Don Woodrow ‘57: Woodrow earned his Ph.D. at the University of Rochester, he taught geology at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York for thirty-six years. During that time, he and Bill Ahrnsbrak founded the Geoscience Department. He worked at the USGS in Menlo Park for about fifteen years generating publications on sediment cores from the San Francisco Bay. For about ten years, he taught an introductory geology course at Berkeley City College.
Lynn Brant ‘64 ‘71g ‘80g: Brant graduated three times from Penn State; 1964 with a B.S. in geosciences, 1971 with an M.S. in geology, and 1980 with a D.Ed. in earth science. He retired from the University of Northern Iowa in 2007 but is still doing research.
Ihor A. Kunasz ‘68 ‘70g: Kunasz earned his Ph.D. researching the lithium deposit in Clayton Valley, Nevada (the first brine deposit from which lithium carbonate was produced). As chief geologist, he has spent more than forty years in the lithium industry exploring and evaluating all world pegmatites and brines. He was awarded the prestigious Hardinge Award from the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers. Retired, he has submitted a book for publication The Lore of Lithium covering all aspects of lithium from discovery to the electric car.
John Bender ‘72: Bender graduated with an M.S. degree in geochemistry. His adviser was Darryl Kerrick and upon graduating he took a lectureship position in geology at Winthrop College in Rock Hill, South Carolina. After three years at Winthrop, he left to pursue his doctorate at SUNY Stony Brook and graduated with a Ph.D. in geochemistry in 1980 and was hired as an assistant professor of earth sciences at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1982. He retired in 2015 professor emeritus.
Ray Wells ‘72: Wells retired from the USGS in Portland, Oregon in 2016 but has been rehired for a seismic hazard study of a nearby Bureau of Reclamation dam. At the GSA Annual meeting in October 2022, Wells presented the Woollard lecture and received the George P. Woollard Award from the Geophysics and Geodynamics Section for the application of geophysics to geologic problems.
Daniel S. Dunmire ‘75: Dunmire retired in November 2020 after twenty-five years as district manager for the Mifflin County Conservation District in Pennsylvania. During that time his priorities were stream restoration in ag-impaired watersheds, non-point pollution abatement, farmland preservation, stream assessments, and environmental education.
Jim Anspach ‘77: Anspach was elected to the National Academy of Construction this summer. He is a distinguished member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and is the founding governor and 2018 president of the Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute. He is currently an affiliate assistant professor at Iowa State University where he is creating the first Utility Engineering graduate curriculum in the country.
Colm Chomicky ‘77: Chomicky, who earned his B.S. in geology in 1977, retired in July 2017 after twenty-eight years with Burns & McDonnell Engineering in Kansas City. A professional engineer and registered geologist, he also has a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He and his wife Judy, sons Matthew and Sean, continue to reside in Kansas City.
Kent Newsham ‘78: Newsham was named an Oxy Fellow, Occidental Petroleum’s highest technical position, in petrophysics in 2022. He is currently global chief of petrophysics and senior director of subsurface characterization at Occidental Petroleum in Houston, Texas. He is a proud member of the 1977 “Wallopsters” Alumni.
Dave McCarren ‘79: McCarren retired in July 2022 as the chief scientist for the Oceanographer of the Navy. His time included twenty years of uniformed service and thirteen years in federal service.
Stephen Howe ‘81: Howe worked for thirty-eight years as a research geochemist for the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Vermont, Northwestern University, and the University at Albany. He retired in October 2019. He lives in Vermont with his wife and daughter where he enjoys leading occasional geological field trips for local organizations and hiking in the woods behind his home.
James Pinta, Jr. ‘81: Pinto had a great career in geology (registered Professional Geologist in Pennsylvania and North Carolina) culminating with his last employment as vice president in Geological Sciences for Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. He taught at both LaRoche University and Duquesne University as an adjunct professor for twenty years. He has been retired for seven years and he is proud to wear his Penn State polos on golf courses in Pittsburgh and Palm Springs, California.
Timothy Demko ‘83: Demko is retired after twenty years with ExxonMobil in Houston, Texas. He is now working as a geologist for the Bureau of Land Management in Phoenix, Arizona.
Carolyn Ng ‘83: Ng is a contractor and an informal education specialist with the NASA Heliophysics Education Activation Team (NASA HEAT). Part of her job is to support NASA Headquarters in two upcoming celestial events. On Saturday, October 14, 2023, an annular solar eclipse will cross eight states and on Monday, April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will trace a narrow path in thirteen states. Outside of the paths of annularity and totality, everyone will see partial eclipses.
Gary Gittis ‘83: Gittis is the president of the Downingtown Area Education Association and vice president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association Southeastern Region. He is now in his thirty-third year of teaching.
Andy Phelps ‘83 ‘87g ‘90g: Phelps retired to Fond Du Lac, WI. Will White was his graduate adviser for two of his degrees.
Sharon Locke ‘84: Locke was elected vice chair of the International GeoScience Education Organization.
Gary E. Thompson ‘87: Thompson retired in February 2020 from federal service at the Defense Mapping Service, the National Intelligence and Mapping Agency and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency after thirty plus years.
Dan Leppold ‘93 ‘05g: Leppold is a ninth grade earth science teacher as well as a twelfth grade advanced geology teacher at Spring-Ford Area High School. He recently published a children’s book based on true events from his farm just south of Reading, Pennsylvania. The story is about the real relationships that his cat has with critters like chipmunks and frogs. He has been donating copies to Little Free Libraries in Reading and New York City. Also, one of his former students put one in the Penn State’s Little Free Library.
Keith Saroka ‘93: Saroka is entering his thirtieth year of teaching middle school science in the Interboro School District in Pennsylvania and his twentieth year as Middle School Science Department Head.
Greg Baker ‘01: Baker started his own geotechnical and environmental drilling company, Allprobe Environmental Inc., seventeen years ago. His most influential professor was Dr. Parizek, professor emeritus of geosciences, and fortunately he was able to spend a lot of time in the field with him studying the Living Filter, mine seeps, sink holes, and municipal water supply wells.
Abrar Alabbad ‘11: Alabbad is currently a Ph.D. candidate at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Saudi Arabia and she is the first female Ph.D. student in KFUPM’s College of Petroleum Engineering & Geosciences.