Victoria Bierwirth will be graduating with her Bachelor of Science degree in Geological Engineering and minor in Geospatial Technology in May 2014 from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Her interests in politics and natural resources led her to work in former Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin’s field office in Rapid City and as a park guide at Jewel Cave National Monument. At each location, she communicated the importance of national resources on a political and educational level, respectively. She came to AGI after completing an internship at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and is interested in energy, space, and public lands policy.

Vicki has been selected to the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program for Young Professionals and will spend a year studying geological engineering and participating in an internship in Germany. (04/12)

Publications while at AGI: What Makes a National Park Awesome?: The Geology, of Course, The Professional Geologist, Nov/Dec 2011

Erica Dalman is a rising senior at Grand Valley State University (GVSU), where she will graduate with a B.S. in Geology and a minor in International Business. She is a member of the Fredrick Meijer Honor’s College and an active student life participant as president of Sabrosísimo (GVSU’s latin dance group). Erica came to us from the state of Michigan by way of Venezuela; she is bilingual, fluent in Spanish and English. In the summer of 2010, she was selected to participate in an ExxonMobil/GSA undergraduate field course.  Erica has presented a joint geoscience education research poster at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting (Oct. 2010). She recently completed field camp in the Republic of South Africa and hopes her career as a geologist will continue to open opportunities for travel.

Erica will begin graduate school at the University of Kansas in 2012 and will be conducting neotectonics research in the Andes Mountains of Columbia. (5/12)

Publications while at AGI: Adapting a Nation to an Ever Changing Ocean, The Professional Geologist, Nov/Dec 2011

Presentation to the American Institute of Professional Geologists:Three Interns on Capitol Hill, September 2011

Lauren received a B.S. in Geosciences and a B.A. in Geography in May 2011 from Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). She graduated from the Schreyer Honors College and completed her senior thesis on the use of electrical resistivity imaging to model the flow of acid mine drainage.  She spent a summer in Germany as a research assistant studying landscape development during the Holocene.  She studied abroad for a semester in Ghana and has done research projects in West Philadelphia, Bulgaria, and India.  At Penn State she volunteered as a high school math tutor, education abroad Peer Advisor, and community language partner.  Lauren’s policy interests include water and energy resources, climate change, and science education.  In her free time she enjoys running, trying to learn Persian, drinking good coffee, grocery shopping, looking at maps, reading, and eating Indian food.

Lauren is currently abroad in Tajikistan studying water resource issues on a Fulbright grant. You can follow her blog here. (05/12)

Publications while at AGI: Developing Alaska's Oil and Gas Resources: How Should the U.S. Proceed?, The Professional Geologist, Nov/Dec 2011

Elizabeth received her BA in geology from Occidental College in May 2009. As an undergraduate, she studied tectonic geomorphology and apatite fission-track thermochronology. In the summer of 2008, Elizabeth participated in a NSF-REU program at Mesa State College, where she studied the incision history of the upper Colorado River. She participated in a Keck Geology Consortium summer program, which took her to western Mongolia for four weeks. This fall, Elizabeth will start her PhD at Yale University as a NSF Graduate Research Fellow, where she will work on topics related to climate change and landscape evolution. While at AGI, Elizabeth will focus on topics related to natural hazards, energy policy and climate change. She is looking forward to exploring a new city and gaining a new perspective on the importance of the geosciences.

Elizabeth will attend Yale University in the fall of 2010 in pursuit of an advanced geoscience degree. (08/10)

Publications while at AGI: Earthquake Preparedness: Avoiding Catastrophe By Acting Now, The Professional Geologist, Nov/Dec 2010

Elizabeth is entering her junior year at the State University of New York at Geneseo, where she is working on her bachelor degrees in Geology and English. After taking an environmental science class to fulfill a general education requirement in her freshman year, she became interested in the geological sciences and has not looked back since. Lizz looks at the internship with AGI this summer as an opportunity to combine the skills she has learned in her two majors, along with a chance to consider her career choices. She is eagerly anticipating the research she will be conducting next winter on her trip to Death Valley with faculty and students from the Geneseo Geology department. For now, however, she is excited about exploring Washington, DC, even if it means leaving her beloved Adirondacks for the summer.

Publications while at AGI: Collective Amnesia: The History of Oil Spill R&D, The Professional Geologist, Nov/Dec 2010

Kiya is a rising senior at Oregon State University, where she is an Earth Systems Science major. Kiya participated in the NSF-REU program at Oregon State, where she studied glacial-interglacial climate variability as recorded in coastal margin marine sediments. She has continued the work as an undergraduate thesis and has presented her findings at GSA and AGU conferences. Kiya travels to us directly from Svalbard, where she has spent the past six months studying high arctic climate change and glacial hydrology. In her free time, Kiya loves backcountry skiing, spelunking, and photography. Kiya intends to pursue graduate work in polar climate studies, and is eager to spend the summer in DC learning how her future scientific work can best impact policymaking.

Kiya graduated from Oregon State and will begin her PhD program at Penn State in the fall of 2011. She will study subglacial hydrology with Dr. Richard Alley. (04/11)

Publications while at AGI: Unable to Break the Ice: U.S. Arctic Policy and Law of the Sea, The Professional Geologist, Nov/Dec 2010

Coming from Boston, Joey has just completed work for BS degrees in geology and history from Northeastern University. During his time there, he helped conduct research on the red tide blooms in the Gulf of Maine during the 2006 fishery shutdowns, using core samples to determine population densities during the fall and then monitoring the bloom the following spring. Additionally, Joey served as Northeastern’s Student Body President and in the school’s production of Guys and Dolls. He is a regular columnist for The Professional Geologist, and has been involved with AIPG for several years. While in Washington this fall, Joey plans on studying, and working to improve, the way in which science is communicated to the public. This winter he is moving to California, where he will work for a year before pursuing graduate school.

Publications while at AGI:
Fiore, J. Carbon Capture and Sequestration: The Preferred Solution of Policy Makers. The Professional Geologist, Jan/Feb 2010.

Rachel received her BA in Earth Sciences from Boston University and recently completed her MS in Geology from the University of Maryland. Her MS research in geochemistry focused on the Bushveld Complex of South Africa. In June she will present her thesis work at the Goldschmidt conference in Switzerland. Rachel is now devoting her time to understanding geoscience policy in Washington, especially at this time of transition and change in DC.

Publications while at AGI:
Potter, R. Policymakers Making Waves About Ocean Acidification.The Professional Geologist, Jan/Feb 2010

Potter, R. Energy Department Seeks to Spark Scientific Innovation.EARTH Magazine, Nov 2009, pp. 28

Stephanie graduated in May from the University of Michigan with a BSE in Earth Systems Science and Engineering, concentrating in climate physics. During college, she studied the feasibility of incorporating the agriculture sector into a California carbon cap and trade market, and the mechanisms communities are using to adapt to climate change. She also worked for the Michigan Environmental Council in 2008, tracking state and federal legislation related to environmental issues. She will be starting at the University of Maryland in the fall to pursue a Master’s of Public Policy, concentrating in environmental policy. Stephanie is originally from Buffalo, New York. 

Publications while at AGI:
Praus, S. Will Nuclear Power Grow in a Low Carbon Economy?The Professional Geologist, Jan/Feb 2010

Praus, S. Mining Reform on the Table, Again. EARTH Magazine, Oct 2009, pp. 25

Stephanie graduated from UMD and is now back in Washington, DC as an analyst at International Technology and Trade Associates. (9/11)

Corina Cerovski-Darriau just graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a BA in geology and a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies. She was recently sponsored by the Geological Society of America to attend UNESCO’s International Year of the Planet Earth as the US Student Representative. She was selected based on her essay about minimizing the risk/maximizing the awareness of natural hazards. Corina enjoys working as a liaison between the sciences and public policy and feels it is a nice combination of her interests. She also looks forward to touring the nation’s capital, experiencing thunderstorms and fireflies, and hopefully seeing a little geology

Publications while at AGI:
Cerovski-Darriau, C. Looking Forward in the Domestic Drilling Debate: What Direction Should Policy Take on Offshore Drilling. The Professional Geologist, Nov/Dec 2008

Cerovski-Darriau, C. Science and Policy: An Intern'sView. Geological Society of America.http://www.geosociety.org/geopolicy/news/0809agi-Intern.htm

Corina was the policy associate at AGI-GAP and is now working toward an advanced geology degree at University of Oregon. (6/10)