LSSU Alumni, Geology Professor Publishes Research

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – Lewis Brown, professor of geology at Lake Superior State University, and LSSU alumna Cammy Bright, Sault Ste. Marie, have collaborated with two other authors to publish research that was presented this month at the National Geological Society of America Conference in Boston.

Bright, the lead author of the publication, is an LSSU geology graduate who is now pursuing a master’s degree in geology at University of Missouri-Columbia. Co-authors include Tim Lyons, who is Bright’s advisor at UM-C, and Carl Rexroad of the Indiana Geological Survey. The title of the publication is Rare-earth element analysis of biogenic (conodont) apatite: Desmoinesian (Middle Pennsylvanian) and Missourian (Upper Pennsylvanian), Midcontinent, USA.

“This is my first publication in geochemistry of conodonts and I have more planned with Cammy and Tim Lyons,” said LSSU’s Brown. “The future work, to be completed this year, will interpret oxygen isotopes derived from conodonts to reconstruct middle Pennsylvanian paleoclimates from New Mexico, Illinois Basin, the midcontinent, and Spain. This is a major part of the work for my National Geographic grant of several years ago.”

Brown and Rexroad have worked with LSSU students for more than a decade on similar geology research projects. The center of their research has been with conodonts, the microscopic, hard-part, fossilized remains of primitive, jawless fish that lived approximately 510 to 240 million years ago. Brown said conodont remains are useful in resolving geological problems such as when a set of rocks was deposited at a site, and in what environmental setting the rocks formed.

LSSU students working with Brown gain experience by working with geological specimens in real projects, plus they get a chance at publishing various research projects stemming from their work. Many students incorporate the research in their ‘senior project,’ a requirement for graduation.

For more information on geology at LSSU, call Admissions, 888-800-LSSU, ext. 2231. More information on research by Brown and co-worker Paul Kelso, associate professor of geology, are available through the LSSU website, lssu.edu, by clicking on the Academics link.