 2022 

Date      Speaker/Event
Aug 26Faculty meeting/no colloquium 
Sept 2open
Sept 9Grad student presentations; Nageen Farooq (Ph.D), Emily Mehta (M.S.), Shahidul Muzemder (Ph.D)
Sept 16Dr. Allyson Tessin, Kent State University; Unlocking the secrets beneath the seafloor.
Sept 23Dr. David Hacker, Kent State University; Catastrophic Landslides in Volcanic Terrains
Sept 30Dr. Jonathan Overpeck, University of Michigan, AGU-Discovery Lecture Series (virtual); Climate Change, Drought and Global Aridification: Understanding Confidence.
Oct 7open
Oct 14Fall Break
Oct 21Dr. Ashley Burkett, Oklahoma State University; Seafloor experimentation: how modern analogue studies inform paleoceanographic reconstructions.
Oct 28Faculty meeting/no colloquium
Nov 4Dr. Megan Flansburg, Oberlin College; Structurally integrated U-Pb and (U-Th)/He dating on the margins of the Colorado River extensional corridor (SE California, USA)
Nov 11Veterans Day/no colloquium
Nov 18Dr. Caitlin Colleary, Cleveland Museum of Natural History; Getting Blood from a Stone and Other Adventures in Molecular Paleontology                                                                                                                                                                   
Nov 25Thanksgiving Break
Dec 22nd year MS student meeting
Dec 9Faculty meeting/no colloquium

Spring 2022 

Date      Speaker/Event
Jan. 21Faculty Meeting/No colloquium 
Jan. 28Terry McGlynn, California Desert Studies Consortium; Creating effective recruitment and research opportunities for minoritized undergraduates (virtual)                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Feb. 4 Sarah Fortner, Carlton College; Collective Action to advance equity & justice: Strategies from Geoscience Education & GeoHealth (virtual)
Feb. 11 John Peck, University of Akron; Sediment studies of environmental change in NE Ohio: Implications for watershed management
Feb. 18Graduate student spring reviews/No colloquium
Feb. 25        Faculty Meeting/No colloquium
Mar. 4 Kennedy Okioghene Doro, University of Toledo; Scaling understanding of subsurface hydrological and biogeochemical processes using geophysics (virtual)
Mar. 11 Kimberly Meehan, University of Buffalo; Freshwater and marine microfossils as signals of ancient flooding events with epeiric basins (virtual)
Mar. 18 Robert Mahon, University of New Orleans; Promoting open and accessible inquiry using live online community experiments
Mar. 25 No colloquium
Apr. 1 Spring Break
Apr. 8Katherine Glover, University of Maine; Climate and Ecosystem State Changes in North America during the Late Quaternary.
Apr. 15Mark Jacobson, Stanford University (virtual); Transitioning the world to 100% clean, renewable energy and storage for everything.
Apr. 22Applied Geology PhD graduate student presentations. Max Barczok: Geochemical controls over phosphorus bioavailability as a function of redox sensitive iron-oxides. Nathan Rohrbaugh: Utilizing Hyperspectral Remote Sensing to Detect Changes in Organic Carbon and Other Soil Properties.
Apr. 29      Faculty Meeting/No colloquium

Fall 2021 (Remote)

Date      Speaker/Event
Aug.27Faculty Meeting/No colloquium 
Sept.3Michael Petronis (Alum), New Mexico Highlands University - Investigating ancient ice ages in the present day Arctic.
Sept.10 Ashley Bulseco, Eckerd College
Sept.17 Graduate Student Presentations, Kyle Smart (PhD), Kortney Cole (MS), Erika Hiwiller (MS)
Sept.24Faculty Meeting/No colloquium
Oct.1  Kathleen Bridges, Post-Doc Scholar, Ohio State University & Srabani Das, Post-Doc Scholar, Ohio State University; Stark Sustainable Soil Initiative: an on-farm research collaboration
Oct.8 Alumni Employment Panel - Kevin Engle, Kimm Jarden, Mandy Razzano, Ashleigh Sload
Oct.15 Fall Break
Oct.22 Rebecca Vanderleest, Oberlin - Investigating the thermal effects of Cordilleran processes on a retroarc foreland basin, Patagonian Andes, Magallanes-Austral Basin
Oct.29 Kerry Cawse-Nicholson, NASA - Surface Biology and Geology - a NASA study for future hyperspectral and thermal satellites to measure climate change impacts
Nov.5 Faculty Meeting/No colloquium
Nov.12Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Earth Sciences, Joseph Ortiz, Allyson Tessin, Tatiana Fernandez-Perez, Spencer Williams, Kelly Thomasson
Nov.19Owen Jensen (Alum), PhD candidate University of South Carolina. Linking boron to magma sources in Aleutian volcanic rocks. 
Nov.26Thanksgiving Break
Dec.32nd year MS student meeting
Dec.10Faculty Meeting/No colloquium                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Spring 2021 (Remote)

Date         Speaker/Event
Jan.22      Faculty Meeting/No colloquium 
Jan.29David Hacker, Kent State University.  Catastrophic gravity sliding of volcanic fields; insights from the Cenozoic Marysvale Gravity Slide Complex, Southwest Utah                         
Feb.5Carrie Schweitzer, Kent State University. The Enigmatic Cyclida: who they are and their life and times
Feb.12Jeanette Davis, NOAA. Science is Everywhere, Science is for Everyone: The Art of Storytelling & Inclusion. 
Feb.19Graduate Student Spring Reviews 
Feb.26Faculty Meeting/No colloquium
Mar.5Cynthia Hall, West Chester University. Characterization of Lead Particles in Contaminated, Urban Soils as an Assessment of Public Health Risk
Mar.12Natasha Sekhon, UT Austin. A study of seasonal hydroclimate variability in southwestern United States: Geochemical insights from stalagmites and karst monitoring
Mar.19Jenine McCutcheon, University of Waterloo. Microbe-mineral-fluid interactions: Small-scale processes with large-scale impacts
Mar.26Daniel Holm, Kent State University. A Gigayear of Continental Growth, Overprinting, and Stabilization in the upper Great Lakes region during the so-called Boring Billion
Apr.2Andrea Pain, University of Maryland, Horn Point Laboratory. Riverine export of carbon and nutrients from deglaciating Arctic landscapes: Implications for past and future climate transitions
Apr.9No colloquium
Apr.16Spring Break/No colloquium
Apr.23PhD Student Presentations: Md Abu Raihan Chowdhury, Zia Ul Hassan
Apr.30Faculty Meeting/No colloquium

Fall 2020 (Remote)

DateSpeaker/Event
Aug.28    Faculty Meeting/No colloquium                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Sept.4  Tim Gallagher, Kent State University, Paleosols on the Loess Plateau: Monsoons and solid carbon cycling in a warmer world
Sept.11   Graduate Student Presentations: Angela Lewis, Shahidul Muzemder, Cody Kale
Sept.18Anne Jefferson, Kent State University, Are we doing enough to manage stormwater and protect urban streams?
Sept.25Graduate Student Career Advising; Evan Faidley
Oct.2Faculty Meeting/No colloquium
Oct.9Open
Oct.16 Joseph Ortiz, Kent State University, Gaining clarity from muddy waters: Spectral unmixing of optically complex waters
Oct.23Allyson Tessin, Kent State University, The role of continental margin sediments in Arctic biogeochemical cycling as sea ice retreats.
Oct.30 Jeremy Williams, Kent State University, Understanding the Inevitable: The Great Dying Event
Nov.6Program Review/No colloquium
Nov.13David Singer, Kent State University, Legacy lead (Pb) in urban soils: An ongoing source of exposure.
Nov.20 2nd year MS student meeting
Nov.27Thanksgiving Break
Dec.4 Open
Dec.11Faculty Meeting/No colloquium

Spring 2020

DateSpeaker/Event
Jan.17 Faculty Meeting/No colloquium                              
Jan.24  Graduate Student Presentations
Jan.31   Amy Townsend-Small, University of Cincinnati; Isotopic constraints on methane emissions from natural gas production: Will fugitive methane emissions overwhelm the climate benefits of a natural gas energy future?
Feb.7 Dulcinea Avouris, Kent State University; Application of remote sensing imagery to natural hazard monitoring.
Feb.14  Carrie Davis Todd, Baldwin Wallace University; Re-examining the Johnstown (PA) Flood of 1889 using historical accounts, field measurements, and hydrologic modeling. 
Feb.21  1:00 pm - Steven Lyon, Ohio State University; Tracking the movement of water through the landscape.
Feb.28  Jonathan Duncan, Penn State; Urban Watershed Resilience and Water Quality Management
Mar.6  Anjali Fernandes, University of Denison; Backwater Controls on the Kinematics and Sedimentary Records of Large Rivers and Deltas
Mar.13  Faculty Meeting/No colloquium
Mar.20  No colloquium
Mar.27  Spring Break
Apr.3Open
Apr.10   Kent State University Graduate Student Research Symposium                                                                                                                                                                          
Apr.17  Sarah Fortner, Wittenberg University - CANCELLED
Apr.24   Faculty Meeting/No colloquium

Fall 2019

DateSpeaker/Event
Aug. 22             FAC Meeting                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
Aug. 30  No colloquium
Sept. 6 Faculty Meeting/No colloquium
Sept. 13  Graduate Student Presentations: Jacob Bradley, Raihan Chowdhury, Zack Loffer
Sept. 20  Jeff Myers, BJAAM Environmental; Employment skill sets and opportunities in Environmental Geology/Earth Science
Sept. 27  Kuldeep Singh, Kent State University; Role of slip in "slippery" Darcy Law
Oct. 4  Faculty and Ad Hoc committee meetings/No colloquium 
Oct. 11   Fall Break
Oct. 18 Alex Crawford, The College of Wooster; Using satellites to understand the impact of Arctic sea ice decline on marine phytoplankton
Oct. 25   Celebrating College Teaching (KSC 8:30 am - 3:30 pm)
Nov. 1Derek Sawyer, Ohio State University; Earthquakes and Submarine Landslides on Continental Margins: Seismic Strengthening Versus Rapid Sedimentation
Nov. 8    Sarah Carmichael, Appalachian State University; CSI: Devonian - deciphering Late Devonian mass extinctions in different paleoenvironments
Nov. 15  Richard Becker, University of Toledo; Great Lakes water quality and coastline failures from remote sensing
Nov. 22   Kevin Befus, University of Wyoming; Groundwater responses to sea-level rise and associated hazards
Nov. 29Thanksgiving Break
Dec. 6Faculty Meeting/No colloquium

Spring 2019

Date                 Speaker/Event
Jan. 18   Faculty Meeting/No Colloquium
Jan. 25   Grad student research presentations: Max Barczok and Lindsey Yazbek
Feb. 1   TBA
Feb. 8    TBA
Feb. 15   TBA
Feb. 22   TBA
Mar. 1    Nick Sutfin, Case Western Reserve, Quantifying carbon storage along river corridors from floodplain sediment residence times to microbial decomposition
Mar. 15   Kate Campbell, USGS, Mining, Microbes, and Models: integrating microbial Fe(II) oxidation, hydrolysis, precipitation, and biogeochemical modeling in acid mine drainage
Mar. 20   Environmental Science, Research and Design Symposium Mar 20-21
Apr. 5    KSU Grad Student Research Symposium
Apr. 12   Angelica Vazquez-Ortega, BGSU, The role of soil organic matter in agriculture: implications on nutrient retention and soil health
Apr. 19    TBA 
Apr. 26   TBA 
May 3    Faculty meeting