Page 16 - Eureka-2013

Earth Sceinces

Professor Claudia Schroder-Adams led a student group to Antarctica in the winter of 2011 and plans to return with another student group in December of
2013. In 2009, she led a group that visited this slate mine below in Switzerland as part of a field trip to Germany and Switzerland.

The department continues to grow, and
today, Patterson says, enrolment is at its
highest.
Cousens adds that students used
to transfer to earth sciences in their
second year, but more are enrolling in
their first year at Carleton. He says that
he started noticing a spike in interest in
earth sciences when it became a topic
of news headlines.
“The year enrolment really jumped
was after the 2004 tsunami in
Indonesia. It was in the news for
months, and that had an impact on
people,” Cousens says. “And since then
there was the earthquake in Japan,
and Hurricane Katrina. These are
geological problems.” He adds that
while Hurricane Katrina was pushed by
a weather system, he believes it showed
potential students the importance of
Patterson says the types of jobs (PDAC), which represents the interests learning earth sciences.
available for earth sciences students of the mineral exploration and “New Orleans will never be above sea
are often highly paid in the mining and development industry in Canada, has level again, and the next hurricane will
petroleum exploration industry, and its annual conference bringing together flood New Orleans again,” Cousens says.
they are also able to get summer work more than 30,000 professionals and “It’s a geological problem, and there’s
while in school. “Earth sciences is the students. Bell says the conference gives no solution. These events have been
only discipline where you can come out students a great chance to connect with in the news a long time, and I think it
with a four-year degree, and be hired as industry professionals and network. captured students’ interest.”
a professional geologist,” he says. “You “Students go down to get jobs, and From Professor Hooper’s early
can come out and go straight to work they can tap into different mining days of the four-person faculty in the
as a professional. That’s something companies,” he says. Department of geology, to the ever-
unique.” Patterson adds that students have growing department of earth sciences
As the earth sciences program at unique networking opportunities at this today, Patterson believes it will just
Carleton is a tight-knit community, so event that students in other fields might keep getting stronger.
is the professional world of geologists. not have access to. “You’ll have the CEO “We are very proud of what we do,
Every year, the Prospectors and of the company talking to students,” and I think we have a bright future
Developers Association of Canada he says. “They’re networking at a high ahead of us,” he says.
level.”

16 Summer 2013