Susan Brantley

• Recipient of the Dr. Hubert Barnes and Dr. Mary Barnes Professorship in Geosciences
• Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Derek Elsworth

• Selected as the inaugural G. Albert Shoemaker Chair in Mineral Engineering

Brad Foley

• NSF Career Award

Katherine Freeman

• Recipient of the 2021 Arthur L. Day Medal from GSA

Tanya Furman

• Elected president of theEducation Section of the American Geophysical Union

Elizabeth Hajek

• Appointed Associate Department Head for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
• President-elect of the Society for Sedimentary Geology

Kimberly Lau

• Recipient of the 2021 the GSA Geobiology and Geomicrobioloogy Division Award

Jennifer Macalady

• Appointed director of Penn State’s Ecology Institute

Michael Mann

• Long-listed, Wainwright Prize for “The New Climate War”
• Honorary Doctorate of Science, Bard College
• Leo Szilard Lectureship Award from the American Physical Society

Andrew Smye

• NSF Career Award

Christelle Wauthier

• NSF Career Award

Timothy White

• Elected as a Fellow of Geological Society of America

John (Jack) Crook ’81 Crook retired as senior vice president of Diversifed Gas & Oil. He was an Earth Sciences major and is now enjoying retirement, camping and golf.

Daniel Hummer ’10 Hummer is currently a professor of geology at Southern Illinois University. He recently assisted in designing a permanent exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in New York showing the evolution of minerals from the big bang to the present.

Kent Newsham ’78 Newsham was selected to be in the inaugural class of fellows at Occidental. His new title is Oxy Fellow, Worldwide Chief Petrophysicist. He is also on the Technical Advisory Board and the Technical Reserves Review team.

George Veni ’94 Veni is the executive director of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute and president of the International Union of Speleology (UIS), which functions as the United Nations of countries conducting cave exploration and science. He is currently engaged deeply in the biggest cave and karst project ever: the International Year of Caves and Karst. This is a global effort to reach and teach people about the many values of caves and karst that everyone benefits from, and it is being organized by the UIS.  

Alumni Passings

• Dr. Paul B. Barton, Jr., ’52
• Mr. Edward H. Boyle, Jr., ’75
• Dr. Robert C. DeVries, ’53
• Karl E. Francis, Ph.D., ’59
• Mr. Charles H. Grenot Jr., ’87
• Dr. Charles A. Landis Jr., ’61
• Mr. Gregory L. Leitzel, ’80
• Dr. Floyd E. Miller, Jr., ’64
• Dr. Robert N. Miller, ’77
• Mr. James G. Palacas, ’57
• Jeffrey R. Parsons, Ph.D., ’61
• Mr. Daniel E. Popovich, ’65
• Dr. Della M. Roy, ’49
• Mr. James A. Schad, ’75
• Dr. Chester M. Smith, Jr., ’59
• Mr. Donald A. Smith, ’56
• Mr. Frederick C. Teti, ’84
• Ms. Kathy West, ’88  
•  

• Dr. and Mrs. Richard B. Alley
• Mr. Lance C. Anderson
• Mr. Charles E. Angerman
• Mr. and Mrs. Joseph W. Berg
• Dr. Susan Bilek and Dr. Glenn Spinelli
• Mr. Claude E. Bolze and Mrs. Deborah K. Fontana
• Mr. and Mrs William A. Bragonier
• Dr. Timothy J. Bralower and Ms. Mary Lee Kerr
• Mr. Donald Campbell and Ms. Cindy Bosco
• Ms. Karen Rasmussen Campbell
• Mr. and Mrs. Joseph S. Campisi Jr.
• Dr. Ellen P. Chamberlin
• Mr. Robert M. Cohen and Ms. Karen L. Stierman
• Mr. and Mrs. Bruce G. Crocker
• Dr. and Mrs. Randall T. Cygan
• Dr. and Mrs. W. Brian Dade
• Dr. John M. Darcy, II
• Dr. Anil Deshpande
• Mrs. Ruth Rapp Donaldson
• Mr. and Ms. John N. Dougherty
• Mr. James A. Doutt
• Mr. and Mrs. Mark S. Elson
• James A. Ewart Jr. Ph.D.
• Dr. and Mrs. Timothy Folkomer
• Mr. and Mrs. Raymond M. Follador
• Dr. Kevin P. Furlong
• Mr. and Ms. Kevin Gallagher
• Drs. Lawrence and Lisa Garmezy
• Mr. Robert Glazier Jr. and Ms. Azita Farjam
• Ms. Judith Gray
• Dr. Albert L. Guber
• Dr. Weixing Guo and Ms. Yuejih Xue
• Dr. and Mrs. John H.Guswa
• Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Hershey
• Dr. and Mrs. John W. Hess
• Dr. Roberta M. Hotinski
• Drs. Christopher H. and Chloe J. House
• Dr. and Mrs. David W. Houseknecht
• Mr. and Mrs. Stephen S. Howe
• Dr. Barbara Howell Raphael
• Mr. and Mrs. Gary A. Hummel
• Drs. Jacqueline Huntoon and Chris L. Wojick
• Dr. David M. Jenkins
• Mrs. Janet C. Kappmeyer and Mr. Andrew M. Isaacs
• Dr. and Mrs. John J. Kelley
• Knopf Family Foundation, Inc.
• Mr. Lawrence G. Kodosky
• Mr. and Mrs. Garry M. Kramchak
• Mr. and Mrs. John A. Lease
• Dr. Earle S. Lenker
• Mr. and Mrs. Timothy A. Leon Guerrero
• Mr. James L. McNett
• Mr. and Mrs. Timothy B. Mullen
• Dr. Ralph H. Nafziger
• Mr. Wayne M. Narr
• Mrs. Kimberly A. Neely and Allen P. Neely, Esq.
• Ms. Helen Ngai and Mr. Douglas Oare
• Ms. Nancy L. Niemann
• Mr. Tye J. Numelin
• Dr. and Mrs. Hiroshi Ohmoto
• Dr. and Mrs. Allison R. Palmer
• Dr. and Mrs. Gregory B. Pavlin
• Dr. Robert J. Pottorf and Ms. Christine A. Schmitz
• Mr. William G. Rauschenberger
• Mr. and Mrs. Thomas K. Reeves, Jr.
• Mrs. Linda Turnley Reif
• Dr. Brandt A. and Mrs Rising
• Drs. John H. and Virginia Bramble Vincenti
• Dr. and Mrs. Robert T. Ryder
• Dr. and Mrs. Stephen L. Salyards
• Dr. and Mrs. Martin A. Schoonen
• Dr. and Mrs. Stephen O. Sears
• Mr. and Mrs. Irvin C. Shambaugh, Jr.
• Mrs. Dana Shank
• Mr. and Mrs. James R. Small
• Dr. and Mrs. Robert C. Smith, II
• Mr. and Mrs. Keith R. Sweitzer
• Mr. and Mrs. Matthew R. Swider
• Mr. and Mrs. Roy Taylor
• Mr. Mark R. Ulrich
• Mr. Timothy D. Watson and Ms. Courtney Wade
• Dr. and Mrs. John W. Washington
• Mr. and Mrs. John M. Weaver
• Mr. and Mrs. Barry L. Weinman
• Dr. Matthew L. Werner, III
• Dr. and Mrs. William E. Wertz
• Dr. Timothy S. White
• Dr. Richard T. Wilkin
• Ms. Sally Griffiths Zinke  

Note: This list is the compilation of contributiins received between July 1, 2020 thru June 30, 2021

• Alley Family Graduate Scholarship in the Department of Geosciences
• Arthur P. Honess Memorial Award
• Baker Hughes Natural Gas Research Fund
• Barry Voight Volcano Hazards Endowment in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
• Barton P. Cahir Award Endowment in Earth and Mineral Sciences
• Benjamin F. Howell, Jr. Award in Geosciences
• Bruce Miller Scholarship in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
• Cannon Family Graduate Symposium Award in Geosciences
• Charles E. Knopf, Sr. Memorial Scholarship
• Chesapeake Energy Corporation Annually Funded Scholarship in Geosciences
• Daniel and Deborah Stephens First-Time Endowed Scholarship
• David M. Demshur Undergraduate Research Endowment in Geosciences
• David M. Diodato Geosciences Fund
• David P. “Duff” Gold Undergraduate Scholarship Fund in Geosciences
• Donald B. and Mary E. Tait Scholarship in Microbial Biogeochemistry
• Dr. David E. W. Vaughan and Mrs. Julianne S. Vaughan
• Field Camp Fund in the Department of Geosciences
• Earle S. Lenker Fund for Field Studies in Geology
• Edwin L. Drake Memorial Scholarship
• Frank and Lillie Mae Dachille Memorial Award in Geochemistry
• Fund for Excellence in Lithospheric Geodynamics in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
• General Scholarship Endowment in Geosciences
• George L. Ellis Scholarship
• Geosciences Enrichment Fund
• Geosciences Research Fund In Honor of Hiroshi Ohmoto
• Heller Marcellus Shale Research Initiative Endowment
• Hiroshi and Koya Ohmoto Graduate Fellowship in Geosciences
• James and Nancy Hedberg Scholarship in Geosciences
• Janet C. Kappmeyer and Andrew M. Isaacs Experiential Learning Fund in Marine Sciences in the Department of Geosciences
• Jesse A. Miller Trustee Matching Scholarship in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
• John and Elizabeth Holmes Teas Scholarship Fund
• John C. and Nancy Griffiths Scholarship in Geosciences
• Joseph Berg Award for Undergraduate Research in Geosciences
• Julie and Trem Smith Family Undergraduate Scholarship
• Kappmeyer-Isaacs Field Camp Award
• Kent and Helen Newsham Geosciences Endowment in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
• Lattman Visiting Scholar of Science and Society Endowment
• Maureen and Dennis Maiorino Undergraduate Scholarship in the Department of Geosciences
• Michael G. Loudin Trustee Scholarship in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
• Michael Loudin Family Graduate Scholarship in Geosciences in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
• Newsham Family Undergraduate Scholarship
• Open Flow Gas Supply Corporation Endowed Program Fund in Geosciences
• Perez Family Undergraduate Scholarship
• Petroleum Geosystems Enrichment Fund
• Pottorf Endowment for Graduate Excellence in Geosciences
• R.J. Cuffey Fund for Paleontology
• RADS Equipment Fund for Field Studies in Penn State Sedimentary Geology
• Reif Undergraduate Summer Field Camp Endowment
• Richard B. and Cynthia R. Alley Faculty Enhancement Program Fund
• Richard R. Parizek Endowment for Field Study in Geosciences
• Richard R. Parizek Graduate Fellowship
• Richard Standish Good Graduate Scholarship in the Department of Geosciences
• Robert F. Schmalz Award in the Department of Geosciences
• Ronald A. Landon Endowment in Hydrogeology
• Rudy L. Slingerland Early Career Professorship in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
• Scholten-Williams-Wright Scholarship in Field Geology
• South Jersey Resources Group Endowed Program Fund in Geosciences
• St. Mary Land and Exploration Endowed Program Fund in Geosciences
• The Paul D. Krynine Memorial Fund
• Thomas F. Bates Undergraduate Research Enhancement Fund for Geosciences in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
• Thomas Kenneth (T.K.) Reeves, Jr. Family Scholarship
• Timothy and Courtney Watson Undergraduate Scholarship in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
• Timothy B. and Cindy Lynch Mullen Scholarship in Geosciences
• Timothy D. Watson Fund in Geosciences

 Carl F. Aquino - EMS Graduate Fellows for Science Advocacy and Diversity (EMS-GFSAD)

Adam Benfield - LacCore Visiting Graduate Student Program • R. J. Cuffey Fund for Paleontology

Julia Carr - George H. K. Schenck Teaching Assistant

Fai Chanchai - On to the Future Award (GSA)

Si Chen - Mineralogical Society of America Grant in Crystallography from the Edward H. Kraus Crystallographic Research Fund

Katie Horisk - Honorable Mention NSF Graduate Research Fellowship • Elsevier Organic Geochemistry Research Scholarship

Kirsty Mckenzie - Outstanding Student Presentation Award (OSPA) at AGU 2021

Sierra Melton - First Place in the Physical Sciences and Mathematics category of the Penn State Graduate Exhibition 2021 • NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium Graduate Fellowship

Esther Munoz - Nominated for the Sloan Fellowship • president of the Penn State Chapter of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), which received the 2021 Outstanding Marketing award from Penn State’s Student Affairs.

Karen Pham - Fulbright Research Grant (Oslo, Norway)

Garrett Shepherd - Marathon Alumni Centennial Graduate Fellowship • Shell Geosciences Energy Research Facilitation Award • Paleontological Society Stephen Jay Gould Student Research Award

Kirsten Stephens - Penn State ICDS Virtual Symposium 2020, 1st place Virtual Poster, Fall 2020 • vVMSG Annual Meeting 2021, 2nd place Talk presentation, Spring 2021

 Alley Family Graduate Scholarship: Kathleen Grosswiler, Sierra Melton

Chevron Scholarship: Benjamin Barnes, Charlotte Connop, Chanel Deane

The Michael Loudin Family Graduate Scholarship in Geosciences: Claire Cleveland, Copeland Cromwell, Victor Garcia, Judit Gonzalez Santana, Kaitlyn Horisk, Sofia Johnson

Krynine Memorial Award: Raphael Affinito, Shelby Bowden, Watsawan Chanchai, Si Chen, Dongyoun Chung, Charlotte Connop, Kaelie Contreras, Chanel Deane, Michael Forgeng, Victor Garcia, Kathleen Grosswiler, Gabriella Harris, Emma Hartke, Machel Higgins, Kayla Irizarry, Ian Lee, Zi Xian Leong, Sierra Melton, Hailey Mundell, Youki Sato, Emily Schwans, Samuel Shaheen, Andrew Shaughnessy, Garrett Shepherd, Alexander Thames

Hiroshi and Koya Ohmoto Graduate Fellowship: Watsawan Chanchai, Kathleen Grosswiler, Kayla Irizarry, Hanna Leapaldt

Marathon Alumni Centennial Graduate Fellowship: Youki Sato, Garrett Shepherd

Richard R. Parizek Graduate Fellowship: Adam Benfield, Julia Carr, Samuel Shaheen

Scholten-Williams-Wright Scholarship in Field Geology: Charlotte Connop

Shell Geoscience Energy Research Facilitation Award: Raphael Affinito, Benjamin Barnes, Shelby Bowden, Troy Ferland, Youki Sato, Junzhu Shen, Garrett Shepherd

Richard Standish Good Graduate Scholarship: Claire Webster

Donald B. and Mary E. Tait Scholarship in Microbial Biogeochemistry: Hanna Leapaldt, Samuel Shaheen, Claire Webster

Barry Voight Endowment: Shelby Bowden

Joseph Berg Award for Undergraduate Research in Geosciences: Olivia Budnovitch, Emmy Gardner, Joshua Karas, Arnav Lund, Angelina Santamaria, Faith Wotorson

Barton P. Cahir Award: Maya Kita

Frank Dachille Memorial Award in Geochemistry: Asala Al-Wadhahi, Yurik McCray

David M. Demshur Undergraduate Research Endowment: Abra Gold, Ryan Kratzinger

Edwin L. Drake Memorial Scholarship: Dana Bloomfield, Cameron Brown, Michelle Burns, Austin Dilla, Raquel Ellis, Ryan Kindelberger, Qianyi Lu, Oliver Marra, Kelly O’Donnell, Eddie Spagnuolo, Nichloas Walter, Matt Wileyto, Aimee Zimmerman, Elliot Zou

General Scholarship Endowment in Geosciences: Devon Chenot, Timothy Kuklis, Ethan Lionetti, Garrett Paley, Victoria Paul, Zachary Taylor, Amanda Urist

David P. “Duff” Gold Undergraduate Scholarship Fund: Bradly Crouthamel, David Early, Eric Kratzinger, Kenneth Wasiulewski

John C. and Nancy Griffiths Scholarship: Neel Bishop, Emma Cox, Kathleen McGowan, Ali Wicks

James and Nancy Hedberg Scholarship: Thomas Baney, Amanda Bassett, Samuel Dikeumunna, Matthew Felici, Caroline Newman, Isabella Plotkin, Hunter Reeves, Edward Spagnuolo, Megan Vinella

Arthur P. Honess Memorial Fund: Renan Beckman, Halina Dingo, Gabriel Felker, Logan Fowler, Robert Hull, Thomas Lutz, Madeline Murtaugh, Ryan Orlowski, Sarah Perez, Sunday Siomades

Benjamin F. Howell, Jr., Award: Hannah Luckenbaugh, Margaret Maenner, Molly McHale, Luke Stoey, Allysa Temple

Kappmeyer-Isaacs Field Camp Award: Sarah Lehman, Ryan Kratzinger, Molly Mchale

Ronald A. Landon Endowment in Hydrogeology: Cassandra Barcz, Katerina Wood

Maureen and Dennis Maiorino Undergraduate Scholarship: Courtney Aubain, Anna Lee, Jacob Manion, Kacper Orpik, Alysha Ulrich, Riley Wian

Timothy and Cindy Mullen Scholarship in Geosciences: Abdulaziz Almansour, Joe Barbusca, Robin Carbaugh, Ryan Orlowski

Perez Family Undergraduate Scholarship: Raquel Ellis

Reif Undergraduate Summer Field Camp Endowment: Cissy Ming, Nancy Weinheimer

Rober F. Schmalz Award: Sarah Davis, Riley Foster, Eathan Gottshall, Jiahao Guo, Jacob Irwin, Justin McGowan, Hrishi Mohan, Riley Paul-Cook, Connor Russell, Seamus Smith

Julie and Trem Smith Family Undergraduate Scholarship: Raquel Ellis

Daniel and Deborah Stephens First-Time Endowed Scholarship: Sabrina Blacklock, Tom Delaney, Audrey Gonzalez, Kurt McAuliffe, Emma Rose, Samantha Rowe, Ben Smith

John and Elizabeth Holmes Teas Scholarship Fund: Cameron Brown, Taylor Rosen, Emma Stolinas

Dr. David E. W. Vaughan and Mrs. Julianne S. Vaughan Field Camp Fund: Cassandra Barcz, Gabby Mengen, Taylor Rosen

Tim and Courtney Watson Undergraduate Scolarship: Raquel Ellis  

by Matt Carroll

But of all the breathtaking sights and sounds beamed back to Earth, one image stands out for Penn State alum Rachel Kronyak—tire tracks in the red Martian dirt.

Kronyak, a systems engineer at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, helped plan the rover’s first drive, a thirty-three-minute mobility test on March 4 that covered about twenty feet and created those tracks.

“The photos that came back showing the wheel tracks on the ground behind us after our first couple drives were so exciting to see,” she said. “It really makes us feel like we’re explorers, seeing new places for the first time. It’s just surreal.”

Kronyak is part of a team that works with scientists and engineers from around the world to decide what commands to assign the rover each day and then sends the instructions some 150 million miles to the surface of Mars to be carried out by Perseverance.

“It’s a delicate balancing act,” she said. “We have to manage the scientific objectives to explore and collect as much data as possible with the engineering constraints like battery life and storage capacities.

There’s definitely a lot of teamwork every single day; it’s a really incredible job.”

The team will spend at least the next Martian year, about two years on Earth, guiding Perseverance on its mission to search for signs of ancient microbial life in Jezero Crater, an area believed to be a lake in Mars’ deep past.

“We’ve spent a lot of time preparing for this moment,” Kronyak said. “Now that the dust has settled and the www.geosc.psu.edu 21

rover is on the ground, we get to do our job. And it’s been really incredible to be part of this.”

The long road to Mars

For as long as she can remember, Kronyak dreamed of being an astronaut. But it was her time at Penn State, she said, that placed her on the career path to become a Martian.

At an orientation before her first semester, Kronyak learned about the Women in Science and Engineering Research (WISER) program that could place her in a research laboratory right away. Overcoming her nerves, she applied and was accepted into the program, administered by the NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium.

“To have that research program specifically for first-year students was the greatest thing for me,” said Kronyak, who received her bachelor’s degree in geobiology from Penn State in 2014. “When you go to a big school, it can be overwhelming to find your place, but those lab experiences at Penn State really set me up for my future. Without that, I have no idea where I’d be today, to be honest.”

Through the program, Kronyak was paired with her future adviser, Christopher House, professor of geosciences and director of the Penn State Astrobiology Research Center.

“With her interests in geology and astrobiology, it was a pleasure to work with Rachel and to get her involved with authentic, hands-on research early in her University education,” House said. “I’m proud to see how her career has developed and of her accomplishment in joining the Perseverance rover team.”

Kronyak said her work in House’s lab inspired her senior thesis, which in turn led to internships with NASA. Those experiences convinced her to attend graduate school at the University of Tennessee, where she earned her doctorate in geology and began working on the NASA Curiosity rover program, a previous mission to Mars.

After graduating, Kronyak was hired by NASA, where she has continued working on the Curiosity mission, alongside House, and now on the Perseverance mission.

“I’m always nostalgic when I get to do an operations shift with Curiosity, and it’s even more fun because my adviser from Penn State, Chris House, is on the team as well,” Kronyak said. “It came full circle and working together is so much fun.”

Mission on Mars

After months of planning and preparation, there was nothing left to do for Kronyak but sit in her living room and anxiously watch the NASA livestream of Perseverance’s landing on February 19.

“I was at home in my apartment watching on TV just like everybody else because of COVID-19 restrictions,” she said. “It was surreal, but I was jumping up and down and almost in tears when we got the touchdown confirmation signal. I’ll never forget that moment.”

The joy and excitement quickly turned to the realization that all eyes would now be on the surface operations team. It would be Kronyak’s turn to return to the office for the twelve-hour shifts that determine the course of the rover’s actions on any given day.

“Perseverance is sort of the latest and greatest in rover technology and we’re building upon what we’ve learned with previous missions,” she said. “With this mission, the goal is to search for signs of ancient life at our landing site.”

That’s a big task. But the rover is equipped with sensitive instruments that can drill rock samples and test them for things like small traces of ancient organic material. The rover also is the first that can store those samples, which may someday be returned to Earth for further study.

“We’ve spent so much time looking at the landing site from orbit and making guesses and hypotheses about what we’ll find,” Kronyak said. “Now we get to test those hypotheses and see how these rocks formed. There are so many things to be excited about.”