UW and SER Have Major Presence at Annual Geological Society of America Meeting

 

The University of Wyoming and the School of Energy Resources (SER) had an impressive presence at the annual Geological Society of America (GSA) meeting in Pittsburgh, Penn. October 15-18.

In addition to UW professionals and students presenting on multiple talks, panels, and poster sessions, Research Scientist Lily Jackson in SER’s Center for Economic Geology Research, along with SER Program Manager Erin Phillips were heavily involved in the planning and organization of the event.

“Wyoming is a geologically interesting and diverse state, so UW has naturally been an epicenter for geological and energy expertise,” says Jackson. “It was such a pleasure to see UW’s presence and involvement at the annual meeting and share all of the important research being conducted in Wyoming on a national stage.”

Jackson, who serves on the board for the Geology and Society Division for GSA, and Phillips co-convened a Pardee Symposium titled, “Addressing Society’s Urgent Need for Critical Minerals: From Policy to Practice.” The session featured six speakers, a moderated panel discussion, and recorded addresses from U.S. Senators John Barrasso (Wyo.) and Joe Manchin (W. Va.).

They also co-chaired a technical session titled, “Critical Research on Critical Minerals in Western North America” which featured an additional Wyoming-based talk by Susan Swapp, UW Geology Department Senior Research Scientist Emerita, who presented “Magmatic Evolution of the Rattlesnake Hills Alkaline Complex and Implications for Rare Earth Enrichment.”

With much emphasis on the development of a domestic critical mineral and rare earth element supply, SER research scientists Bob Gregory presented a talk titled, “Rare Earth and Critical Element Relationships to Coal Deposit Lithologies in Southwest Wyoming and Northern Colorado,” while Grant Copeland presented, “Critical Mineral Resources Assessment of Coals from the Powder River Basin, Wyoming, USA.” Jackson provided an additional presentation in this subject area entitled, “The Potential for Reuse of Produced Water in Critical Minerals Supply Chain in the Power River Basin of Wyoming and Montana.”

UW students working on SER-related projects also presented at the GSA meeting.

— Doctoral candidate Sophia Stuart of Davis, Cali. presented a talk titled, “Critical Mineral Partitioning in Coal-Hosted Clays if the Powder River Basin, WY Determined by Sequential Extraction.”

— Masters candidate Emily Clinkscales of Coos Bay, Ore. presented a poster titled, “The Effects of Supercritical CO₂-Water-Rock Interactions on Porosity and Permeability in the Minnelusa Formation Carbonates of the Powder River Basin, WY.” 

— Masters candidate Victoria Konieczka of Sanford, Mich. presented a poster titled, “Geochemical Caprock Integrity and Metal Mobility from the Opeche Formation: A Red Bed Caprock for CO₂ Storage.”

— Doctoral candidate Ellen Polites of York, Penn. presented a talk titled, “The Full Picture of Rare Earth Element Mobilization in Loa Temperature Sedimentary Basins: Water, Rock, and Oil in the Big Horn Basin, Wyoming.”

Stuart, Clinkscales, Konieczka, and Polites are all part of the Kaszuba Research Group at UW and are advised by John Kaszuba, the University of Wyoming’s John and Jane Wold Centennial Chair in Energy and SER Professor of Geology and Geophysics.

Geology and Geophysics undergraduate students Miriam Wolfley of Afton Wyo. and Colby van Baal of Bailey, Colo. also presented research during the poster session. Van Baal is concurrently earning a minor in Energy Resource Management in SER.

“Our UW students are so incredibly talented so it was wonderful to see them present on important geological topics to Wyoming ranging from critical minerals to carbon storage,” adds Jackson. “The enthusiasm generated at this event is always inspiring. We are pleased to be leading the next generation of geological and energy expertise.”

Pictured: Co-conveners and speakers for the Pardee Symposium  Erin Phillips, Lily Jackson, Danielle Woodring, and Jim Heller.