The Department of Earth and Space Sciences of West Chester University is proud to host the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Geological Association of New Jersey on Friday and Saturday, October 13^th and 14^th.  Friday will feature workshops for K-12 teachers, a student poster session, symposium, a social gathering, and a planetarium show.

There are 2 teachers’ workshops to choose from, one on helpful hints for earth science teacher educational aids and another on astronomy.  If you have any rock samples you would like help identifying identified or equipment you have questions about, bring them to the meeting.

Student Poster Session  

The student poster session is open to both undergraduate and postgraduate Earth Science students.  We will consider posters on any relevant topic.  However, if space becomes limited, preference will be given to those related to the focus of the conference – the Piedmont.  Prizes of gift certificates will be given to the top 3 posters in both the undergraduate and postgraduate categories. 

Abstracts received by Friday September 29, 2017 and accepted for the poster session will be included in the Proceedings Volume for the meeting. Abstracts received after this date, but before Friday, October 6, 2017 will be considered for presentation at the meeting, but will not be published.

Boards for posters will be 36” high by 48” wide.  Further instructions and suggestions for student poster presentations will be provided along with confirmation of acceptance.

Please submit your abstract of 200 – 250 words using the online form https://goo.gl/forms/9eahxjO2snyKh2Z42

Symposium

The symposium will feature speakers whose research covers a range of topics concerning different aspects of the geology of the eastern Piedmont of Pennsylvania.  Our speakers are Howell Bosbyshell of West Chester University, Ryan Kerrigan of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Lynn Marquez of Millersville University, LeeAnn Srogi of West Chester University, and Donald Wise of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  The keynote address will be presented by Gale C. Blackmer, the current Pennsylvania State Geologist.    

Dinner

Following the presentations, attendees are invited to gather at West Chester’s Iron Hill Brewery for food and conversation.  Participants will order from the menu and pay their own bill.  A section of the restaurant will be reserved for us.

Planetarium Show

The planetarium show,  Looking UP:  A Tour of the Fall Sky, presented by Karen Schwarz, Ph.D., West Chester University will be at West Chester University’s newly renovated, state of the art planetarium. 

Field Trip

The field trip will take place on Saturday, October 14 and will focus on the metamorphic rocks along the Rosemont shear zone in Philadelphia and Delaware and Chester Counties of Pennsylvania. The trip will highlight rocks which have been the focus of recent research that has given rise to new understandings of the tectonic evolution of southeastern Pennsylvania. Planned stops include a classic Wissahickon Formation locality along the Wissahickon Creek; the Baltimore Gneiss of the Avondale Massif; a location near the contact between metaigneous rock the Wilmington Complex volcanic/magmatic arc and metasedimentary rock of the Wissahickon Formation; the Chester Park Gneiss, a fragment of a peri-Gondwanan terrane; and the Doe Run Schist, which is part of the newly designated West Grove Metamorphic Suite – the rock formerly known as “Glenarm Wissahickon.”

Professional Development/Continuing Education Credits

If attendance at the GANJ annual meeting is considered by your school or other organization as an acceptable professional development activity, GANJ will provide annual meeting certificates of attendance. Four (4) hours will be credited for the Friday presentations and six (6) hours for Saturday’s field trip. If you will need a certificate of attendance, note this with your registration form. Note that professional development credits will only be issued for professional registrations.

Meeting sponsorship

GANJ invites support of the annual meeting through sponsorship ($250.00 to $500.00). Sponsors receive recognition in the proceedings volume (1/2 page, $250.00; full page, $500.00) and on the GANJ web site for a year. More important is the opportunity to support geologic education in New Jersey. If interested, please contact Michael Hozik at Michael.Hozik@stockton.edu.

Guidebooks

Most guidebooks are available as free pdf downloads from www.ganj.org. In addition, a limited number of the second printing of GANJ XXXII (2015), Neotectonics of the New York Recess, are available for $20.00. Click here for the complete list of publications. To order a specific copy, please email webmaster@ganj.org.

Accommodations

Each conference attendee is responsible for their own hotel/motel accommodations. Due to the large number of facilities in the area, special arrangements/group discounts have not been established.

The Piedmont:  Old Rocks, New Understandings

Friday, October 13th   

Teachers’ Workshops – Merion Science Center

11:00-12:00  What Every Earth Science Teacher Should Have In Their Rock Box
               Timothy Macaluso, Brookdale Community College and GANJ President-Elect

                   Astronomy Education in the K-12 Classroom
                   Karen Schwarz, Ph.D., West Chester University 

Poster Session – Sykes Student Union 

11:00-5:00    Authors present 11:00-12:30

Oral Presentations – Sykes Student Union 

12:00            Registration Opens

12:50-1:00    Opening Remarks
                   Michael J. Hozik, Ph.D., Stockton University and GANJ President

1:00-1:40     Constraints on the Tectonic Evolution of the Central Appalachian Piedmont from Monazite
                  and Detrital Zircon Ages
                  Howell Bosbyshell, Ph.D., West Chester University

1:40-2:20     The Baltimore Mafic/Ultramafic Complex
                  Lynn Marquez, Millersville University

2:20-3:00      The Bell’s Mill Ultramafic Body
                    Ryan J. Kerrigan, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

3:00-3:10     Break

3:10-3:50     3:10-3:50      The 201-Ma Magma Plumbing System in the Western Newark Basin:  How (Maybe) Why It’s
                  Different from the East
                  LeeAnn Srogi, Ph.D., West Chester University

3:50-4:30     Tectonics of the Junction of the Northern and Southern Appalachians in Southeastern
                  Pennsylvania
                  Donald U. Wise, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts at Amherst

4:30-5:00    GANJ Business Meeting

5:00-6:00    Keynote Presentation – Coming Together to Divide the Wissahickon: A Case in Teamwork and
                 the Role of Government Surveys in Regional Geologic Studies
                 Gale C. Blackmer, Ph.D., State Geologist/Director, Pennsylvania Bureau of Topographic
                 and Geologic Survey

Dinner and Conversation – Iron Hill Brewery 

6:30-8:00      Members are invited to gather at the Iron Hill Brewery in West Chester for dinner and conversation.  Order dinner and drinks on your own.  Please RSVP when you register so we know the number attending.   

Planetarium Program – Dr. Sandra F. Prichard-Mather Planetarium 

8:30-9:00      Looking UP:  A Tour of the Fall Sky--Karen Schwarz, Ph.D., West Chester University

Saturday, October 14^th   - Field Trip – Leaves from Lot M, West Chester University

8:00 am - 5:00 pm.      

 Stop 1 – Bell’s Mill Road and Wissahickon Creek, Philadelphia, PA - Classic Wissahickon Formation   

Stop 2 – Ridley Creek State Park, Media, PA – Avondale Massif gneiss

Stop 3 – Novotni Brothers Construction-Mount Road and Rt. 452, Aston, PA – Wilmington Complex

Stop 4 – Chester Park, Chester, PA – Chester Park Gneiss 

Stop 5 – Waltz Road (near Sugars Bridge Road and Rt. 322), West Chester, PA – Embreeville
             Thrust/Shear Zone

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