Distinguished Professor Kip Solomon

Kip Solomon, Distinguished Professor


May 5, 2025
Above: Kip Solomon in his lab.

D. Kip Solomon has been elevated to the status of Distinguished Professor of Geology & Geophysics.

The rank of Distinguished Professor is reserved for selected individuals whose achievements exemplify the highest goals of scholarship as demonstrated by recognition accorded to them from peers with national and international stature, and whose record includes evidence of a high dedication to teaching as demonstrated by recognition accorded to them by students and/or colleagues.

Solomon holds the Frank Brown Presidential Chair in the Department of Geology & Geophysics, where he is currently interim department chair.

Solomon has a Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from the University of Waterloo and BS and MS degrees from the U’s Department of Geology and Geophysics. He joined the department as faculty in 1993 and served as chair from 2009-2013.

His research includes the use of environmental tracers to evaluate groundwater flow and solute transport processes in local-to regional-scale aquifers.  He constructed and operates one of only a few labs in the world that measures noble gases in groundwater. His research results have been documented in more than 120 journal articles, book chapters and technical reports.

“The College of Science congratulates Kip Solomon on this well-deserved recognition," said Pearl Sandick, interim dean of the College of Science. "As a hydrogeologist, Solomon has developed the use of dissolved gases to evaluate groundwater travel times, location and rates of recharge, and the sustainability of groundwater resources — findings that enhance our efforts to improve water management in the American West. His teaching over the years as well as his service to the department as a former chair and now interim chair epitomize his dedication to the field and the university.”

Solomon was awarded the O.E Meinzer Annual Award by the Geological Society of America in September when a profile of his life's work was featured. You can read that profile here.

Humans of the U: Chelsea Bordon

Humans of the U: Chelsea Bordon


May 2, 2025
Above: Undergraduate Chelsea Bordon in graduation regalia at the popular Block U on campus

After I got out of the military, I was planning on going into nursing and was taking classes in Washington. I took a microbiology class and I loved the course.

 

When I completed it, I asked the professor for a letter of recommendation and when he gave it to me, he told me it would be a waste for me to go into nursing and that he thought I’d find it boring. With his perspective in mind, I changed my major to biology with a microbiology emphasis and moved to Utah so I could attend the U.

The Science Research Initiative, SRI, is one of the things that drew me to the U. I felt a lot of impostor syndrome as I began my degree, and this program helped me realize I could be a scientist. Being in a lab early on in my degree and receiving mentorship helped me know I could complete hard courses later on.

In the Navy, I was a mechanic. I worked on jet airplanes and sometimes things would break and I would be out there fixing something at 2 a.m. Sometimes what we did worked, and sometimes we would have to keep trying the next day. Through this I learned perseverance that carries over into my work as a scientist. When I do a science experiment and it doesn’t work out, I know trying again is just part of the process.

I now work on campus as part of SRI and I love that I have come full circle. I am working with brand new students who are where I was four years ago. When they say ‘I don’t know if I can do it,’ I get to tell them I did it and I know they can too. Through this experience, I have learned that I want to show other people they can be scientists because we need more.

I am not a 4.0 student—I’m pretty average. I love getting to help students understand that failing a class is not the end of the world. It doesn’t mean they can’t do it, it just means they need to approach it differently the next time, whether it’s with new study habits or finding a different teacher.

I always tell my students that life is a journey. I am 34 and just graduating with my bachelor’s degree. I’ve lived a lot of life. I’ve had a lot of careers. And now I have the opportunity to start a new, exciting career and I get to bring all the other knowledge I’ve gained with me.

 

by Chelsea Bordon
Class of 2025, B.S. in biology, microbiology emphasis, from Las Vegas, Nevada

This story originally appeared in @ The U.

 

Humans of the U: Marlon Lopez

Humans of the U: Marlon Lopez


May 2, 2025
Above: Undergraduate Marlon Lopez in the Welm lab.

"Growing up in an immigrant household where my parents instilled the importance of education."

Marlon Lopez, in his graduation regalia at the popular "Block U" on campus

Language and culture have always been important in my family and integral to my upbringing and life at home. I was born in the U.S. My parents immigrated to the U.S. from El Salvador in 2002, looking for employment and educational opportunities and to escape gang violence.

Throughout my childhood in Salt Lake City, my mom shared stories about El Salvador and the sacrifices my grandparents made to break the cycle of generational poverty. My grandma from the age of 8 registered herself for school. Before school she would have to pick fruit to help her family and walk 3 hours to and from school. She would eventually finish high school. As an adult and mother, she sold fruit to supplement the family income and to afford clothes for her children. My abuela’s commitment to building a better future for her own children, and future grandchildren, was unwavering. My mom would use her as proof that education, hard work and kindness were the way to succeed in life. My parents never let me forget those sacrifices.

My grandma lived in El Salvador but would come visit while I us growing up. My grandmother was treated at the Huntsman cancer hospital in 2002 for breast cancer and because of this she was able to live many more years before passing away in October 2023. Contributing to the science that helped my abuela live a healthier life was a factor that inspired me to get involved in breast cancer research at the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI).

As a first-generation college student, my University of Utah experience has had its challenges. I needed to seek out guidance on how to find resources, like scholarships, campus jobs and tutoring support for difficult courses. While these are real challenges, thankfully there are plenty of resources and opportunities and it’s not too hard to find them.

I have worked in two research labs at HCI, starting with the Kirchhoff Group. In February at the Utah Capitol, I presented results from my work on breast cancer in the Welm Labs at Research on Capitol Hill and also presented at the National Human Genome Research Institute conference in Seattle, Wash. Research has furthered my science knowledge and was really doable for me, because I was able to get paid.

Hard work, and valuing education and culture is part of who I am. Thanks to my parents prioritizing speaking Spanish at home, I have been able to give back as a Spanish interpreter at the Maliheh Free Clinic. The experience reinforced my passion for medicine and my commitment to helping underserved communities.

Some of my favorite memories of the U of U will be the professors who passed on their passion and curiosity for science and the abundant opportunities students have to get involved in research, teaching (as a learning or teaching assistant), the scholarship and work opportunities, and the many clubs that help you find community. I  hope to become a physician where, in the words of my abuela, he hopes to use my “voice to advocate for those who are unheard.

 

by Marlon Lopez
Class of 2025 B.S. in biology, minor in chemistry

This story originally appeared in @The U.

2025 Rosenblatt Prize, Chemist Henry White

2025 Rosenblatt Prize, ChemisT Henry White


May 2, 2025
Above: Henry White

Henry S. White, a world-renowned leader in the field of electrochemistry and distinguished professor chemistry, has been named the 2025 recipient of the University of Utah’s Rosenblatt Prize for Excellence.

A former dean of the College of Science and chairman of the Department of Chemistry, White has demonstrated a deep commitment to student success and is credited with transforming general chemistry education at the U, all the while shepherding the college’s physical expansion and producing world-class basic research that has led to innovations in drug delivery, biosensing and nanotechnology.

“Professor White has demonstrated a deep commitment to student success and is credited with transforming general chemistry education at the U, all the while shepherding the college’s physical expansion and producing basic research that has led to innovations in drug delivery, biosensing and nanotechnology,” said Taylor Randall, University of Utah president. “His leadership as dean and chair have been transformative for the College of Science and Department Chemistry, advancing their world-class research reputations, expanding their educational mission and reimagining philanthropic giving.”

The Rosenblatt Prize is the University of Utah’s highest faculty accolade and is presented annually to a faculty member who transcends ordinary teaching, research and administrative contributions. A group of distinguished faculty members on the Rosenblatt Prize Committee recommends esteemed colleagues for consideration and the university’s president makes the final selection.

About Henry White

Henry White

A leading figure in electrochemistry, White is best known for exploring how electrical processes behave at incredibly small (nanoscale) dimensions, according to distinguished professor of chemistry Cynthia Burrows. His work has shed light on how electric fields at surfaces affect the behavior of molecules attached to those surfaces, discoveries that are important for many devices from sensors to batteries.

“Henry excels in every category of our profession, as an educator and a scholar, and as a leader and colleague,” wrote Burrows, herself the 2019 Rosenblatt laureate, in her letter of nomination. “In his 32 years at the U, he has grown a vibrant research program in experimental and theoretical electrochemistry that has impacted diverse areas in biological, physical, and materials chemistry.”

White helped develop a fundamental theory of how molecules move and interact with electric fields near tiny electrodes, known as ultramicroelectrodes. These insights have practical uses in chemical detection and nanotechnology. One of the most exciting innovations from his lab is a patented method to analyze single DNA molecules using protein-based channels placed in glass nanopore membranes, essentially building a microscopic tool for studying genetic material at the molecular level.

“His group has made major contributions to many other areas of electrochemistry that include the application of magnetic fields in electrochemistry, unraveling the mechanism of electro-osmotic transport of drugs through human skin, breakdown of nanometer thick oxide films in corrosive environments, and the characterization of gas ‘nanobubbles,’” Burrows wrote.

White completed his doctorate in 1983 at the University of Texas and worked for nearly a decade at the University of Minnesota as a professor of chemical engineering and materials science. He joined the U’s chemistry faculty in 1993, serving as department chair from 2007 to 2013 and as dean of the College of Science from 2014 to 2019.

“The five years of Henry’s leadership as dean were a transformative period for the College,” wrote Peter Trapa, vice provost and senior dean of the Colleges and Schools of Liberal Arts and Sciences, in a letter of support for White’s nomination. “During this time, the College advanced its world-class research reputation; significantly expanded its educational mission; completely reimagined its fundraising efforts; and positioned itself to grow and sustain these advances for many years to come.”

White is credited with launching the college’s Science Research Initiative, which provides research opportunities to undergraduates and has since grown to 500 students. As department chair, White implemented major changes in the general chemistry program, requiring that only the top educators teach first-year undergraduate courses.

White himself taught general chemistry many times over the course of his U tenure. More than 40 graduate students have been mentored by White, who also supervised more than 60 research projects by undergraduates in chemistry, materials science, and chemical engineering.

His research, which touches every corner of electrochemistry, has been funded by both industry and a wide range of federal agencies, including Office of Naval Research, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

Electrochemists study the chemical transformations that occur when electrons are added to molecules in solution, producing results that are advancing energy production and storage. During White’s tenure, the field has gone from relative obscurity to prominence, especially for emerging energy technologies, according to George Whitesides, a university research professor of chemistry at Harvard.

“Even though there is enormous interest in the subject now, very few people really understand it, or the elementary processes it involves. Henry is one of the few who does. He has the true expert’s intuition about the processes that can occur, and the ones that don’t,” Whitesides wrote. “His skill in the science is enormously useful in guiding others who are primarily developing technology or extending applications, and he has assumed the role of arbiter of the “final word” in electrochemical arguments.”

Every major prize available to electrochemists has landed on White, most recently the 2015 Allen J. Bard Award of the Electrochemical Society, for which he was the inaugural recipient. In 2019, the U named him the John A. Widstoe Presidential Endowed Chair of Chemistry, but he later declined to renew the appointment so that it could be offered to a young rising star in the Department of Chemistry.

White helped raise millions in private donations to fund new endowed chairs and construct the Thatcher Building for Biological and Biophysical Chemistry and the Crocker Science Center, both completed under his watch. His initiatives helped diversify the chemistry faculty.

“The accomplishments described above are lasting contributions that will impact the College for generations and are testament to Henry’s exceptional ability as an administrator,” Trapa wrote. “In fact, it is fair to say that he probably did more to advance the dual missions of research and education than anyone who came before him in the history of the College.”

by Brian Maffly
this story originally appeared in @ The U.

Broader antibiotic use could change the course of cholera outbreaks

Broader antibiotic use could change the course of cholera outbreaks


May 2, 2025

Cholera kills thousands of people and infects hundreds of thousands every year—and cases have spiked in recent years, leaving governments with an urgent need to find better ways to control outbreaks.

Current public health guidelines discourage treating cholera, a severe diarrheal disease caused by waterborne bacteria, with antibiotics in all but the most severe cases, to reduce the risk that the disease will evolve resistance to the best treatments we have.

But recent disease modeling research from University of Utah Health and the Department of Mathematics challenges that paradigm, suggesting that for some cholera outbreaks, prescribing antibiotics more aggressively could slow or stop the spread of the disease and even reduce the likelihood of antibiotic resistance.

The results are based on mathematical modeling and will require further research to confirm. But they represent a first step toward understanding how antibiotics could change cholera spread. Co-authors include Cormac LaPrete, Jody Reimer and Frederick Adler from the math department's mathematical biology group.

“This might be an underused opportunity for cholera control, where expanding antibiotic treatment could have population-level benefits and help control outbreaks,” said Lindsay Keegan, research associate professor in epidemiology at U of U Health and senior author on the study published Wednesday.

Putting the brakes on outbreaks

Key to the researchers’ discovery is the fact that antibiotics make people less infectious. Medication is generally reserved for people who are most severely infected because moderate cases quickly recover with rest and rehydration. But while antibiotics may not help most individuals feel better faster, they reduce the amount of time someone is infectious by a factor of 10.

“If you recover naturally from cholera, you will feel better in a day or two, but you’re still shedding cholera for up to two weeks,” explained co-author Sharia Ahmed, assistant professor of epidemiology at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, who worked on the study as a postdoctoral researcher in Keegan’s lab. “But if you take an antibiotic, you still feel better in about a day, and you stop releasing cholera into your environment.”

This means that treating moderate cases with antibiotics could slow outbreaks or, in some cases, stop them in their tracks. Even though a higher percentage of people with cholera would be using antibiotics, fewer people would get the disease, so that less antibiotics are used overall.

Cumulatively, lower antibiotic use lowers the risk that cholera evolves antibiotic resistance—which is “a big concern in the field,” Keegan said. “Cholera is exceptionally good at evading antibiotics and developing resistance. It’s not just a theoretical problem.”

The researchers mathematically modeled the spread of cholera under a variety of conditions to see which cases could benefit from antibiotic use. The key variable is how likely someone is to spread the disease to other people, which in turn depends on factors like population density and sanitation infrastructure.

In cases where cholera spreads more rapidly—like in regions with higher population density or without reliable access to clean drinking water—treating moderate cases of cholera with antibiotics wouldn’t slow the spread enough to balance out the risks of antibiotic resistance.

But if spread is relatively slow, the researchers found, using antibiotics for moderate cases could limit spread enough that, in the long run, fewer people catch the disease and fewer people are treated with antibiotics. In some cases, they predict, antibiotic use could stop outbreaks entirely.

Cholera cases are on the rise

Figuring out better plans for managing cholera is especially urgent because outbreaks are on the rise. Cases and deaths have spiked by about a third in the past year, likely related to mass displacement and natural disasters. As the climate shifts and extreme weather events become more frequent, disruptions to infrastructure could lead to cholera outbreaks in countries that haven’t previously experienced the disease.

The researchers emphasize that further work is needed before their work could motivate changes to how governments treat cholera. Scientists need to see whether the results hold up in more complex simulations that incorporate factors like cholera vaccines, and they need to figure out rules of thumb to quickly estimate whether or not the disease will spread slowly enough for aggressive antibiotic use to be a good call.

“The takeaway is not, ‘OK, let’s start giving people antibiotics,’” Keegan said. “This is a first step at understanding antibiotic use as a possibility for outbreak control.”

“If the results continue to be this compelling,” Ahmed added, “and we can replicate them in different settings, I think then we start talking about changing our policy for antibiotic treatment for cholera. This is a really good example of using data to continually improve our policy and our treatment choices for even well-established diseases.”


These results were published April 30 in Bulletin of Mathematical Biology as “A theoretical framework to quantify the tradeoff between individual and population benefits of expanded antibiotic use.” Co-authors include Cormac LaPrete, Jody Reimer and Frederick Adler of the U’s Department of Mathematics and School of Biological Sciences, and Damon Toth and Valerie Vaughn of the Department of Internal Medicine. The research was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (grant numbers 1U01CK000675 and 1NU38FT000009-01-00) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (grant number 5K08HS026530-06).

by Sophia Friesen
Science communications manager, University of Utah Health, where this story originally appeared.

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Opinion: Water Wasting? U Decide.

Opinion: Water Wasting Landscapes? U Decide.


April 21, 2025
Above: Water wise plants in a cluster of rocks on the walkway to the J. Willard Marriott Library. Photo credit: Ali McKelvy

by Nathan Murthy

Since 1986, the Great Salt Lake has dropped 22 feet. Twenty-two feet is only the height of a two-story building, a streetlight or a young Saguaro cactus. It’s not that impressive.

Nathan Murthy

But the Great Salt Lake is a wide and shallow inland sea, fatally susceptible to evaporation.

In the time the lake levels dropped, the surface area decreased from 3,300 to 950 square miles, a reduction of 2,350 square miles.

The area lost is larger than the land area of the entire state of Delaware. Water diverted for human use from the Bear, Jordan and Weber Rivers is largely to blame.

The Great Salt Lake is at risk of disappearing in our lifetime.

The inland sea is highly productive, supporting billion-dollar industries like salt, brine shrimp and magnesium. Its wetlands host 10-12 million migratory birds, including American white pelicans, snowy plovers and eared grebes.

Additionally, lake effect snow contributes to the Wasatch Front’s relatively high precipitation levels, enabling Utah’s world-famous skiing and distinctive snow quality. Without the lake, the Salt Lake Valley risks becoming as dry and dusty as the West Desert.

The immense challenge of sustaining Great Salt Lake for current and future generations requires all of us to act. Conserving water in every capacity is vital, especially among the biggest water users who must lead by example.

I examined our campus water usage.

Public universities aren’t federally required to disclose their water usage. However, Savannah Jordaan and Alta Fairbourne, members of ASUU, asked the landscaping department for this information.

In 2024, the U used roughly 227 million gallons to irrigate campus landscaping and 808 million gallons in total — costing nearly $10 million. The good news is, since 2020, water usage has decreased by 14%.

However, we still consume over 800 million gallons annually.

Although $10 million seems expensive, it’s relatively cheap for the quantity.

Utah’s water conservancy districts manage water supply via dams and pipelines, funded largely by property taxes. This subsidizes water costs for all users, particularly tax-exempt institutions like the U. Consequently, the university benefits from taxpayer-funded water infrastructure but lacks significant financial incentives to reduce their own consumption.

A significant portion of the U’s water use goes to irrigating lawns and other landscaping features. Lawns require constant watering, especially during Utah’s scorching summers when temperatures can exceed 100°F.

Evaporation further exacerbates water demand, leaving grass thirsty for more precious watershed water.

America’s obsession with lawns stems from European heritage.

Lawns were brought to North America to mimic the estates of British royalty, symbolizing wealth and prestige. Eastern U.S. college campuses often feature lush green lawns sustained by abundant rainfall.

But the U isn’t in England or the East Coast — it’s in a desert.

At Arizona State University, their landscaping features drought-tolerant trees and succulents, mimicking the surrounding desert and providing ecological functionality. The U must adopt a similar approach.

The short answer to this problem is collaboration between students, landscaping and administration.


Read the full op-ed by Nathan Murthy originally posted in The Chronicle here.

Sustainability Associate Director for the Associated Students of the U, Murthy is an earth and environmental Ssience major in the College of Science and works in the Şekercioğlu lab in the School of Biological Sciences. He is also a Wilkes Scholar through the Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy, also in the College of Science. 

Letters from Antarctica #5

Science with high honors


The Department of Atmospheric Sciences' Kelsey Barber has embarked on an Antarctic voyage to conduct field work on the open waves. She has graciously agreed to chronicle her travels and provide an invaluable first-hand account of what it's like to conduct research in one of the most dangerous environments on our planet. Visit the landing page for Letter from Antarctica for all of the letters as they accumulate here.

By Kelsey Barber, April 7, 2025

 

Nawrath deploying an expendable bathythermograph (XBT) to measure water temperature - Photo by Yuhang Liu

There is something about a maritime environment that draws in a variety of people. This voyage is no different. For the science crew, going to sea is an infrequent experience or a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For the crew, this is their norm. So many pathways can lead you here, so one of the questions that I find myself asking everyone is “How did you end up on this voyage?” 

I hope to share several people’s journey to working on an Antarctic research vessel. In this letter I will be doing a short profile of a fellow scientist.

Katie Nawrath, Biogeochemist

Katie Nawrath is studying biogeochemistry onboard the Nuyina. Her story starts with growing up near the ocean in Queensland, Australia. Her path to marine science wasn’t straightforward though. Originally, she completed a degree in physiotherapy. She practiced it for 5 years, but her heart was never in it.

In what she described as “a sideways move,” she worked as a game tester for Survivor in Fiji. She said that that job “fulfilled her need to be next to the ocean.” The job ended in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic, and she moved back to Queensland and started practicing physiotherapy again. During that time, she took a free, six-month online course from University of Tasmania on Antarctic and Climate Science. The coursework covered climate science and marine science, but she found the later the more interesting. At that point, she decided to move to Tasmania to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Marine and Antarctic Science.

In her third year, she was enrolled in a course called Oceanographic Methods that included sailing on a short transit voyage from Fremantle to Hobart after the Multidisciplinary Investigations of the Southern Oceanvoyage last year. Since I was a scientist on the same voyage, Katie and I could have crossed paths last March on the wharf in Fremantle. On the transit voyage, the students learned oceanographic sampling methods like taking CTDs (Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth measurements) and practicing sampling water.

Katie also worked in a lab washing glassware like vials and beakers for upcoming field work. One day, her boss offered her the opportunity to complete an Honors project that would include participating in the two-month Denman Marine Voyage beginning in March. In Australia, an Honors is a year-long project after finishing a bachelor’s degree. It is often a precursor to a PhD. She accepted the offer and is working on a project comparing the productivity and carbon export in the eastern side versus the western side of the Denman Iceglacier Tongue, a floating extension of the eponymous glacier, which is melting from the bottom up and is susceptible to marine ice sheet instability due to warm water intrusion, potentially leading to rapid retreat and contributing to global sea level rise.

Katie is a volunteer on this voyage although her lab is funded through Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (ACEAS) which is a government funded program. In Australia, Centres for Excellence are formed which focus on research areas and topics. 

Katie’s Honor's project will last nine months. After she is finished with the project, she wants to keep embarking on voyages, hopefully to Antarctica. She said “It is the ocean that brought me here” and she wants to keep studying it.



>> Next Letter Coming soon<<


Letters from Antarctica #4

Keeping Seal Taggers safe


The Department of Atmospheric Sciences' Kelsey Barber has embarked on an Antarctic voyage to conduct field work on the open waves. She has graciously agreed to chronicle her travels and provide an invaluable first-hand account of what it's like to conduct research in one of the most dangerous environments on our planet. Visit the landing page for Letter from Antarctica for all of the letters as they accumulate here.

By Kelsey Barber, March 31, 2025

 

Stapleton shoveling away at the constant deluge of snow and ice onboard - Photo by Pete Harmsen

There is something about a maritime environment that draws in a variety of people. This voyage is no different. For the science crew, going to sea is an infrequent experience or a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For the crew, this is their norm. So many pathways can lead you here, so one of the questions that I find myself asking everyone is “How did you end up on this voyage?” 

I hope to share several people’s journey to working on an Antarctic research vessel. In this letter I will be doing a short profile of a field safety officer on board, with the next being of a fellow scientist.

Mick Stapleton, field safety officer

I am lucky enough to share a volunteer shift of sea ice observations with Mick Stapleton, the field safety officer for the seal tagging team. His job is to ensure that ice floes are safe for people to walk on in order to complete seal tagging operations. There is a long list of skills that the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) of the country’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment & Water is interested in when hiring field safety experts. It is impossible for one person to have expertise in everything, so most field safety officers have a niche of experience. For Mick, if it involves watercraft or snow machines, his name is likely to come up when looking for a field safety officer.

In the southern hemisphere summers, Mick works as a field safety officer in Antarctica. But his homebase is Victoria, Australia where he works in the winters as ski patrol for a ski resort. His interest in skiing and snow is what started him on this career path. According to Mick, “most Australians don’t work in snow or have experience with snow machines,” so his experience as a ski patroller helped him stand out when applying for field safety officer positions.

Beyond that, Mick has a BA in Outdoor Education and a Diploma of Education. He taught secondary school previously and has experience as a white-water kayaking instructor. Teaching experience, especially in the outdoors, and training in water rescue and first aid are two things that the AAD looks for in field safety officers.

Even with Mick’s experience, it took him six years of applying before he was hired. A small-world connection between participants on this voyage is that during Mick’s first season in Antarctica, he was the safety officer for a field campaign run by another scientist, Benoit, who is on this voyage as well. Earlier their work involved riding snowmobiles around a sea ice field to map out the topography of the area. They lived in tents on the ice for 40 days. That was 20 years ago but both Mick and Benoit both still find themselves coming back to the Antarctic.

On this voyage, Mick helps to assess if a floe is safe for the seal team to walk on. He measures the thickness of the floe, making sure it can support the weight of the team walking around on it. He also checks for structural weaknesses like ridges, undercuts, or snow filled cracks in the ice. He is the first person on the floe and the last person off, ensuring that the whole operation is safe.

Letters from Antarctica #3

Deck operations


The Department of Atmospheric Sciences' Kelsey Barber has embarked on an Antarctic voyage to conduct field work on the open waves. She has graciously agreed to chronicle her travels and provide an invaluable first-hand account of what it's like to conduct research in one of the most dangerous environments on our planet. Visit the landing page for Letter from Antarctica for all of the letters as they accumulate here.

 

By Kelsey Barber, March 24, 2025

 

Boddy releasing a weather balloon for atmospheric research - Photo by Pete Harmsen

There is something about a maritime environment that draws in a variety of people. This voyage is no different. For the science crew, going to sea is an infrequent experience or a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For the crew, this is their norm. So many pathways can lead you here, so one of the questions that I find myself asking everyone is “How did you end up on this voyage?” 

I hope to share several people’s journey to working on an Antarctic research vessel. In this letter. I will start with a member of Nuyina’s crew. In subsequent letter’s I will move to a short profile of a field safety officer on board and a scientist.

Stephen Boddy, Deck Operations

Stephen Boddy is one of the IRs (integrated rating) on board Nuyina. He is from Melbourne. One morning at breakfast, Stephen told me that he had a job working for IBM directly out of college where his father worked. However, he quickly learned that he didn’t want to work in an office. At 21 he made a promise to himself that “he would never work inside again” and he has stuck to that. He has stories about working as a windsurfing instructor, an extra in a movie and a field geologist.

After hearing some of Stephen’s stories, I was curious to understand how he ended up working on Nuyina. He said, “It all started when I was 11 when I learned to sail.” Starting his maritime career, he worked on racing boats, delivering yachts, and working on fish farms. This foundation in maritime work is what set him up for an apprenticeship when he found himself in the right circles to become an IR.

The IR certification qualifies a person to operate deck equipment to help with deployments of instruments for the science teams. For each balloon launch the atmospheric science team completes, there is an IR helping us with the deployment by opening the 15 ton heli-hangar door. Their work for other operations includes tasks ranging from operating heavy-duty winches for the sea water sampling to lowering the seal tagging team’s boats off the ship with cranes. The IRs keep the operations on board the ship going and our science wouldn’t be possible without them.

IRs are in high demand, but the certification is very competitive. Stephen said that nine years ago, when he completed his training, most IR positions were passed down through family lines from fathers to sons. However, he met the lecturer for an IR course in Perth while playing poker one night. Because of Stephen’s maritime background the lecturer helped him to get into the 15-week, full-time course at a technical college to become an IR. The coursework is followed by a one and a half year apprenticeship. As an apprentice, he worked on six ships including Australia’s other research vessel, RV Investigator.

While the pay of working on oil and gas tankers was better, Stephen was at odds with the industry and preferred working on the science vessels. Two years ago, a representative of the maritime union called Stephen and asked him what his ideal ship to work on would be. He answered, “The Nuyina.”






Yellowstone’s magma reservoir

Yellowstone Magma Reservoir


April 17, 2025
Above:  Portable seismometer in Yellowstone National Park.

Beneath Yellowstone lies a magma reservoir, pulsing with molten and superheated rock and exsolved gases. Scientists have long known about the chamber’s existence, but they have yet to precisely locate its uppermost boundary and characterize the contents of the chamber closest to the surface—information crucial for understanding the potential perils this volcanic feature poses.

Fan-Chi Lin, professor of geology and geophysics, holds a portable seismometer. His team deploys hundreds of these instruments in the field to create images of underground formations and other subsurface features. Photo credit: Brian Maffly

That changed this week with new research by seismologists from the University of Utah and the University of New Mexico (UNM) who used hundreds of portable seismometers and a mechanical vibration source to render 2D seismic reflection images of the ground beneath Yellowstone’s caldera.

Using artificial seismic waves, the team determined that the top of the chamber is 3.8 kilometers, or about 12,500 feet, below Earth’s surface, and it is sharply delineated from the rock strata above, according to findings published in the journal Nature. The researchers also determined the portion of the uppermost magma chamber that is comprised of volatile gases and liquids.

“The depth of 3.8 kilometers is important,” said coauthor Jamie Farrell, a U research associate professor of geology and geophysics and chief seismologist for the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, operated by the U.S. Geological Survey. “We know what pressures are going to be and how bubbles are going to come out of the magma. One thing that makes these eruptions so devastating is that if gases are trapped, they become very explosive as they decompress.”

The good news is that these findings indicate the long-dormant Yellowstone Volcano is in no immediate danger of eruption.

This is because much of the volatile gas released from the magma escapes through Yellowstone’s surface geothermal features, such as Mud Volcano, without accumulating to dangerous levels, according to coauthor Fan-Chi Lin, professor in Utah’s Department of Geology & Geophysics.

“When the magma rises from the deeper crust, volatile materials such as CO2 and H2O exsolve from the melt. Due to their buoyancy, they tend to accumulate at the top of the magma chamber,” he said. “But if there’s a channel, they can escape to the surface.”

 

Read the full article by Brian Maffly in @ TheU.