Established in the late 1980’s by Professors Hal Noltimier, Jeff Daniels, Ian Whillans, Ken Jezek, and Ralph von Frese, the Fund promotes geophysical research opportunities for SES students and faculty.  The Fund’s tax-deductible contributions currently facilitate the senior thesis research efforts of Matthew Young and Derrick Chan.  They are collaborating with the ASCTech Systems Manager Brent Curtiss and Visiting Scholar in Geophysics Mohammad Asgharzadeh to establish a gravity station on the MGO’s free-floating pier to monitor gravity changes related to the stability of the cavity-riddled bedrock underlying the Mendenhall Laboratory. 

The pier’s scientific value is further underscored by its inclusion in the National Geodetic Survey’s network of absolute gravity bases.  The pier also hosts a 3-component seismometer that contributes to the Ohio Geological Survey’s OHIOSEIS earthquake-monitoring network.    Thus, the pier is a valuable tool for not only teaching the operational principles of modern gravimeters and seismometers, but also for acquiring gravity and seismic data for research opportunities that the Geophysics Excellence Fund can help support and encourage. 

Left-to-right are Matthew Young, Brent Curtiss, and Mohammad Asgharzadeh standing on the free-floating pier in the Mendenhall Geophysical Observatory (Rm 051 ML).  The pier is anchored in bedrock and separated from the floor and the building’s motions by the flexible soft plastic gasket along its periphery.  In the foreground is the Scintrex CG-5 gravimeter, and behind it under the plexiglass shield is the Guralp 3-component seismometer.  The white dot in the window between Brent and Mohammad is the GPS receiver that provides the timing signal for the seismometer. 

Left-to-right are Derrick Chan and Matthew Young in the Mendenhall Geophysical Observatory (Rm 051 ML) standing by the GPS receiver in the window that feeds the timing signal to the OHIOSEIS seismometer on the free-floating pier.