important news for student advisors in paleo

[Alan Blake Coulson <abcoulso@unity.ncsu.edu>]

Hello all- As the calendar year barrels on, we'll soon be at the point
where students, both graduate and undergraduate, will be filing
applications to continue their education. For the last nine years, North
Carolina State University has been accepting applications from students
interested in conducting research steeped in stable isotope analysis of
fossil materials and/or paleoecological issues, particularly pertaining to
the Mesozoic. However, starting this Fall, the landscape of NCSU paleo
will be very different. After a long and fruitful career, Dr. Dale Russell
is retiring. He has many planns for staying active academically, but his
role at NCSU will be kept to a minimum. Furthermore, Dr. Reese Barrick has
been cut loose by the department. Thus, there will be no one at NCSU doing
stable isotope research of fossils, so students interested in this field
should look to other academic programs. NCSU still has a nice isootope lab
facility, but its director has no paleontological background and is not
interested in paleo projects.
        NCSU will still have paleo faculty; Dr. Mary Schweitzer and Dr.
Julia Clarke have both been given tenure track positions. Dr. Schweitzer's
position begins this fall, and Dr. Clarke's begins in January of 2004.
Both are extremely capable and competent researchers, and students
interested in their research fields (paleo-molecular biology and avian
morphology/phylogeny, respectively), should contact them to see when they
will be ready to consider taking on students. For undergraduates, there
will no longer be an Earth Systems History Concentration that can be
added to their degree (it will be a regular Geology BS). Several paleo
courses are still listed in the course catalog, but it might be prudent to
check with Dr. Schweitzer and/or Dr. Clarke to determine which classes
will be saved, added, or deleted from the paleo curriculum.
        Please keep this information in mind when advising students as to
where they should apply. The application procedure can be tedious,
expensive, and nerve-racking, and I would hate for students to go through
the entire process only to learn that NCSU is no longer invested in
paleoecology or isotopic work, or have someone interested in avians or
paleo-biomolecules not realize they could have applied here to work with
the new faculty members.
        Thank you,
        Alan Coulson
Alan Blake Coulson
3921-B Marcom St
Raleigh NC 27606
abcoulso@unity.ncsu.edu
PhD student at North Carolina State University