2008 Montgomery Prizes awarded

For the past several years, M&A has been pleased to present the Montgomery Prize to outstanding hydrology and geology students attending Arizona universities. This annual prize recognizes student achievement in the area of oral presentation of research. Winners receive a $1,000 cash award. The Montgomery Prize represents our commitment to promoting excellence in research and communication in the geosciences.

El Dia del Agua

This year’s Montgomery Prize winner chosen at El Dia del Agua symposium was Joseph R. Gustafson, a master’s candidate at the University of Arizona’s Hydrology and Water Resources Department. M&A’s Lizz Leon Mora presented the prize to Joseph for his outstanding presentation, “Quantifying Variations of SWE, Chemistry, and Water Isotopes in a Montane Snowpack: Valles Caldera National Preserve, NM.” Joseph attempted to quantify how vegetation, aspect, and storm track control spatial and temporal patterns in snow chemistry and water isotopes. Click here to download Joseph’s abstract.

2008 marks the 18th Annual El Dia del Agua, sponsored each year by the Department of Hydrology and Water Resources. The 1-day event showcases research and features both oral and poster presentations. Held on March 6, 2008, the symposium was well attended by both students and members of the professional hydrology community at large.

GeoDaze

At GeoDaze 2008, the Montgomery Prize was awarded to Geosciences Ph.D. candidate Andy Frassetto for his excellent presentation, “Flowing Asthenosphere and a Slab Window beneath the Coast Mountain Batholith, British Columbia.” Andy’s research involved using three well-developed techniques to analyze shear-wave splitting on high-quality teleseismic recordings. His objective was to develop a preliminary model of mantle deformation fabric beneath the Coast Mountain Batholith in British Columbia. Click here to download Andy’s abstract.

The GeoDaze symposium is an annual event organized for the last 36 years by students of the Department of Geosciences at the U of A. This year, GeoDaze was held April 3–5, featuring two days of student-presented research and a field trip.