Old-growth shortleaf pine in Savage Gulf

Nicole Nunley (Nat. Res., C'99), our current laboratory technician, recently visited an old-growth shortleaf pine stand in Savage Gulf State Park. Scott Torreano is working with Dr. Justin Hart of the University of Alabama and Patrick Vestal (Fors., C'12) in an effort to develop a fire history of the stand.

Alums back on the Mountain for Homecoming

Werner Kratovil (Nat. Res., C'04) is in his second year at UNC's Kenan-Flagler business school and going to work for Morgan Stanley in New York upon graduation in the investment banking division. Will Rue (Nat. Res., C'04) just graduated from Vanderbilt business school and is now in Atlanta working for Fastening Solutions, his father's company that sells pneumatic fasteners (nails, etc.). Charlie Ezzell (Nat. Res., C'04) enlisted in the army as a Arabic language specialist and is currently on deployment in Afghanistan.

Kit Deppe and Mustang Island

Kit Deppe (Nat. Res. C'10) spent last summer working on Mustang Island for the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas. They are looking for two more Sewanee interns this year, and we look forward to sending some of our best to Texas each summer.

Forestry class visits old-growth on the Domain

An intro to forestry class visited Shakerag Hollow one foggy day in November to inventory some of the Domain's old-growth forest. The largest tree in the photo is a yellow buckeye.

Forestry grad update - PJ Deschenes C'00

Friends,

I recently left GE Energy Financial Services to join Greentech Capital Advisors (www.greentechca.com), the largest investment bank focused entirely on cleantech and renewable energy. Our founder was the former head of investment banking at UBS and our partners are all career bankers focused on energy, cleantech, renewables, and project finance. We offer M&A advisory services (buy-side and sell-side), private equity sourcing/placement, and project finance advisory. I’m focused on project finance and capital formation for energy and cleantech projects.

Bouldering at Sewanee

Martin Knoll's bouldering class during a fine fall day on the Mountain.

Bent Creek and Biltmore

Sewanee students, staff, and faculty recently attended a Forest Guild meeting that included tours of the forests at Biltmore, Bent Creek, and Warren Wilson College. Sewanee students Charlie Williams, Deanna Wolford, Stell Pfau, and Stewart Moore (C'12) are seen here with Dr. David Loftis (C'70) of the US Forest Service during a tour of Dr. Loftis' experiments on the Bent Creek watershed.

November in the Forest Canopy

Intro to Forestry students spent a recent afternoon experiencing the view from 45-70 feet up in an oak/hickory canopy. The canopy walkway is used by the department to give students the chance to make observations in an important part of the forest that is rarely visited.

Forestry Cabin in the fall

A nice place for a picnic; the forestry cabin during fall 2009.

Pink Hard Hats

Mary Elizabeth Watson (Nat. Res., C'11) and Callie Sadler (Geology, C'11) recently toured the Snowden Hall renovation sporting very macho hard hats.

Snowden Renovations - October 2009

Two more pictures of the renovations via Martin Knoll.

Geology graduate update

Evey Gannaway (C' 09, Geology) sampling soils for a geoarchaeological study of a late Stone age site in Bavaria, Germany. Evey is currently on a Fulbright Scholarship at the Technical University of Munich, Germany.

Intro to Forestry visits KA Point

One of the fall 2009 sections of Intro to Forestry spent Tuesday afternoon identifying trees, practicing map and compass skills, and enjoying our first touch of fall weather.

Siegfried's demise

Sewanee students participating in Dr. Knoll's comparative watersheds class are writing and resting at a German spring where the medieval hero Siegfried was said to have been killed.

Studying watersheds in Germany

Sewanee's environmental studies opportunities took on an international dimension this summer with a new comparative watershed studies course offered by Dr. Martin Knoll. Twelve students spent two weeks in southern Germany comparing watershed characteristics there with watersheds they had previously studied on the Cumberland Plateau around Sewanee. Daily hikes of 15 to 30 km exposed students to the geology, hydrology, flora, fauna, and rich human history of the landscape. Although the watersheds in both areas have a similar geological and hydrological construct, differences in climate and a long history of intensive modification of the land in Germany starting with Celtic tribes have resulted in the evolution of a landscape very different from that of the Cumberland Plateau. Of particular interest to students were the region's vineyards and the concept of terroir, or all those natural and cultural factors that give a region its distinctive flavor of wine (southwest Germany includes the country's largest red wine producing region).

Student internships - Geology/Archaeology

This summer Geology major Leila Donn, supported by a Mellon Foundation internship, worked with Dr. Sarah Sherwood of Dickinson College and the Sewanee Environmental Institute Archaeology Field School in conducting an excavation of a sandstone rock shelter on campus. Martin Knoll was a co-advisor on the project, which uncovered artifacts dating back to the early Archaic Period. Knoll, Donn, and Sherwood hope to obtain radio carbon dates from the site soon.

Snowden Hall - June 2010

Snowden Hall in the not too distant future!

T. Boone visits Snowden Hall

Better late than never. In case you missed it, T. Boone Pickens was in Snowden Hall this past April to lecture about his energy plan.

Georesources - ghosts from the past

In the mood for a field trip?

Does anyone recognize this fellow?

Student internships - watershed science

This past summer, Mary Elizabeth Watson (Nat. Res., C'11) worked with Dr. Karen Kuers on the Split Creek Watershed, which is located on the Domain. Mary Elizabeth is one of many Sewanee students that have worked on the watershed since 2001, the year Dr. Kuers started collecting data at the site.

Snowden Hall renovation continues

The renovation of Snowden Hall continues at full speed, and the work on the backside addition has now started as well as a new roof for the older part of the building. Stay tuned......

Forestry alums assist with restoration project

Ben Myers (Forestry, C '00), Richard Winslow (Domain Manager, Forestry C '65), and Steve Smith (Forestry C'07) visited Compartment 42 in September to discuss the logistics of a restoration thinning and burning project scheduled for February 2010. This project will be a major component of an upcoming class entitled Forest and Watershed Restoration.

Forestry and Geology grads back on the Mountain

Forestry prof Ken Smith ran into Krista Mondelli (Geology, C '05), Kara Allen (Nat. Res., C'05), and Eliza Greenman (Forestry, C'06) at the wedding of Lucas Ridley (Forestry, C'06) in late July. Krista is employed at Marathon Oil in Houston while working on her Masters in Geophysics at UH, Kara is working on her MS in Environmental Science and Policy in an international program based in England, and Eliza is the Cranberry Isles Sustainable Community Development Fellow (Maine).

Internships - oak response to disturbance

Deanna Wolford, a rising sophomore, has spent the summer examining regeneration in a 70 acre "thin from below" in the Lake O'Donnell watershed. She is also looking at photosynthetic rates of oaks seedlings in high-low light environments. Deanna is working with Ken Smith, Deborah McGrath and Nicole Nunley on this project.

Snowden renovation is underway

Here are some mid-July 2009 pictures of Snowden's renovation.

Stay tuned.....

New web site, New Snowden Hall

Hello everyone,

As you can see, we are in the process of renovating our web site and our building. We will post photos of Snowden Hall as the work progresses.

Intro to Forestry visits the bluff

Last week, the Intro students learned how to navigate in the woods with compasses and with hand held GPS units. Only one group was lost.