Keck Geological Consortium
The Keck Geology Consortium is focused on enriching undergraduate education through development of high-quality research experience.
Oberlin is a member of the Keck Geology Consortium, a pioneer in undergraduate scientific research. The consortium is composed of 18 member colleges dedicated to excellence in undergraduate education, offering students comprehensive and rigorous educational opportunities that promote intellectual growth, integrity, responsibility, and a sense of both individuality and membership in community.
The consortium has been a fundamental component of the undergraduate research landscape for 25 years, supporting about 1,200 students from more than 80 schools across the nation.
"Keck" has a tangible meaning in the geoscience community: talented students gaining field experience supported by dedicated master teachers. Oberlin’s membership in the consortium entitles two Oberlin students a year the opportunity to participate in Keck-sponsored summer research.
Keck offers two different types of summer research experiences: Gateway Projects which are aimed at students early in their geology careers (after their first or second year), and Advanced Projects for rising seniors.
2012 F. Zeb Page & Emily Walsh (Cornell College):
"Metasomatism and the Tectonics of Santa Catalina Island: Testing New and Old Models"
2015/2016
Ashley Ratigan (Advisor: Karla Hubbard): "δ13C and δ15N analysis of Torok and Nanushuk formation mudstones at Slope Mountain, Alaska"
Elena Robakiewicz (Advisor: Karla Hubbard): "Pliocene diatom abundance as proxy for temperature in the Weddell Sea: ODP site 697"
2014/2015
Gabriela Garcia (Advisor: Dennis K. Hubbard): "Quantifying the micro- and macro- boring communities in coral gardens, Belize"
Willa Rowan (Advisor: Andrew Horst): "Comparing the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility of natural and experimental lava flows"
2013/2014
Catherine Dunn (Advisor: Amanda Schmidt): "A case study of storm deposition in Littleville Lake, Huntington, MA"
2012/2013
Nicollette Buckle (Advisor: K. Parsons-Hubbard): "Biogeochemical carbon cycling in fluvial systems from bivalve shell geochemistry: Using the modern to understand the past"
Henry Towbin (Advisor: F.Z. Page): "Metasomatism and the tectonics of Santa Catalina Island, California