Recently
I had the great opportunity to attend the Geoscience Society of America (GSA)
held in downtown Denver, Colorado. Before we decided to make the near six hour
trip to make it to the convention center we were told to write our experiences
we would have, what we would learn, and what we would take away from the
conference. This is my attempt to reflect my experiences while in Denver. Hope
you enjoy.
We all piled in the cars, half awake,
leaving trails of our breath in the morning air. After a little organization of
everyone Dr. Leite gave our van life and we pulled out of the Math and Science
parking lot. The van rumbled out of Chadron, Nebraska and we were off for our
four day lecture series. But, the talks would not start once we reached our
destination.
Almost as though the conversation was
written upon an itinerary, all of the passengers of the car began talking about
different fields of science. An orchestra of thoughts, ideas, experiences, and evidences of
different discussions that ranged from dinosaurs to the very tips of our
universe. I soon realized that while I was going to be listening to experts
from across the world speak on their specialties, I would also be having a sort
of warm up in this van that was seating max occupants. Listening to what fueled the imaginations, the child-like love of science, that everyone in that van shared.
Our discussions lead us into topics
that I had heard of, researched, and some of the impromptu lectures went so far
over my head that all I could do was listen and try to catch what I know. More
than likely, pass out on the seat in front of me to be unavoidably awoken by a
heated discussion or a pot hole that Dr. Leite could not avoid. This process
was recycled over and over with different discussions of many fields of science
until we could see dancing about the horizon Denver’s skyscrapers, fingers that
reached into the sky and played amongst the clouds.
After some traffic, a parking garage
that made us feel like a turn table with the many loops, and a quick walk we
were on the bottom floor. We crossed a few streets and train tracks and we were
out front. We were greeted by a large blue bear that was peeking into the
windows of the second floor of the conference center. This, of course, would be
our meeting spot for the duration of the event.
We all gathered together and proceeded
inside. We headed down a few stairs, walked to a booth that had our letter of
our last name, and were given a name tag, a bag, and an itinerary that was
larger than some of my textbooks for my courses. I thumbed my own book and
flipped through pages upon pages of lectures, events, and highlighted speakers.
A few moments I had found the lecture series and room that I would be calling
my classroom for the next few days.
After all of us had condensed from the
other vehicles and retrieved our items we made plans to meet up at the big blue
bear (of course) in a matter of hours. We split apart like bowling pins, flying
to all corners of the convention center. Each of us hunting the lectures that
interested us, and with the plethora of talks we had a lot to choose from.
To
some that was the Earth History and how the world had gotten to where it is
today. A few attending the talks of paleontology that show how the lives that
had come before us were born, lived, died, and preserved so that we may get to
see glimpses of the shadows of the stories they told. I had made my way to room
201 where the Interplanetary Sciences were discussing future applications that
will be used when mankind will one day reference Earth as our first home. One
or two went to lectures that were designed to inform the proper retrieval of
the resources and the black blood our world runs on: oil. Some still went to
lectures that were designed with the daunting, and apparently somewhat
controversial, task of opening the eyes of students to see all of these avenues
of life, and not just to know about them, but to understand them.
I
then proceeded down the corridors of the massive building to find the room that
I was looking for. I followed a barrage
of arrows with numbers above them, striding through halls with people on every
side, discussing the science of the world around us. I swam in the sound of
periodic clapping resonating all around me from the galleries of lecture rooms
that gave the ambience of a hard summer rain on a metal roof. I had finally
found my way into the projector lit room. A podium at the front of the sea of chairs of which around forty to fifty
people who sat, stood, and leaned to listen to what the man at the front was
saying.
The
first discussion that I got the honor to listen to was a study that was being
conducted to find exactly how much water was on the lunar surface. This is
paramount for supporting Human life and having a source of fuel to give life to
our means of transportation from one place to the other. The lectures that were
presented were only about twelve minutes long, while others in the large
ballrooms could take anywhere from half an hour to hours. However I don’t want
to diminish the scope of the other lecture rooms as they were also very great.
After the talks a few questions would be asked. These would range in the honest
question that were used to gain more information on the subject, to test the
speaker on his knowledge of his topic, or an out-right attack designed, not to
test the speaker, but to relieve him of all credibility and publicly humiliate
him or her.
Throughout
the days at the conference I attended lectures about the lunar saturation of
water, location, and harvesting. In other lecture series was the mapping of
interplanetary bodies and the formations such as volcanoes, meteor impacts, and
sedimentology. Some even went into the details of colonization projects and
bringing asteroids into Earth’s atmosphere for mining operations. Shortly after
were the effects of meteorite impacts on planets besides Earth and how to
characterize these sometimes super massive interplanetary explosions. Moons of
our galaxy and the effects of tidal forces, water sources, shielding from
meteorites, mineral gather, and so much more. I would continue, but I believe
that suffices in your understanding of how much of a science geek I am.
I
took a lot of knowledge from this college excursion to Denver to be a part of a
community that I could never have imagined. While the lectures were very
informative, for the most part, the people there were even more so. I have learned
a few things that I believe are important from the observation of the people
that attended this conference. As I walked from one lecture hall to another
during the breaks or sometimes just the monotony of a lecture in my room I
observed all of the men and women that were in attendance. This is what I have
gathered, broken down for your convenience.
1.) Geologists are the trending part of the
physical science department. I mean this not in the way that the department is
growing and is a large trend. No. I mean this in the sense that wherever I
looked 90% percent of the computers in use were Macs, plaid shirts comprised of
earth tones, and if you were a man you best have a beard, large brimmed hat,
long wavy hair, or dressed as though you just came down from camping on a
mountain. These men and women are the hipsters of the Physical Science
Departments.
2.) Members attending were wearing the same type
of clothing. As I was walking by men and women were swarming all around me I
thought I may be attending a showcase for North Face clothing line. The runway
being the conference in its entirety. Backpacks, coats, hats, lanyards, and
other garments all embroidered with the North Face logo to show that this man
or woman does not mess around when it comes to warmth and comfort amidst rock
collecting.
3.) Geologists love beer. This could not be more
evident than the fact that this was the 125th anniversary of the GSA
conference. How do you celebrate this? A nice wine? Maybe Champagne all around?
How about some whiskey to really get the night going?! Nope. The Field Assistant
was an ale that was created special for this event, and upon registering you
are given a certain number of beer tokens in order to receive this beer daily.
This was promptly thrown out the preverbal window as after the second day you
were allowed as many free beers, often times the server handing you one for
each hand. This led to some rather interesting conversations to be had amongst
the scientists there.
4.) But most importantly, the atmosphere was
thick with the rapid discussions, idea creation, sharing, and loving of the
scientific world. I have never been to such a place that I felt as though I was
more at home than in a conference center filled with nearly 15,000 strangers.
But
I was also honored to be able to share this experience with my professors and
friends old and some new. While in Denver we dined at some very interesting
places, had some heart to heart discussions, laughed at stories, and joined
together on new experiences. We even got to celebrate the 21st
birthday of one of our own to which that night will not be forgotten, I am
sure. From riding a bus to see where it
would end, to being mesmerized by the collection of exhibits at the Museum of
Nature and Science, to the discussions that went on until three in the morning
they were all cherished times that will not be shortly forgotten.
I
have to give thanks to Chadron State College for allowing me and
my fellow students to go on this professional journey. This involvement in a
community such as this has really shaped what I hope to do in the future and
shown me other directions that I can go once I graduate. Thank you to Dr. Leite
and Jen Balmat for chaperoning all of us crazy people and giving help when
needed. But a special thanks to everyone who went for shaping such fantastic
memories.
Best Regards
and Blessings of Fair Winds,
Nathan Pindell
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