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Research Opportunities
Areas of faculty expertise at SIU cover most of the major subdisciplines in geology, including environmental geology, geochemistry, hydrogeology, mineralogy, sedimentology, tectonics, and others. Their research activities range from detailed studies of the properties of minerals and geochemistry of coal waste to the structure of the midcontinent seismic zone. The backgrounds of our faculty are as diverse as their interests; they have earned doctoral degrees from top programs across the world, including the University of Melbourne (Australia), Brown University, Indiana University, The Pennsylvania State University, Northern Illinois University, and Southern Illinois University, and the University of Utah.
SIU is proud of our national reputation as an institution that commits to undergraduate research opportunities, and we continually encourage geology undergraduate students to take part in faculty research projects. Working alongside faculty and graduate students in geology is an exciting experience that may include field work, data analysis, and even participation in preparing publications and making presentations at professional meetings; it is also excellent preparation for graduate school. Research opportunities often include assistantship positions funded through external grants (National Science Foundation (NSF), National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA), etc.), or internal sources such as the REACH (Research-Enriched Academic Challenge) program provided by SIU. Students interested in undergraduate research should contact faculty in their area of interest to see what options are available.
Recent Undergraduate Research
Many of our faculty involve undergraduates in their research programs. These field and lab experiences allow our undergraduates to work closely with both faculty and graduate students. Such experience is important preparation for graduate school or moving on to a job in industry or state or federal government positions.
Our four departmental groups have recently involved undergraduates in their research programs:
Dr. Liliana Lefticariu's Lab: Biogeochemistry, economic geology, coal geochemistry
Dr. Sally Potter-McIntyre's Lab: Sedimentology, stratigraphy, and biogeochemistry of diagenesis, petroleum geology, Mars sedimentology and astrobiology
Dr. Sue Rimmer's Lab: Organic petrology of petroleum source rocks and coals, geochemistry of coals and black shales, maceral separation
- Lefticariu Lab
- Filiberto Lab
- Potter-McIntyre Lab
- Rimmer Lab
Minka Bentley doing fieldwork along the Ohio River and collecting river water from across Southern Illinois for oxygen and hydrogen stable isotope analysis. This effort is part of a large project involving the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) and Global Newtwork of Isotopes in Rivers (GNIR).
William Kipp in the field collecting samples for his project "Distribution of Rare Earth Elements (REE) in Fluorite".The field work was done in southern Illinois near the geologic structure known as Hicks Dome which could potentially be a future mineral source for REE. William is exploring the relationship between REE concentrations in fluorite and distance from Hick's Dome.
Amberly Tobin (B.S., 2013) worked as an undergraduate researcher on a project studying OHD (Oxidative Hydrothermal Dissolution), a novel technique for dissolving coal. She performed OHD runs, petrography of residues, and GC-MS analyses and later used her petrography experience during an internship at ConocoPhillips in Houston. She is currently a graduate student here at SIUC.
