Giving Day is April 17!
If you have enjoyed reading about EEGS students and alumni, please consider making a gift to the EEGS Department in any amount for Giving Day on April 17, 2025. Donors who give to the EEGS Department Fund through the NMU Foundation support trips to academic conferences, internships, research opportunities, and scholarships. Help us help our students so that they are better prepared for the future.
Professor Emeritus Dr. Fillmore C. F. Earney supports EEGS students
February 8, 2025
Professor Emeritus Dr. Fillmore C. F. Earney recently made a generous contribution to the Fillmore C. F. Earney Endowment. He taught in NMU’s Department of Geography from 1966–1996. With Giving Day approaching on April 17, Dr. Earney encourages other supporters to donate to the EEGS Department in the spirit of helping current and future students.
Earth Science alumnus Dr. Frederick “Fritz” E. Nelson BS ’73 established an endowment in honor of his influential professor, Dr. Earney, who was a Professor of Geography at NMU from 1966 to 1996. Mary Kelly BS ’24 is the most recent recipient of support from this fund. Mary shared this update about her path since graduating in May 2024.
“I received a scholarship from the Fillmore C. F. Earney Endowment as a senior at NMU in May 2024. The following Fall, I began my master's degree in Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan (U-M). Within my degree, I am pursuing dual concentrations in geospatial data sciences and ecosystem science and management. Funds from the Earney scholarship will support my travel this summer to the Northern Great Plains (NGP) region of the U.S., where I will engage in fieldwork for my master's capstone project. The project is a group effort between an interdisciplinary team of five U-M master's students and our collaborators at the Buffalo Nations Grasslands Alliance, a Native-led non-profit focused on co-stewardship of National grasslands with the surrounding Tribes. I will produce geospatial tools to assist Tribes in the NGP with grasslands conservation and wildlife corridor analysis. While I am excited to get to work, I also recognize that it is an honor to work closely with and learn from Indigenous Peoples—for this, I am grateful. The Earney scholarship and my experiences at NMU have contributed to my success thus far as a graduate student, and I very much look forward to the remainder of my studies.”
NMU’s Eta Chi chapter of GTU recognized as 2024 Honors Chapter
February 8, 2025
NMU’s Eta Chi was one of only four chapters of Gamma Theta Upsilon International Geographical Honor Society to earn a 2024 Honors Chapter Award for promoting geography within the EEGS Department and beyond.
With the support of strong student leaders and participation of dozens of new members who join each year, GTU Eta Chi organizes and hosts multiple events to benefit Northern students. The graduate school panel in November featured very helpful advice from GTU member Mary Kelly '24 (Environmental Science; current Master of Science student at University of Michigan) and Makaylee Kuhn '23 (Environmental Science; current NMU Master of Interdisciplinary Studies student).
This winter GTU will host map giveaways and a career panel to help current students explore options for future employment. GTU members are collaborating with several other organizations across campus to host exciting activities for the 11th annual Anderton’s Earth Week, April 20–26. Check Northern Today for updates later this spring.
Zimney inspired by work at The Aldo Leopold Foundation
February 8, 2025
Ariana Zimney (BS ‘24 Environmental Science). After her May graduation, Ariana took a position at The Aldo Leopold Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin. There she works as an Education and Communication Fellow, hosting interpretive tours of the famous Leopold Family Shack & Farm, facilitating in-person and virtual educational programs, and restoring native ecosystems through seed planting, invasive species removal, and prescribed fires. Through these many avenues of conservation, Ariana has applied skills picked up from courses in Environmental Science, Public Speaking, and Communication, and her involvement with the local Marquette community while a student at NMU. Her drive, in both professional and personal endeavors, is to educate and encourage personal and community growth in understanding how humans and the land can live in community with each other. Ariana shared an inspirational quote:
"The objective is to teach the student to see the land, to understand what [they] see, and enjoy what [they] understand." — Aldo Leopold
Ives returns to EEGS to teach historical geology
January 3, 2025
Dr. Libby Ives (BS ’13, Earth Science) moved back to the Marquette area for a position with the Michigan Geological Survey. The EEGS Department is fortunate that she will teach GC 365 Historical Geology in Winter 2025. While an undergraduate, Dr. Ives participated in a field course in Iceland, which opened the door to graduate school. Her interest in rocks, landforms, and glacial history has led her to some amazing opportunities around the world. Read on to learn about her journey so far.
What was your major/minor, and when did you graduate from NMU?
I graduated from NMU in the summer of 2013 with a B.S. in Earth Science and a minor in History.
Where are you from and what brought you to NMU as a student?
I grew up in the Milwaukee suburbs, and was initially attracted to NMU because of the setting and to have amazing outdoor recreation opportunities right out my back door. Ultimately, receiving the Presidential Harden Scholarship made my decision to attend NMU very straight forward.
What is your current professional position and what is your focus?
I am currently working as a geologist for the newly reinvigorated Michigan Geological Survey out of our office in the Upper Peninsula Geological Repository in Sawyer. I am currently working on a project to map the Pleistocene (glacial) geology and potential aggregate resources for the whole state of Michigan.
What was your trajectory from majoring in the EEGS Department to your current work?
It has been a fun road for sure! From 2013–2016, I worked on a Master of Science in geomorphology while attending the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Iowa State University. My research focused on trying to understand subglacial landform development at modern glaciers in Iceland using environmental magnetism and geotechnical methods.
From 2016–2017, my husband (Patrick Ives, also an EEGS alum!) and I moved to Emmet County, Michigan, where I worked various seasonal jobs in agritourism, landscaping, environmental conservation, and bartending at a microbrewery. In 2017, Patrick and I also established Bliss Valley Fam, a small, sustainable vegetable operation, and I decided to pursue my Ph.D.
From 2017–2021, I worked toward a Ph.D. in Geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and helped on the farm as I was able. My Ph.D. research focused on describing and interpreting the sedimentology and stratigraphy of sedimentary rocks deposited by glaciers 300 million year ago. I was fortunate to conduct field work in Tasmania, Antarctica, and Argentina for this project. From 2018–2020, I also work part time for the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey on a Pleistocene geologic map of Jefferson County, Wisconsin. In the summer of 2020, I worked as a hydrologic technician on the East Zone of the Hiawatha National Forest. During the later part of my Ph.D., I worked as a geology intern for the U.S. Geological Survey on the Great Lakes Geologic Mapping project, which transitioned into a full-time position after I completed my degree.
From 2022–2024, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to work as a postdoctoral researcher on the Mars 2020 (Perseverance rover) mission at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. In that role I served as a subject matter expert on sedimentary geology, assisted in rover operations, and completed NASA’s Planetary Science Summer School. In the summer of 2023, I also had the opportunity to sail on an International Ocean Discovery Program expedition to Greenland to collect, describe, and study Cenozoic glacial marine sediments that record the history of the Greenland Ice Sheet.
In 2024, I accepted my current position with the Michigan Geological Survey, which allowed me to fulfil a career goal of working in the UP as a geologist!
What are your hobbies and interests?
I try to stay active by running, cycling, lifting, and doing yoga. I play disc golf somewhat competitively, and am excited to get to know the UP disc golf community. I also enjoy activities like reading, knitting, playing video games, playing music, hanging out with my pets, and gardening.
Welcome back to NMU, Dr. Ives!
Dillman hired as Kent County Waste Reduction Educator
December 18, 2024
NMU alumna Emma Dillman (BS '21, Environmental Studies and Sustainability) was recently hired as a waste reduction educator for the Kent County Department of Public Works. She is featured in a Waste Today publication story. Emma will help area residents and businesses learn how to reduce and repurpose waste. Dillman has worked in solid waste for years, most recently in Indiana as an environmental educator, where she helped students of all ages understand recycling, waste and their roles in protecting the environment. She previously was an intern shared between the Western Michigan Environmental Action Council and the Kent County Department of Public Works' Recycling & Education Center.
Please visit Northern Today to learn more about Emma.
