Background Information:

The ISES Summer School brings together 6 invited experts and 22 participants for one week of theoretical and practical investigation of earth sciences approaches to determining dates, rates and states. The emphasis will be on integrating across disciplines, with mentoring from researchers who are applying innovative approaches, and building a peer network of individuals who share research interests in exhumation processes and the solid Earth sciences. The Faculty of the School will each provide an overview of their specialization area, using a combination of lectures, computer applications, textural analysis at the microscope, or hands-on demonstration.

Graduate student participants will gain experience with investigative approaches, technical and quantitative tools for research, and guidelines for developing a successful research program that incorporates contemporary tools for study of geochronology, thermochronology, material properties, and stress-strain states. Field excursions in the nearby Rocky Mountains will offer the means to discuss problems and implement field methods relevant to the course subject.

Integrated Solid Earth Sciences (ISES)

ISES was established to provide a community-wide forum for researchers in the fields of mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry, structural geology and tectonics. The mission of ISES is to implement change in the research and education culture in solid Earth sciences through communication and integration, and to stimulate community participation in defining the directions for the next generation of solid Earth research. The summer school program arises from the objective to develop alternative new opportunities for graduate education and training through close interaction with innovators whose research crosses traditional boundaries between disciplines and is suited to the contemporary environment of research and funding, with vast potential for active outreach to the public.

Graduate student participants will gain experience with investigative approaches, technical and quantitative tools for research, and guidelines for developing a successful research program that incorporates contemporary tools for study of exhumation processes. Field excursions to nearby Rocky Mountains destinations will offer the means to discuss and implement field methods relevant to the course subject.

Eligibility:

This Summer School is designed for graduate students in the final year of a PhD program; post-docs in the initial months of post-doctoral research; and faculty members from undergraduate institutions seeking to teach outside their area of expertise. Applications are particularly invited from qualified students of diverse backgrounds underrepresented in Earth sciences.

Participant Costs:

Participant costs for the summer school [faculty, enrollment, accommodation, and meals] are to be funded by ISES-Integrated Solid Earth Sciences, NSF EAR-0532406. Students will be responsible for the cost of transportation to/from Colorado College. It is possible that a contribution toward participant transportation will be provided after all operational costs have been met.

Application Procedure:

On-line application to include contact information, dissertation title and completion date, a statement of intent, and recommendations by one research advisor and one other referee. Individuals from diverse backgrounds and those who wish to contribute to the development of a new generation of diverse, globally-engaged Earth scientists are particularly encouraged to apply. Participants will be selected based on the review of the applicant pool by the Coordinators. Summer school topic will be announced soon with applications available on a determined date.

Format:

There will be eight classroom and practical sessions plus two field excursions during the week. The small size of the group and well-equipped academic facilities will promote close interaction between students and experts. Two time periods will be devoted to poster sessions when participants present results of their own research. Participants should plan to arrive by early evening on the starting date and to depart in the afternoon or evening on the closing date.

Accommodation and Board:

Campus accommodation in single room, apartment-style housing, with meals provided at Colorado College dining facilities. Information at:

Faculty of the School:

(Advisory and Organizational status): Pete Reiners (University of Arizona), Michele Cooke (University of Massachusetts), Bodo Bookhagen (University of California - Santa Barbara), Mike Williams (University of Massachusetts), Jean Braun, University of Rennes [France], John C. Weber, Grand Valley State University, Michigan, Basil Tikoff (University of Wisconsin), Christine Siddoway (Colorado College), Sandy Cruden (University of Toronto), Scott Johnson (University of Maine), Donna Whitney (University of Minnesota), Art Snoke (University of Wyoming), Peter Koons (University of Maine), Shari Kelley (New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources), Barbara Carrapa (University of Wyoming).

Kyanite pseudomorphed by prismatic sillimanite, surrounded in turn by haloes of spinel (+ corundum + sapphirine + anorthite + cordierite) and cordierite (Thor-Odin dome, British Columbia; Goergen et al., in review)

Photomicrograph of garnet-lawsonite blueschist from Sivrihisar, Turkey (Whitney & Davis, 2006, Geology, 34, 473-476). Field of view = 4 mm.