2008 Summer Speaker Series

July 15 Gregory D. Hoke '94   "How high were the mountains? Paleo-elevations in SW China and the Andes"

The past elevation of mountain ranges can provide important data used by geologists and geophysicists to test different theories for the causes and the rates by which mountains form. The source of our knowledge of paleoelevation is perhaps not what one would expect: small nodules (balls) of calcium carbonate are found in ancient or 'paleo' soils. These ancient soils comprise part of the sedimentary rocks deposited in lowlands areas adjacent to the mountains. These same samples can also tell us what types of plants were growing on the surface at the time when the nodules were forming. Before the lab coat goes on, the samples have to be collected and finding the right rocks and water samples can be quite an adventure! This presentation will be a mix of field photography and science results from ongoing and completed studies in the Andes and SW China.Currently living in Berlin, Germany, Hoke works at The Universitat Potsdam as an Alexander von Humboldt Post-Doctoral Fellow and is also a Research Associate for the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Rochester and a NSF International Research Fellow in Mendoza, Argentina.Upon graduation from GSA in 1994, Hoke earned a B.S. in Geology and Geological Oceanography from the University of Rhode Island and a PhD. in Geological Sciences from Cornell University.

July 22 Leslie Clapp '82   "New Zealand Adventures"

During the winter of 2007 Leslie Clapp and Blaise deSibour traveled to New Zealand where they spent 5 weeks in nature's playground. Part of the time was spent "tramping" on the South Island's Milford and Routeburn Tracks- known as two of the world's great walks.The couple rented a car for the remainder of the trip and explored areas around Mt.Cook in the Southern Alps, coastal fishing towns, and the golden beaches of AbelTasmanNational Park before taking the ferry to the North Island. Here, they found a completely different landscape with volcanoes, geothermal areas and magnificent limestone caves.This was a trip jam-packed with high adventure (jet boat rides, glacier climbing, cave tubing), spectacular scenery and there was even time to squeeze in some bird watching.(Nothing can prepare you for seeing an albatross in real life!) Clapp is a GSA graduate of the class of 1982 and the President of the Downeast Chapter of Maine Audubon.

July 29 John M. Roberts, M.D.  "Blue Hill by Blue Hillers"

Blue Hill history will be preeminently portrayed by four native-born historians of different eras with distinct interests, perspectives and styles: Captain R.G.F. Candage (1826-1912); Mary Ellen Chase (1887-1973); William P. Hinckley (1913-1983) and Esther E. Wood (1905-2002). How their memoirs, biographies, historical novels, short stories, newspaper and magazine articles enliven and enrich the town's narrative will be described and discussed. John M. Roberts, M.D. is Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery Emeritus at Boston University School of Medicine, a founding member of the Steering Committee for Colloquy Downeast, and President of the Blue Hill Historical Society.

Aug 5 Richard Woychik, Ph.D. "A Healthier Future Through Individualized Medicine: Promises, Realities and Challenges"

Dr. Richard Woychik, president and CEO of The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor since 2002, is a world-renowned geneticist whose career bridges both industry and academia.He now heads a research team of over 200 scientists, with individual laboratories that study a wide range of human diseases with one purpose: advancing human health.Imagine a future in which medicine is proactive and individualized.Based on each individual's unique genetic code, we'll treat or cure many diseases much earlier with individualized therapies and lifestyle changes.Dr. Woychik will explain how.

Aug 12 Eckley Herrick '59, Ph.D. "In Love with the Impossible": Isambard Kingdom Brunel and "The Three Great Ships"

Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806 - 1859) was one of the first modern design engineers - a brilliant, complex, and controversial visionary who, in 2002, was voted second only to Winston Churchill as "the Greatest Briton" of all time. His successes and failures, and his friends and enemies, played a central role in a period of exceptionally dramatic social and technological change in early-Victorian England. Over the 25 years beginning in 1835, while simultaneously designing and building major railroad systems, tunnels, innovative suspension bridges, and the world's first pre-fab modular hospital, and while some scientists were proclaiming that transatlantic steamships were impossible, he designed and developed three great ocean liners, each in turn the largest, most luxurious, and technically most innovative passenger ship in the world...but technical superiority isn't always enough.Herrick holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT, a Masters degree in the History of Technology from the University of London, and a Ph.D. in Aerodynamics from the University of Southampton, England. He was a design engineer and senior systems analyst in the Advanced Concepts Group of Sikorsky Aircraft before joining Maine Maritime Academy in 1973 as a professor of engineering.