Jen Bauer

Urban Fossil Hunting

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Mike and Jen here –

Figure 1

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I was on a tour of campus for my paleontology course, and Dr. Sandy took us to a low retaining wall in front of the Science Center. There it was: a large Pentamerus brachiopod (Fig 1). I’d walked by this wall for years and never noticed it before! During the rest of the tour, I saw fossils all over campus, and I had never even thought to look for them in the building materials.

Ever since then, I’ve taken closer looks at the stones used in buildings to see if there are fossils. You should, too! But ignore the igneous rocks and marble, just go for the limestone, dolostone, and sandstone pieces. The fossils I’ve seen include trace fossils and body fossils. Trace fossils are fossilized behavior of an organism, whereas body fossils are the actual skeletal or imprint of remains.

Figure 2

Primarily, I’ve encountered trace fossils. The Dayton Limestone, a formation found near Dayton, Ohio, is Silurian-aged (443.8-419.2 million years ago) limestone that was used for building foundations all over the state. It is full of burrows that are highlighted by a lining of hematite (Fig 2). The hematite likely came into the burrows after the organisms were done occupying them. This mineral helps the burrows stand out in the rock. The foundation on the left is a building on the campus of the University of Dayton. The founding on the right is a building in downtown Springfield.

Figure 3
Figure 4

Further exploration for urban fossils led me to find trails on the base of a lamppost outside of one of the courthouses in Springfield (Fig 3). I forgot a scale for this picture, but these trails were about 10 cm in length. I found this next burrow (Fig 4) in one of the retaining walls outside of the library at UD. See what I mean about fossils in places you wouldn’t expect them?

Marine animal body fossils are quite easy to find in building materials. I found these Silurian fossils in a retaining wall near some of the older buildings on UD’s campus. Large brachiopods and gastropods may be found in these stones (Fig 5), as well as colonial corals and horn corals (Fig 6). Sometimes it is difficult to recognize the fossils because the animal is within the rock and you are only getting a two-dimensional view of what it looks like.

Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7

Sometimes, the fossils can be very small and hard to pick out from the rock they are in. I walked by this wall for nearly 15 years and never noticed all of the gastropods, bryozoans, and crinoids until just a few weeks ago (Fig 7)! Another example of small fossils was found by Jen when she went to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. She was chatting with her family when she looked down and recognized the rock, it was filled with small gastropods and bryozoans that she knew to be Mississippian (360-325 million years ago) in age (Fig 8).

Figure 8

Be sure to be on the lookout inside of buildings, too! Many building stones are made of fossiliferous rocks and they are quite visually appealing so they end up as table tops, counters, and even bathroom stalls! Jen saw this table, made of polished fossiliferous limestone, inside of the Biltmore house (Fig 9). I found these ammonites in the flooring at the Ohio Statehouse (Fig 10). Each side of the tile was about 2 ft in diameter.

Figure 9
Figure 10

Where Jen lived in Eastern Tennessee, the common limestone is called the Holston Limestone. This is the ‘marble’ that gave Knoxville the name of Marble City. Marble is a metamorphic rock whereas limestone is a sedimentary rock. Sometimes limestone can have really small grains that makes it look like marble. As a local rock it is used all over the city in a variety of places. It decorates the exterior of buildings downtown (Fig 11) and is even sculpted into monuments of past events (Fig 12).

Figure 11
Figure 12

Maggie and Jen went on a recent research trip to Oklahoma and noticed something interesting about their window sill in the kitchen (Fig 13). It was a nice pink color with lots of white specks. It happened to be the Holston Limestone from where they both were living in Eastern Tennessee! This rock has very specific features that allow you to identify it wherever you may be. Jen even discovered this rock in an old hotel (now a university) in St. Augustine, Florida.

These just a few examples of the fossils that we have seen used in construction and design. As you walk around city buildings, be on the lookout for limestone blocks, especially on older buildings. There may be a few fossils hiding in plain sight!

Figure 13

Implicit bias in STEM

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Jen here –

This post was originally written as a response to an email that was sent out in my department. That email was worded in a way that suggested that women are not underrepresented in STEM fields. I’ve reworded and rewritten my original email here. Included in this article are numerous links to studies to support the claim that women and other diverse groups of researchers are discriminated against.

Language is powerful and in order to have productive dialogue regarding representation of diverse groups in STEM fields, it is best not to start with suggesting that any underrepresented group is not underrepresented. This is simply counterproductive. The barriers to women in science are worldwide and supported by quantitative data.

An article cited as supporting the ‘myth’ of underrepresentation in STEM (here) was directed at the publication results of women, but only samples American Geophysical Union (AGU) journals. Even if women have a higher acceptance rate by the 19 AGU journals, this is not a representative sample of ‘high-impact’ journals, as it is only sampling from a small subset of journals. Furthermore, it is mentioned we (scientists) should use caution when quoting specific studies, but the article is a news story- not peer-reviewed literature. We must take into account why fewer women are submitting to these high impact journals, such as Nature and Science. This is a systemic problem that is rampant in academia. Institutional policies and subtle biases within an individual’s academic career perpetuate gender inequality.

More specifically, data has been mined from the Paleontological Society and the North American Paleontological Convention to explore gender gap trends in paleontology. The gender breakdown data of members of these societies depicts a near even 50-50 split among graduate students, but a reduction to 25% women and 75% men at the professional membership level. This indicates that at somewhere between grad school and academic careers stages, women are being lost from the geosciences. There are easy steps to support these women graduate students as they transition to early-career stages in all areas of the sciences, such as: providing childcare at meetings, fostering mentoring opportunities, confronting internal biases, and conscious efforts to invite women as speakers. Women are less likely to be asked as invited speakers in a variety of venues, for example: TED talks and conferences. Additionally, work has been conducted to explore the likelihood of choosing women speakers at mathematics conferences compared to the observed outcomes. The author provided evidence that underrepresentation of women as invited speakers in mathematics should, in fact, be an overrepresentation given individuals in the field (easily digestible article on the content here).

The gender gap permeates through the peer review process, in terms of women suggested as reviewers and editors inviting female reviewers. The aforementioned link provides a comprehensive summary of many peer reviewed publications on the subject. Furthermore, the STEM community must take into account implicit gender bias (which refers to the attitudes and/or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner), a main contributor to the gender gap. Work has been conducted on the gender differences in recommendation letters, indicating that female applicants (to jobs, graduate schools, etc.) are half as likely to receive excellent letters versus good letters compared to their male counterparts. Here is an article with six tactics to counteract unconscious biases. This permeates into funding opportunities and invited papers as well and has a direct effect on career success of women. Women commissioned to write Nature News & Views is much lower than the women scientists in their respective fields. One study determined that male applicants were funded over female applicants on the basis of ‘quality of researcher’, rather than ‘quality of proposal’. As academics we are evaluated based on our publication rate, but if women are commissioned less to write for high-impact journals, refused funding more frequently, and given less excellent letters of recommendation, then publication rate is an inequitable measure. This has been recognized in the medical literature as well. A recent study suggests that this bias is much less substantial when grant reviewers focus solely on the quality of the grant, instead of the presumed quality of the author of the grant. Gender bias goes away when grant reviewers focus on the science.

Further complicating the idea that women ‘publish less than men’, women in academia-namely, those in a university setting, are much more likely to be asked of favors from students. Meaning, women are much more likely to spend extended time with students who ask for ‘special favors’ (e.g., second chances on assignments, etc.), Female Professors Experience More Work Demands and Special Favor Requests. Women statistically also do more internal service than men, says a study that surveyed approximately 19,000 faculty members across the country. Faculty Service Loads and Gender: Are Women Taking Care of the Academic Family? This increased service load leads to lower productivity in other areas such as research and teaching, which can directly affect salary and success in academia.

All of these issues are even further compounded when you consider that women of color, women with disabilities, and the LGBTQ+ community are under considerably more discrimination than white, heterosexual, cisgender, nondisabled women (accessibility in the geosciences). There are a multitude of studies indicating that academics that are part of more than one underrepresented group are further discriminated against (e.g. Racial Microaggressions Against Black Counseling and Counseling Psychology Faculty; Race, Ethnicity, and NIH Research Awards). While there are numerous variables involved in understanding these biases, we do know that these biases affect people very early in life, as there are many studies that identify problems like students of color are less likely to be identified as gifted by their teachers, thus taking away opportunities at a formative time (read more here).

To create a more inclusive and diverse scientific community we must recognize our implicit bias and work to support and encourage diversity. The onus should not  rest on women and other underrepresented groups to  fix the systemic discrimination in academia, as well as provide evidence that it exists every time issues arise concerning it. 

Related article (here) by Dr. Phoebe Cohen that has similar goals and is easy to read and well organized.

Japan Temple and Metamorphic Rocks

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Jen here –

Rinsing our hands in the river before nearing the shrine. Notice the dark coloration of the stairs. These are some of the greenschist rocks at the complex.
I experienced a more non-traditional field experience that I would like to share with everyone. I recently traveled to Japan for the 16th International Echinoderm Conference and during this conference there was a mid-week field trip to the Ise Grand Shrine. Before we left we were given a brief history on the shrine and what it symbolizes. Basically, it is meant to symbolize eternity. This shrine is rebuilt every 20 years from the ground up rather than patching issues as they arise. This ensures that the shrine ages as a whole! It is also built adjacent to the current standing shrine so every 20 years the shrine moves locations.

The primary shrine at the temple complex.
The shrine is built of very specific building materials and no nails are used during the construction. The rebuilding of the shrine ensures that the next generation learns the skills required to construct the temple to continue to pass along this tradition. It’s a really interesting concept and I really enjoyed getting to wander around the complex. There were also very interesting rocks as you walked up to the shrine!

The steps were mostly made of metamorphic rocks that are likely greenschist. This type of metamorphic rock is created from igneous rocks that undergo transformation under particular temperatures and pressures. The heat and pressure often comes from different land masses colliding with one another throughout time, caused by plate tectonic movements. Greenschist rocks are normally dominated by minerals that exhibit a green color such as chlorite, actinolite, and epidote. Japan has an incredibly complex tectonic history and I won’t attempt to explain it but if you are interested in learning more check out this report and the Geology of Japan by the Geological Survey of Japan.

Close up of some of the stairs containing the greenschist rocks.

Whenever you are traveling or even in your hometown, make sure to look out for what buildings, stairs, and more are made of! You’ll be surprised at the extraordinary details you will uncover in the rocks that surround you in your daily life.

Mosasaurs preying upon echinoids

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Eggs for breakfast? Analysis of a probable mosasaur biting trace on the Cretaceous echinoid Echinocorys ovata Leske, 1778

Christian Neumann and Oliver Hampe
Summarized by Jen Bauer

What data were used?

The authors examined over 7000 specimens of Echinocorys for this study. Echinocorys is an extinct (no longer living) group of echinoids, commonly known as sea urchins or sea biscuits! Specimens were obtained from field excursions by the authors as well as examination of multiple museum collections. From examining such a large number of specimens they were able to identify many different types of predation traces but focused on the extraordinary bite traces for this study.

Methods

Each of the tooth imprints was measured as well as careful measurements of the test (body) of Echinocorys. Images of the trace (tooth imprints) were taken at various angles to visualize the structures in greater detail. A bite experiment was conducted by creating resin models of possible predator skulls with movable jaws. The skull could then simulate biting into modeling clay versions of Echinocorys. The resulting traces were measured and compared to those found in the real samples of Echinocorys.

Results and Discussion

Figure containing the images of the bite marks on the echinoid. The top part of the echinoid was not preserved so we are seeing the bottom side only, note the anus has been labeled and is not one of the punctures! (c) shows us the fine detail of where the echinoid healed the puncture wounds!

The results of this study indicate that the biting trace pattern was produced by a predator with large cone-shaped teeth that were arranged in a forward pointing direction. This was interpreted from the strange pattern in the traces. Two bite punctures are smaller and oval in outline where as two others are circular and larger, this is likely due to the angle at which the teeth made contact with the echinoid test (body).

The fact that the bite did not destroy the echinoid skeleton is quite interesting and could be interpreted as the attacker’s skillful prey handling and biting mechanics. Also, echinoid tests are very well structured, built from a series of meshwork structures that help reinforce the skeleton. This makes echinoid tests more difficult to crush compared to other invertebrate organisms such as snails or clams. Even though this echinoid sustained large punctures, it was able to begin to heal as evidenced by the newly developed skeletal material within the punctures seen in the figure above. This is not uncommon in echinoderms and has been well documented through time, quite amazing creatures!

The authors compared the bite punctures to other known predation traces in echinoids and found that it was not similar to those previously documented. They made comparisons to teeth shape, size, and when specific animals lived to attempt to identify the maker of these traces. The authors then used experimental methods with their resin models and clay-modeled echinoids to better determine the probable trace maker and found that it is most likely a globidensine mosasaur. This is from the teeth shape, pattern, time period they lived in, and experimental method to indicate the angle of teeth as they penetrated the echinoid.

This figure shows us the detail of the forward facing teeth matching up with the punctures on the echinoid test (body). In (c) we see the part of the echinoid not preserved in the fossil record.

Why is this study important?

This study represents the first likely record of mosasaur predation on echinoids. Mosasaurs were apex predators but were also opportunistic predators, as evidenced by this study. They didn’t just eat the most filling prey but also nibbled on those smaller animals that were shelly and lived on the seafloor.

The big picture

Predator-prey interactions can be observed today in a variety of environments and habitats but in the fossil record we are limited by what ecosystem interactions are preserved through time. Trace fossils are particularly useful in gaining a better understanding of how organisms interacted with one another in the past! It’s often quite difficult to gain a full understanding of the organism that left the trace since all we have is evidence of the behavior but this work provided a thorough examination of possible trace makers and even provided an experimental test to further support their idea!

Citation

Neumann, C. and Hampe, O. 2018. Eggs for breakfast? Analysis of a probable mosasaur biting trace on the Cretaceous echinoid Echinocorys ovata Leske, 1778. Fossil Record, v. 21, p. 55-66, doi: 10.5194/fr-21-55-2018

Preparing a Dissertation Defense

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Jen here –

A dissertation defense can come in many forms but in essence the point is to showcase your research from the past several years of your career. Our department has a three chapter format for dissertations and, usually, these are each publications that have already been published, recently been submitted, or will soon be submitted. Even though you have completed a lot of difficult, complex scientific work, you still have to cater your defense to your audience.

If you don’t cater your talk to your audience, they will quickly lose interest and zone out. You want to make sure to engage and not talk over their heads. So my dissertation had a lengthy, jargon-rich title, “Respiratory Structure Morphology, Group Origins, and Phylogeny of Eublastoidea”. Rather than titling my defense talk with this ridiculous title, that would only excite a few people, I chose something simpler and more effective: “Phylogeny as a Tool in Paleobiology”. From this you can get an understanding that I am talking about paleobiology (=ancient life) and using phylogeny (=evolutionary histories) to test research questions.

Jen with her title slide, just before presenting her dissertation defense!

The paleontology group in our department is quite small, two faculty and a handful of students. There is a larger sedimentology group that understand fossils quite well but much of my department lacks an understanding of the fossil record (in great detail) and don’t necessarily understand how to read tree/branching diagrams. Knowing this, I started the talk with a few sentences on the overall importance of my talk, why anyone (even my mom) should care about the talk and then I spent time on background information. Information on the group I use to test questions, how we read tree diagrams, and what kind of patterns we look for within the trees.

I then split my talk into three sections that were similar to my dissertation chapters. Since I was focusing on using phylogeny as a tool in deep time, I left out some of the other complex methods that would have taken away from the overall theme of the presentation and focused on the evolutionary histories and what they could tell us about these animals in the past. I made sure each slide had enough text but not too much – viewers get invested in text and think they should read it, which often takes away from what you are actually saying. I also made sure to include visually appealing images – I still haven’t mastered color blind palettes so if you have suggestions please let me know. These images had to start simple and get more complex and I had to make sure to explain each of them thoroughly.

For all talks I give, I write up a corresponding script (thanks, Alycia!). Writing a script helps me organize my talk and gives me an idea of what I want to say during the presentation. I practice a lot – because I know that I won’t get nervous if I *know* what I’m going to say. The first several times I practice I read directly off the script, trying to get used to saying the words and using the slides to visually demonstrate what I am saying. I practice at least a handful of times and usually by myself, I get nervous with only a few people in the room so it throws me off! Everyone is different so I suggesting finding the best way for you to practice so you are confident, maybe it’s with a group of people or maybe it’s by yourself!

Hints for giving successful presentations:

  • Know your audience
  • Have someone look through your slides or watch your talk to make sure your organization of the talk makes sense
  • Use a laser pointer or animations but not like a crazy person, move the laser slowly, and don’t have things flying from all directions on your slides
  • Be confident, you are likely one of the experts in your field, discipline, topic, whatever and the audience wants to listen to you or else they wouldn’t have come

I recorded a version of my defense below!

Hosting, preparing, and presenting at a regional conference meeting

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Jen here –

Audrey’s title slide before her presentation started!

The Geological Society of America has section meetings in addition to the large annual meeting. These are separated out by regions, so here in Tennessee, we are in the Southeastern section. Each year a different institution takes the lead on hosting, planning, and executing the meeting. This means that there is a ‘chair’ that oversees all others and has to get faculty and students to help run the meeting.

Some of the faculty in our department played roles in coordinating volunteers, field trips, exhibits, the presentations, sponsors, and finances. That’s a lot of different jobs and a lot of work! In order to get registration covered, many of the graduate students in the department volunteered to help run the event. This included tasks such as helping people with registration, or upload their talks, or being present in the session rooms in case something went wrong. All of these are rather simple tasks, but really vital for a well- functioning meeting. I helped with registration the night the meeting started and then again at 6:30 AM the next morning. I also don’t drive in town so I was biking in and out each day; needless to say I was exhausted by the end of the meeting.

Audrey Parker with some of her 3D printed foraminifera models!

In addition to volunteering at the event, I was helping three students prepare, and preparing a talk myself! Maggie and I have been co-advising Audrey, who has been working on developing lesson plans around digital models of microfossils! She gave a talk on these microfossils during SE GSA! This meant we prepared and practiced a talk for the two weeks before SE GSA happened. Practicing talks helps you remember what you want to say and get comfortable in a professional talk setting. There are often podiums so you can’t move freely and you can’t always move toward the screen so you have to get comfortable with a laser pointer!

Logan’s title slide!

Logan was also gave a talk during the meeting on her own research. I’ve been working with her on using two different methods to reconstruct internal anatomy of fossil echinoderms. One method involves cutting the specimen up into tiny pieces, and the other part of her research includes using fancy X-ray imaging to see the differences in mineral density within the specimen. The X-ray imaging does not destroy the specimens, which is a big perk. However, fossil echinoderms have calcite skeletons and the sediment that fills inside their bodies is the same mineral, so the density differences are quite minor. Logan and Audrey both picked times the two weeks before to practice in front of Maggie and I. Each time they improved and we provided them with feedback!

Logan presenting her research on evaluating model development of blastoid respiratory structures.

Chris was presenting a poster, so a little less stressful but he did have to field questions for about two hours. His work was on uncovering specimens that were less than 5 mm in height to aid in our understanding of blastoid growth! It’s really cool because there are two differently shaped blastoids from this same location and you can see the differences in shape all the way down to specimens smaller than ¼ mm. We practiced presenting his poster several times before the meeting. Once was on a big projector where he pointed out his work to us and then several more times once his poster was printed.

Chris Smith presenting his undergraduate research on blastoid ontogeny in the Thursday afternoon poster session.

Everyone did incredibly well presenting their work at SE GSA! Regional conferences are a really great starting conference for young scientists because there is typically less than 1,000 people in attendance. The larger annual GSA meetings include upwards of 8,000 people. That’s overwhelming! So, after I made sure the undergraduate students were feeling confident with their work, I was able to start my talk. I took a portion of my dissertation and went into more detail on specific aspects of the project and how it related back to Paleozoic echinoderms in general. I only had a few days to prepare my talk so I didn’t have much time to really practice or even write a script but it went well! Since I have more experience presenting, I made the right choice in focusing more on the undergraduates’ experience at SE GSA.

Departmental museum liaison

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Jen here –

For the past two years I have been the department coordinator or liaison to our local natural history museum. The McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture has a variety of exhibits from Human Origins to Ancient Egypt. One of the exhibits on their main floor includes a geology gallery that explores the rocks, fossils, and environments of Tennessee through time.

The coordinator position is voluntary and aims to get undergraduate and graduate students involved in running tours in the geology exhibit. Local private, public, and homeschool groups can sign up to be given tours of specific galleries in the museum. The curator of education will email me when groups sign up and I request volunteers through the department. Our department has a core group of volunteers that are very dedicated to helping out at the museum.

The exhibit tours are relatively simple and we have tailored lessons to go with various age groups. For example, I led a tour last week of 4th graders from a private school. The tour begins by discussing plate tectonics and what the different plate movements are and what natural disasters can occur at these boundaries. We watch an animation on the movements over the last 750 million years and focus on the changes that occur to Tennessee. We talk about how fossils can help us better understand locations of specific plates in the past.

Jen leading a tour with local Knoxville 4th graders.
Then we get to talk about different types of fossils and fossil formation. I pass around a few samples, usually a mold of very old snails, petrified wood, and several examples of teeth. We talk about shape, how the fossils formed, and what information we can get from the fossils. Then we move through the gallery and explore how Tennessee has changed through time. For much of the Ice Age with lots of large hairy animals.

Many schools are unable to go on many field trips and in some cases this is the classes first trip outside of the classroom. Each tour is very different but helps us tailor our science communication skills to a variety of age ranges. It is difficult to pass up opportunities to explore deep time with young students that get very excited to talk about the past and ancient life.

New data suggests Louisiana coast is sinking at an accelerated rate

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A new subsidence map for coastal Louisiana
Jaap H. Nienhuis, Torbjörn E. Törnqvist, Krista L. Jankowski, Anjali M. Fernandes, and Molly E. Keogh
Summarized by Jen Bauer

Data: Data for this study were collected by another study (with a lot of the same authors) by Jankowski et al. (2017). The data is small-scale changes in wetland surface elevation – this simply means how high or low the wetland is compared to the water table.

Methods: These authors used a new technique through the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) program. They used long steel rods called surface-elevation-marker horizon records – in this case these rods had been in place for 6-10 years and allows the scientists to calculate how quickly the coastline is sinking (sinking of land is called subsidence). This working group also used GPS time series (data from GPS collected over a period of time) of stations below the land surface to capture deeper sinking.

Results: Their results are clearly visualized in the map of the coastline. The results indicate that there is a widespread area of subsidence (sinking) recorded at the land surface and that the rate of sinking is relatively uniform across coastal Louisiana. The results presented in this study are considerably higher than in other recent studies that have used other methods.

This subsidence map for the coastal Louisiana area is based on observational data (all of the black dots) for the last 6-10 years. The areas that are in white or gray were excluded from the analysis. These areas are either cities or agricultural areas, which have modified drainage systems (such as underground sewer systems). The warmer colors indicate increased rates of subsidence. 

Why is this study important? The gulf coast has experienced substantial wetland loss. These low-elevation coastal zones (LECZs) are very sensitive regions considering the recent rises in sea level, which are driven by the increasing climate change. In order to understand the acceleration of wetland loss, it is important to understand what has happened in the recent past. Scientists can then use this data to predict the migration of the coastline and help prevent damage and loss of life.

The big picture: These new techniques for exploring data in low-elevation coastal zones can now be applied to other locations in the world. With more scientists exploring changing coastlines, there will be a greater understanding on how sea-level rise will affect humanity in the near future.

Citation: Nienhuis, H. J., Törnqvist, T.E., Jankowski, K.L., Fernades, A.M., and Keogh, M.E. A new subsidence map for coastal Louisiana. GSA Today, vol. 27. DOI: 10.1130/GSATG337GW.1

Time Scavengers travel to the Geological Society of America Meeting

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Jen here –

The annual Geological Society of America Meeting is a gigantic academic conference for all fields that connect with the geological sciences. This year they had a record number of abstracts totaling 4,900! That is a lot of science from a whole lot of scientists. I have a few favorite things about large meetings like this: (1) you get to reconnect with old friends and collaborators; (2) you get to meet so many new friends and collaborators; (3) you learn at rapid speed through the 15 minute talks. Topics ranged from early life, the intersection of geology and archaeology, to planetary sciences.

This year I brought an undergraduate researcher with me who presented her poster on Sunday, I ran a session on Monday, and then I presented a poster on Time Scavengers Wednesday afternoon. So, I had a very full conference but it was so fun getting a handful of Time Scavengers together at the poster! We were able to get five Time Scavengers together for a photo. It’s difficult working a project working so far away from everyone but it was fun catching up with everyone.

About half of the Time Scavengers collaborators at the annual GSA meeting! Left to right: Kyle Hartshorn, Jen Bauer, Maggie Limbeck, Sarah Sheffield, and Raquel Bryant.

I purchased business cards printed before the meeting so we had information to hand out to people interested in the site. I gave away about half of the cards I purchased, so roughly 250 cards! I got a ton of positive feedback from scientists, educators, and students. Poster sessions are always very intimate ways of receiving a ton of feedback quickly. Unlike with oral presentations where audience members can maybe squeeze in one or two questions, poster presentations allow for more detailed conversation. This year they had an additional poster session so we set up at 8 AM and had a session from 9:30-11:30 AM and again from 4:30-6:30 PM.

Check out the recording of the poster presentation below:

Women in STEAM Panel Discussion

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Jen & Maggie here –

There was a statewide STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) festival that occurred at the end of October. Last spring, Maggie and I started to plan how we could contribute to this festival. We wanted to host something targeting young students and get them excited about continuing their education in the STEAM fields. We teamed up with the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture to host a “Women in STEAM Panel Discussion“.

We spent a considerable amount of time searching for panelists but eventually ended up with a planetary geoscientist, paleobiologist, robotics engineer, industrial engineer, and biochemist! The career stage of these women all varied, an aspect I found to be key on this panel. I was the paleobiologist on the panel and Maggie was our fearless moderator. Prior to the panel we created trading cards for each of the panelists with an image, their name, and title on the front and the back had a short biography and what facets of STEAM their work represents.

Example of the trading cards created for the STEAM panel discssuion.

We wanted to showcase the diversity of projects and fields that really tie into STEAM. As a paleobiologist, I spend much of my time looking at rocks and fossils but I also spend an immense amount of time creating complex 3-dimensional models to get more information on extinct animals. Without some artistic creativity and innovation, these models would be difficult to assemble.

The panel discussion began with a 3-5 minute brief history introduction about how we got to where we are today. A main goal of this panel was to showcase how different everyone’s journeys are, there is not one specific way to achieve your goals but usually it’s messy and a bit challenging. After the introductions, Maggie led us through some questions that we had already came up with to help move the panel along. We covered questions such as “do you still learn new things?” to “what can current STEAM students do if they feel they are not succeeding?”

We opened the floor up for questions as well and had a very productive discussion. Topics from the audience ranged from challenges faced as a women in our career positions to consciousness in robots. Events like this are not only beneficial to the audience but also to the panelists! Maggie and I both had a wonderful time and learned a lot about some very successful women and left feeling very empowered.

Click here for an article about the event from the Daily Beacon.