By Chuck Bailey
Last Saturday began with a celebratory Homecoming reception in the Geology department and finished twelve hours later, and 2,400 miles to the northwest in Portland, Oregon at the Geological Society of America’s annual meeting. I went coast to coast with the Schuyler Sisters to attend a scientific meeting, in person, for the first time in nearly two years.
The Geological Society required all attendees to be fully vaccinated and arrive with a negative COVID test. Indeed, there was some trepidation about boarding a plane and jetting across the country, but the Schuyler Sisters were keen to present their research to a professional audience.
Haley Meyrowitz and Bel Liscomb gave poster presentations while Terri Zach delivered a talk at a session focused on tectonic sutures in mountain belts. I played the role of proud advisor.
The Geology department’s alumni reception on the second night of the conference was well-attended and lively. It was also great to catch up with colleagues and former students. Many W&M Geology alums are making significant contributions across a broad swath of the geosciences. For me, the best part of the meeting was introducing my current research students to former members of the Structural Geology & Tectonics Research Group who are now graduate students and faculty at universities across the country, our research group is a strong community that extends well beyond campus.
We’re optimistic that this first, in-person, geological meeting was a big step forward on the road back to normalcy.
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