NSF Awards Funding to Concord University for Student Field Research in Greenland


ATHENS, W.Va. – Concord University will serve as the lead institution for a National Science Foundation (NSF) award totaling $200,326.

The award supports a project entitled “REU Site: Collaborative Research: Architecture of Earthquakes in the Deep Crust: International Arctic Expedition Science for Students” and will fund field research for undergraduate students on the west coast of Greenland.  

Dr. Joseph Allen, Chair of Concord University’s Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, will lead the project. Concord is being joined by Montana State University in organizing this new Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site involving eight students annually for an international geologic field experience in Greenland.

Spending five weeks at a remote field site, the students will map geologic structures in the newly established Aasivissuit – Nipisat UNESCO World Heritage site. According to the NSF, “This unique location will allow the students to learn important field mapping and sampling skills, contribute to an improved understanding of this important location, and make connections with the local communities.” 

“The students will be selected from across the United States, but can include Concord University students from the environmental geosciences major. The first field expedition will be summer 2021, pandemic permitting.”

Dr. Joseph Allen

“The work follows up on four previous Concord expeditions funded by the American Chemical Society and Concord’s Strasko Research Trust Fund. Ten CU students have participated in earlier field work since 2013,” he says.

According to NSF, the team “will study a cutting-edge question in earthquake dynamics from a geologic perspective.”

U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced the award on Sept. 10. The project is supported by the NSF’s Division of Earth Sciences and the Office of Polar Programs in the Geoscience Directorate.


Concord students measuring the orientation of geologic structures
 on a remote island in Greenland
Student operating an Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to create base maps for Greenland geologic mapping
Concord field team conducting field measurements along a fjord in western Greenland

Persons with disabilities should contact Nancy Ellison, 1-304-384-6086 or 1-800-344-6679 extension 6086 if special assistance is required for access to an event scheduled by the University on campus.


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CONTACT: 
Sarah M. Pritchett
Concord University
Office of Advancement
PO Box 1000, Athens, WV 24712
(304) 384-6312, news@concord.edu
http://www.concord.edu

After 4 p.m.
pitzer@concord.edu
Office: 304-384-5211
Cell: 304-320-6405

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