Newsroom

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Richard Carlson, a geologist, geochemist, and planetary scientist from the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C., will present the 2014 Thomas Condon Lecture at Oregon State University on Wednesday, March 5.

The free public lecture, "A History of Earth Formation," is designed for a non-specialist audience. It begins at 7:30 p.m. in Austin Auditorium of the LaSells Stewart Center on the OSU campus. The Condon Lecture, named after a pioneer of Oregon geology, helps to interpret significant scientific research for non-scientists.

Carlson is a staff scientist at the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution. He conducts research on the history and evolution of the crust and interior of Earth, Mars, the moon and different asteroids to understand the mechanisms of planet formation and the way in which planets develop habitable surfaces.

He uses isotope geochemistry to study element formation in stars and how those elements are delivered throughout the solar system. His studies have taken to southern Africa, Brazil, the Arctic coast of Hudson's Bay, eastern Oregon, and most recently, central Mongolia.

The recipient of numerous awards, Carlson was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2012.

While at OSU, Carlson will also give a more technical presentation on a related topic. His George Moore Lecture, "Pacific Northwest Volcanism: The Connection of Mantle Dynamics and Continent Formation,"   will be held Thursday, March 6, beginning at 4 p.m. in Kelley Engineering Room 1003.

The presentations are sponsored by the OSU Research Office and the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences.