Geology
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Karl G. Maeser and James E. Talmage mentorship inspired special BYU coin
Justin Kunz, an illustration professor at BYU and medallic artist for the U.S. Mint, has previously designed more than 10 coins for the U.S. Mint as a member of the Artistic Fusion Program. Perhaps his most well-known was the 2017 portrayal of Lady Liberty that commemorated the 225th anniversary of the Mint’s coin production and was later named Best Gold Coin in the Coin of the Year Awards at the World Money Fair in Berlin. Recently, Kunz designed a new commemorative coin for BYU to celebrate the motto Inspiring Learning.
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Brooks Britt: Perseverance, Patience and Perspective
When a professional geologist gifted nine-year-old Brooks B. Britt his rock collection, Britt thought, “This is it. I’m going to be a geologist.”
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A Thing of Beauty: Sauropod Vertebrae
In BYU Magazine’s new YouTube video series, “A Thing of Beauty,” BYU professors and personalities sharing something they consider beautiful. Geological science professor, Dr. Brooks Britt share his thing of beauty: the sauropod vertebrae!
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Jani Radebaugh gathers information from Pluto
Jani Radebaugh, a planetary scientist in the Department of Geological Sciences, shares her most recent discovery of the mysterious Pluto and its Earth-like qualities with BYU. She says, “there’s a wealth of information in the distant reaches of the solar system, too.” Read more.
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The extraordinary geological adventures of Hannah Bonner
Bonner’s experiences illustrate why BYU ranks fifth in the country for graduates who go on to earn a Ph.D. Read about her journey on BYU News.
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Picking Up Where Elder James E. Talmage Left Off
Geology graduate student Collin Jensen isn’t the first Mormon geologist to wonder how the granite of Little Cottonwood Stock formed.
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How Three Numbers Can Save 130,000 Lives
The Indian Ocean tsunami that rocked Indonesia on December 26, 2004, shook the ground beneath the locals’ feet for eight whole minutes. Thirteen years later, Dr. Ron Harris is still shaken.
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Microscopic Algae and Massive Landslides: Studying Utah’s Climate Through Geology
Thirteen thousand years ago, Utah got cold–really cold. The last ice age had been over for at least 5,000 years, but after a sudden drop in temperature, the climate—heading towards warmth and dryness—flipped a U-turn. As snow and ice crisscrossed the state, the sudden increase in precipitation triggered a massive eighteen-mile-long train of landslides that altered the natural topography of parts of central Utah.
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Technology Unlocks Petroleum Potential
BYU alum Chris Bexfield has worked ten years for one of the United States’ top hydrocarbon producers—combining business, technology, and geology.
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BYU Geochemist Plays Detective with Water and Dust
Wind carries a particle of dust from the dry lake bed to the mountain snowpack. The snowpack melts, and the water flows down streams and rivers, through a pipe, and to the tap.
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Geological History: It’s Written in Stone—Mudstone
Some people stop playing in the mud by age ten—not Alex Washburn. In August 2016, the geology graduate student found himself across the world steeped in mud, collecting samples.
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Bridging the Gap between Academia and Industry
After thirty-nine years in the oil industry, he’s back to teach BYU students how to apply their understanding of geology to working in industry.
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From Chariot to Prius: Society’s Developing Use of Resources
For a thousand years, Hittite chariots rolled through the Middle East, injecting the empire’s influence into what is now present-day Turkey and Syria. The Hittite Empire’s success can be largely attributed to one thing—metal resources.
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BYU Profs Discover Moabosaurus in Utah’s ‘Gold Mine’
Move over, honeybee and seagull: it’s time to meet Moabosaurus utahensis, Utah’s newly discovered dinosaur, whose past reveals even more about the state’s long-term history.
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Quey Hebrew Lecture: Sustaining a Metallic Society
Over two hundred years ago, the world began to change. Massive, metal machinery replaced human hands to increase manufacturing efficiency. Factories cut into small-town skylines as our dependency on metals became increasingly apparent. But how have we been able to maintain the constant output of metallic materials since the Industrial Revolution? Can we continue at this hurried pace?
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BYU Alum Uncovers “Nessie’s” Bones in Utah
BYU alum Dave Alderks likes to say that everything he needed to know to be a paleontologist he learned in kindergarten.
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Prehistoric “Buzzsaw Killer” Comes to BYU
America loves a good shark story. The country’s obsession with the frightening fish has been manifested by its love of Jaws, Shark Week, and four full-length Sharknado films. Little do Utahns know, the state has its own shark story–kind of. Hundreds of millions of years ago, Northern Utah was at the bottom of a prehistoric sea, which housed large, shark-like creatures with sets of teeth like buzzsaws.
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