CORVALLIS, Ore. – Three Oregon State University faculty members, all from the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, have been named fellows of the American Geophysical Union.

The international scientific organization focuses on the understanding of the Earth and space, and promotes research, education and outreach in fields including geology, oceanography, atmospheric sciences, volcanism, seismology, and others. Acceptance as fellows to the AGU is restricted to fewer than one-tenth of 1 percent of its members.

Selected from OSU were Dudley Chelton, Robert Duncan and Anne Trehu.

“This is an extremely prestigious selection and the fact that three of our faculty members will be honored this year is significant,” said Mark Abbott, dean of the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences. “Until this year, we had only one active faculty member as an AGU fellow.”

Nick Pisias, a professor in the college, was named a fellow in 1999. Emeritus faculty John Allen, Brent Dalrymple and Bernd Simoneit, all from the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, also are members.

Chelton, an OSU faculty member since 1983, specializes in the use of satellites and remote sensing techniques to observe and measure large-scale ocean conditions, including temperature and circulation. He holds the title of distinguished professor at OSU.

Duncan, associate dean for student programs in COAS, is a marine geologist who has been at OSU since 1977. His research has encompassed such diverse topics as how “hot spots” form island chains in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the bombardment of the moon by meteors, and the role that volcanism may have played in the extinction of dinosaurs.

Trehu is the co-director of the National Science Foundation-funded EarthScope Office at OSU. A professor of marine geology, she studies the structure of the crust and lithosphere in the Cascadia subduction zone and coordinates seismic arrays to monitor earthquake activity throughout the West. She has been on the OSU faculty since 1987.

The three OSU faculty members will be honored at the American Geophysical Union’s Joint Assembly May 27-30 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Note to editors: A list of all the fellows is online at: http://www.agu.org/inside/fellows2008.html.

Source: 

Mark Abbott,
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