Mark Bronston created the Mark and Carolyn Bronston Summer Geology Field Camp Scholarship
to help geology students defray the cost of attending the summer field camp. He knows
all too well how difficult it can be to work and attend school simultaneously.
“The one problem with going to field camp was that it required a considerable period of time during the summer where it restricted my ability to work and make money for school,” says Bronston. “I thought if there’s one thing I could do that might help students, it would be to provide a scholarship for them so that the tuition and other expenses wouldn’t be as substantial a burden.”
Distributions from the fund are used to make annual scholarship grants for up to six geology and geophysics majors enrolled in the geology summer field camp. Applicants provide two letters of recommendation from faculty and, if possible, one letter from an employer. Students are selected 75% on academic merit and 25% on financial need.
The geology summer field camp is a 6-credit-hour course that begins May 16 and continues through June 28. The field course is comprehensive and is nationally recognized as providing a comprehensive introduction to geologic field techniques. The course develops skills of observation and interpretation while teaching the technical aspects of field mapping, stratigraphic interpretation, and structural analysis.
Preparation of maps, stratigraphic charts, geologic cross sections, and reports is a critical part of the course. The roving style of the camp also allows participants to gain perspective on the regional relationships of the central Rocky Mountain area while developing these technical skills.
The course takes UW students to Utah, Seminoe Reservoir, Wind River Canyon, and Thermopolis hot springs. The final week of the field course challenges students with a final mapping project. The goal is to map an area where the geologic relationships vary from simple to complex and exposures range from good to poor. Here, students will be required to work independently to observe, map, and interpret the geology. Ample opportunity is given to demonstrate skills learned previously.
Mark graduated from UW with a bachelor’s in geology with an emphasis in geophysics in 1979. Previously, he had attended the University of Kansas, where he planned to major in history, but after a trip to Laramie, he fell in love with the area. He was in the process of changing his major to geology, and felt that the University of Wyoming was the perfect place to attain his degree.
“The thing that really cemented it for me was after I took my first geology course, which was Historical Geology from Professor Donald Boyd,” explains Bronston. “He was such a great professor that he really set the hook. It wasn’t the easiest class I ever took but it was certainly one of the most inspiring.”
After graduation, Bronston worked for Amoco Production Company in Denver, then in 1984, he went to work on his own. When the oil industry crashed in 1986, he took a job in Alaska working for Western Gold Exploration and Mining Corporation, a joint venture between Minorco and Inspiration Mining working on placer and hard-rock gold exploration projects. While there, he was encouraged by his management team to go back to school to get his Ph.D., which he earned from the University of Mississippi in 1994 in Geological Engineering.
Bronston then moved to Texas and re-entered the oil industry where he took a job with Lake Ronel Oil Company and became Vice President of Exploration. In 2008, he moved to Houston to become Director of Exploration with Legends Exploration, LP.
He owes his success in his field to the education he received from UW: “It was absolutely critical to my career and gave me a very robust fundamental background. In those days, we had some tremendous professors. Those of us that graduated from UW at that time were very well prepared for a career in industry.”
Bronston has fond memories of his time at UW and participating in the geology summer field camp. He wanted to be able to give back to students and help them get a great education and be prepared for their careers.
“I’ve always told people, ‘if you can’t study geology at the University of Wyoming, I have no idea where you can do it,’” says Bronston. “It’s in the middle of the world’s greatest geological laboratory.”
Photo:
Students at the geology summer field camp.
