“In my opinion, the most creative research at a university is done by the most energetic investigators, by which I mean graduate students. Those are who we can support best."

Dr. Louis L. Jacobs, President

From some of our students...

I would like to express my gratitude for the generous research grant that I received from the ISEM. It allows me to obtain radiocarbon dates from charcoal samples recovered during my archaeological fieldwork conducted in the summer of 2006. These dates are of primary importance to our understanding of the development of social complexity and the design and utilization of longhouses by the Maritime Archaic peoples of northern Labrador, who lived in that region from 6500 to 3300 years ago. By providing funding for this research, the ISEM has made it possible for me to obtain dates for a longhouse that my research team and I excavated. Early indications based on tool forms and elevation above sea level suggests that it may be one of the earliest longhouses discovered to date in Labrador. The radiocarbon dates will provide an independent, and less subjective, means of assessing the timing of this interesting structure. Christopher B. Wolff

I am grateful to ISEM for its generous support of my research in Portugal. The fossiliferous Upper Jurassic terrestrial deposits in this region offer a unique opportunity to understand how ancient faunas responded to paleoclimate change. Determination of rates of faunal response and the relative importance of different climate parameters as drivers of change will have implications for modern ecosystems. The data collected during the upcoming winter field season will bolster the chemostratigraphic and paleoenvironmental analyses already in progress. Without the funds provided by ISEM, this work would not be possible. Thank you. Scott Myers

My gratitude goes out to the ISEM for their support of my analyses of clays and pottery from the Chaves-Hummingbird Pueblo in west-central New Mexico. ISEM support allowed me to perform XRD analyses on numerous clay sources and over 20 pottery vessels. 2004 excavations revealed a ritual closing deposit from which 11 pottery vessels were recovered. Collaborative research with advisors from the Pueblos of Acoma, Laguna, Hopi, and Zuni indicated that all 11 vessels were manufactured locally and made specifically for the closing ritual. The funding provided by the ISEM offered to opportunity to empirically test this claim and match the pottery clays to their sources. In addition, 10 other vessels were analyzed in an attempt to prove that they too were manufactured locally. These vessels were long believed to be manufactured at the site of Pottery Mound, but funding from the ISEM allowed us to prove that these vessels were in fact made locally at the Hummingbird Pueblo. Thank you so much for your support. Jason Theuer

I would like to thank the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man for their support in my research, which is the study of desmostylian materials from Unalaskan Island, Alaska. The desmostylians are hippo-like mammals that are related to sea cows and elephants and known from the Northern Pacific region. The materials from Unalaskan Islands are very unique and will contribute to the study of the desmostylians. I scan the materials and create its three-dimensional image in order to reconstruct missing parts. Your support has provided me opportunities to see paleontologists in Japan and to visit the National Museum of Natural History to scan the skull of desmostylians. Thank you very much for your help. Yosuke Nishida

I would like to thank the ISEM for providing the funds for my fieldwork in southern Egypt. Dr. Fred Wendorf offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to study in the Nabta Playa region of southern Egypt about 150 kilometers southeast of Aswan. The ISEM covered travel expenses so that I could take part in the Combined Prehistoric Expedition, a foundation of archaeologists and geologists from Poland, Egypt, and the United States. I was able to take part in the survey and excavation of sites dating to the Early Neolithic period. These sites contained the densest and most impressive archaeological materials I have ever seen. Our research included the identification of lithic and faunal materials discovered near the remains of ancient playa lakes, which contributed to the knowledge of the lifeways of pre-dynastic peoples living in the western desert. This field research was made possible by the generous donation of the ISEM. Thank you. John Robbins

I am grateful to the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man for funding my fieldwork in the Tieton River area of south-central Washington State. Vertebrate fossils have been known from the area for over 60 years, yet no study has examined the paleontology. The Tieton River area contains fossil mammals preserved in 30 million years old volcaniclastic deposits from the ancestral Cascade Range, and represents the earliest known terrestrial vertebrates in Washington. The field work this summer resulted in the discovery of fossils in previously unknown localities and the collection of data to construct a sound geological context for these fossils. These data will facilitate an investigation of North American Cenozoic history from a new point of view, the subject of my Master's thesis. Thank you for the support to travel and perform field work necessary for this investigation. Christopher Strganac

I am most grateful to ISEM and its dissertation seed grant program for supporting my research on adobe materials from the site of Chaves-Hummingbird, New Mexico. Without this generous support it would have been extremely difficult to progress as much as I have. I have been able to pay for lab materials and equipment, and dedicate my time to fieldwork, lab work and analysis of the lab results. ISEM's funding program gives many opportunities to graduate students that would otherwise remain unfunded. Thank you very much for your help! Lia Tsesmeli

I would like to thank ISEM for their continued support in my research studying a 28-27 million year old fossil forest flora from northwestern Ethiopia. You have provided me opportunities to conduct field work in Ethiopia and visit the herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, UK to identify plant fossils. Little is known about the vegetation of Africa during the Paleogene (65. 5 - 23.03 million years ago). Funds from ISEM are helping to fill in this gap. Thank you. Aaron Pan

I would like to thank the ISEM for giving me the opportunity to attend the University of Alaska Fairbank's field camp based in Fairbanks, Alaska last summer. During our local studies, we examined trenches near a gold mine, mapped and ran a geomagnetic survey at a basalt mine, and did preliminary geologic mapping of a burn zone near Chena Hot Springs. The proximity of Fairbanks to the Alaska Range, as well as the determination of one of the professors, made our field camp group the second in decades to be allowed to map in Denali National Park. There we mapped in sediment, bimodal volcanics, on glaciers, and ran a gravity survey across a fault. During that portion of the trip, a member of our group discovered the first (and only) dinosaur footprint ever found in the Alaska Range. Our three-week study of Limestone Gap was my first experience with an extended stay in the wilderness. It lies just north of the western end of the Castle Mountain Fault, and its microcosmic right-lateral strike-slip fault system offered an excellent case-study for understanding the whole of Alaskan tectonic. Without the generosity of the ISEM, I would not have been able to have such a rare and diverse field camp experience. Robert Talamantez

I would like to thank ISEM for funds provided to carry out field work on the Northwestern Ethiopian Plateau, Ethiopia. Data gathered during this field season is already refining the understanding of plant communities and their environments in northwestern Africa some 27 million years ago. I was the recipient of the funds, but all members of the research group benefited and are grateful for this generous support. Juan Leandro Garcia Massini

The support provided by the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man permitted me the opportunity to conduct research on Late Triassic (middle Norian) vertebrate fossils from Hound Island, Alaska. The tectonic setting of Hound Island is a structural trough associated with an advancing terrain prior to accretion onto a larger landmass and northern translation from lower latitudes to the current latitude. The depositional environment of such a setting containing vertebrate fossils has never been documented. ISEM provided the necessary financial support for transportation, field supplies, and the transport of fossils to SMU. The study of the Hound Island vertebrate faunal assemblage and its stratigraphic, taphonomic, and paleobiogeographic affinities will contribute to a better understanding of the depositional history of an advancing island arc terrane. I thank you for your financial assistance, which allowed for the opportunity to conduct a Master’s project in such a distinctive setting containing vertebrate fossils, I am greatly appreciative. Thomas Adams

I am writing to express my gratitude for the support you gave me during my masters degree research in the Department of Geology. Without the funds ISEM provided, my work would not have been complete. You facilitated the making of thin sections from rock samples that were key to my petrological/structural study of the Beardmore Group, central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica. Many thanks to ISEM and the Friends of the Institute for their contributions. Sarah Deering

I would like to voice my appreciation to ISEM and the Institute’s dissertation seed grant program. I would not have been able to begin, or complete, my research without the help of ISEM. Several small grants allowed me to travel to nearly every museum in the Central Plains, recording archaeological collections gathered during the Dust Bowl. Hotel or motel rooms, Pizza Hut, and gas money might not sound like much, but it provided a solid foundation for subsequent fieldwork, lab studies, and publication. ISEM played a vital role in opening the door to my career in Paleo-Indian studies. Thanks for your help! Jason LaBelle

I would like to thank ISEM for supporting my recent trip to Costa Rica to obtain thermal data from the Costa Rican forearc. A significant portion of my dissertation, “Implications of Forearc Thermal Structure for Arc-Volcanism and Back-Arc Spreading: Examples from Cascadia, Southern Mexico, and Northern Costa Rica,” involved thermal-mechanical modeling of subduction zones. The surface heat flow derived from temperature logs and thermal conductivity measurements performed on rock samples brought back from Costa Rica have helped to place important constraints on thermal conditions in this poorly understood, but important region. Furthermore, this new data was obtained where no data previously existed and was critical to constraining models particular to northern Costa Rica. Once again, thank you for your support. I wish the ISEM the best of luck in the future. Jason McKenna

Just thought I’d take a moment to express my appreciation to you and all the folks at ISEM for the support you have provided to me during my studies here at SMU. In addition to funding necessary research activities, such as Scanning Electron Microprobe time, ISEM also helped me with poster preparation costs, travel for the annual meetings, and with page fees associated with publishing my research findings. Thanks so much. Jack Rogers

Thanks to the support of ISEM, I am able to pursue an academic program and conduct research in a field not yet developed in my home country, Israel. I am very grateful for this opportunity. Annat Haber

I wanted to write and thank you for your support of my work in the Czech Republic. The seed grant you provided was a critical part of the funding of my preliminary research. I would like to be there in person to thank you for this support, but I am currently in the city of Brno in the Czech Republic conducting my dissertation research. The current research is taking place in large part because of the success of the preliminary work. I was able to establish contacts, test ideas, survey business leaders, find possible fieldsites, and practice the language. This success allowed me to prepare a strong research proposal and secure funding of $12,000 from the National Science Foundation. Thank you again for your help. Ben Passmore

I am very grateful for the funding that supported my research program: Adaptive changes of hunter-gatherers in China during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. The data for my dissertation mostly came to be possible by this funding. The funding program of ISEM for graduates is significant because it provides excellent chances for research training that cannot be provided by other foundations. The generous support made many precocious ideas grow to the best fruits. Shengquian Chen

My Ph.D. dissertation research on the Miocene Siwalik Group of Pakistan was made possible in part by grants from the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man. This work involved extensive field research in Pakistan, including the collection of reptile fossils for evolutionary and paleoecological studies. ISEM provided funds for travel to and from Pakistan, the transport of fossils to SMU, and the necessary materials to prepare fossils for analysis. I was able to complete my studies only through the generous grants from the ISEM. Jason Head

The ISEM provided me with vital support during my graduate career at SMU, particularly during the final stages of my work. During that time, I received grants that allowed me to travel to interact with my off campus thesis advisor, whose assistance was instrumental to my research. This support also allowed me to present my results at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting in San Francisco, where I received valuable input from other researchers in similar fields. I greatly appreciate the help I received from the ISEM, and I hope that current and future students in the geological sciences can continue to benefit. Rebecca Ghent

The Institute for the Study of Earth and Man has been extremely supportive in the development of my research as a graduate student at SMU. On multiple occasions the Institute has provided financial support that has permitted me to attend scientific meetings that are particularly important to my graduate studies. I feel very much indebted to the ISEM and its financial contributors for their dedication to the advancement of academic research. Peter Rose

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to ISEM for providing generous support that enabled me to conduct field research in Costa Rica and Guyana. As a result of that research, I was able to complete my Master’s thesis, entitled “Stable Isotopic Profiles of Sea Turtle Humeri and Epizoic Barnacles: Implications for Ecology and Migration,” which demonstrates that sea turtle bone preserves important information about the marine environment. This project would not have been possible without the financial support of ISEM. I am greatly indebted to the people who work for and support ISEM, because they facilitated a work that set a solid foundation for my current and future research. Dana Biasatti

I received the grant from the ISEM, which helped in my field studies of dinosaurs from Guangdong province, southern China. One paper about bird-dinosaur relations was accepted by the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology and published in the last issue of 2002. Another manuscript has been submitted. I wish to thank ISEM and the friends who donated money for this wonderful program. Junchang Lu

I would like to thank ISEM for its generous support of my research in infrasound and atmospheric modeling. I am investigating local and regional meteorological affects on atmospheric acoustic waves recorded by seismo-acoustic arrays. The funds ISEM provided enabled me to attend a conference and meet with some of the experts in the field of atmospheric modeling. Sara Mihan House

I greatly appreciate the ISEM for its support of my graduate studies at SMU. Field research is elemental to understanding the behavior of sea turtles as it allows us to observe them in their natural habitat. The focus of my research is the evolutionary adaptations that these animals have undergone and that facilitated their existence for millions of years. I have gained valuable knowledge for my project and this would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of the ISEM. Thanks so much! Diana Vineyard

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