Associate Professor
Office: Cyril Moore 117
Email: katherine.mccarville@minotstateu.edu
Phone Number: 701-858-3114
Dr. M in the Minnesota River Valley with 3.5 billion year old granitic Montevideo Gneiss, one of the oldest rocks in North America.
Courses Taught:
- Geology 100 – Earth Science
- Geology 299 – Dinosaurs
- Geology 307 – Mineralogy
- Geology 310 – Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology
- Geology 499 – Vertebrate Paleontology
Background:
I have roots in the Midwest but grew up in California, and studied geology at UCLA as an undergraduate. I worked as a uranium miner in Wyoming after graduation. My masters thesis at the Colorado School of Mines focused on geochemistry of uranium deposits in the Red Desert basin of Wyoming, and then I worked for a number of years in computing and networking at universities and for engineering consulting firms. As a Bush Foundation Leadership Fellow, I studied the avian paleontology of Fossil Lake, Oregon, at the South Dakota School of Mines. My work resulted in an innovative interpretation for the locality, as a volcanic maar.
Research Interests:
I’m interested in working with students on research projects on topics of their own interest, or aligned with my research interests. Past students have worked with me on projects ranging from vertebrate paleontology, geomorphology and glacial outburst floods, GIS projects to predict the location of algific talus slopes that serve as refugia for ice-age species, soils and carbon sequestration, and a wide variety of conservation-related projects. Please drop an email or stop by my office – I’d love to find out what you’re interested in investigating!
Most recently, I have been working on questions surrounding the origin and modification of the Iowan (Erosion) Surface, and using luminescence (OSL) dating techniques in megaflood landscapes. Additional areas of recent work include fossil birds, avian taphonomy, and vertebrate biostratigraphy and biogeography; fossil sea turtle nest trace fossils, especially in shoreface deposits associated with the Western Interior Cretaceous Seaway; and microplastics in aquatic environments. I’ve been working on a project related to dinosaur trace fossils in the Morrison Formation in Colorado, too. I am also affiliated with Iowa Lakeside Laboratory, a Regents Resource Center that offers summer opportunities for internships and field-based coursework.
Undergraduate researcher Zach Dingbaum, conducting a study of weathering on a giant erratic boulder on the Iowan (Erosion) Surface, in an effort to determine how long it has been exposed at the surface. Zach presented his results at a meeting of the International Glaciological Society in Madison, Wisconsin.
My professional interests also include place-based immersive and experiential education; transformative and transferable science education, in both formal and informal settings; teaching systems thinking; and working with pre-service or in-service educators in these areas. As an advocate for diversity in STEM/STEAM education, I have previously led grant-funded efforts including serving as a Campus Director for the IINSPIRE LSAMP Alliance (Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation in STEM disciplines), and as Co-Principal Investigator for an NSF-funded project called STEM-Pros: Growing More STEM Professionals in the Heartland.
Hydrogeology students at Minnehaha Falls, Minneapolis.
Dr. M with students presenting their work at an Academy of Science meeting.
EDUCATION
2004 Ph.D. in Paleontology/Geology, South Dakota School of Mines
Dissertation: Avian Paleontology of Fossil Lake, Oregon
1985 M.Sc., Geology, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado
Thesis: Alteration and Element Distribution Associated with Selected Uranium Deposits of the Great Divide Basin, Sweetwater County, Wyoming
1978 B.S., Geology, University of California, Los Angeles
Selected Abstracts, Presentations, Publications and Products
May 2024 McCarville, K., Leave no stone unturned: Preliminary OSL dates from beneath a giant erratic boulder, northeast Iowa (abstract). Oral presentation at the Geological Society of America Joint 120th Annual Cordilleran/74th Annual Rocky Mountain Section Meeting, Spokane, Washington.
May 2024 McCarville, K., Using the FEW (Food, Energy, Water) nexus as a framework for increasing student engagement and learning in undergraduate Earth and environmental science courses (abstract). Poster presentation at the Geological Society of America Joint 120th Annual Cordilleran/74th Annual Rocky Mountain Section Meeting, Spokane, Washington.
April 2024 McCarville, K., Decoding the palimpsest: Geomorphology, sediments, and soils of the Iowan Erosion Surface (abstract). Oral presentation at the Geological Society of America Joint 58th Annual South-Central/58th Annual North-Central Section Meeting, Springfield, Missouri.
April 2024 Roots of Resilience: Supporting Community Health through Soil and Habitat Transformations. Building Sustainable Communities conference, Dubuque, Iowa.
Apr. 28, 2023 McCarville, K., and N.K. George, 2023, Life of Learning: Re-energizing the Role of Mathematics and Science in University General Education (poster). Iowa Academy of Science Annual Meeting, Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Jan. 27, 2022 Iowa’s Evolving Landscape: Missing Our Pleistocene Megafauna. Osborne Nature Center, Clayton County Conservation, Elkader, Iowa. 45 participants, both in-person and remote.
Oct. 12, 2021 McCarville, K., and Z. Dingbaum, OSL Dating of Sediments in the Iowan Erosion Surface Landform Region May Support Megaflood Hypothesis of Formation. Oral presentation at the Geological Society of America Connects 2021 Annual Meeting, Portland, Oregon.
Oct. 13, 2021 McCarville, K. Microplastics and Plastic Waste in the Iowa Great Lakes as a Focus for Outdoor Experiential Environmental Education and Research. Poster presented at the Geological Society of America Connects 2021 Annual Meeting, Portland, Oregon.
July 28, 2020 Stoffel, J.L., and McCarville, K. Positioned for student success: engaging undergraduates through building a sense of place. 75th Soil and Water Conservation Society International Annual Conference (poster – remote).
July 28, 2020 McCarville, K. and Stoffel, J.L., Cultivating soil professionals: A holistic approach to undergraduate soils education. 75th Soil and Water Conservation Society International Annual Conference (oral presentation – remote).
April 8, 2020 Grand Canyon Geology. Michigan Basin Geological Society. Zoom presentation, 40 participants.
Nov. 6, 2018 McCarville, K. A New Look at the Iowan Erosion Surface as a Megaflood Landscape (abstract). Oral presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America, Indianapolis.
Oct. 8, 2018 McCarville, K. and Stoffel, J.L., Science Literacy in Undergraduate Introductory Earth Science Courses, Iowa Science Teachers Section, Iowa Academy of Science Annual Meeting, Ankeny.
Oct. 8, 2018 Ehlers, Carney, McCarville, Monteith, Water Connect Us All: 3-D Learning and Environmental Education, Iowa Science Teachers Section, Iowa Academy of Science Annual Meeting, Ankeny.
Apr. 17, 2018 McCarville, K. Iowa’s Megaflood? A Circumstantial Case for Formation of the Iowan Surface Landform Region. Geological Society of America 52nd North-Central Section Meeting, Ames.
Oct. 2014 McCarville, K. Incorporating systems thinking and tools into undergraduate Earth and environmental science courses to reveal relevance, increase understanding, and deepen learning. Presentation. Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Aug. 2012 Stoffel, J.L., George, N., McCarville, K., Butikofer, J., and Opel, K. Ecology education in the post-secondary setting: opportunities abound for integration and transference, Poster presentation, Ecological Society of America.
June 2011 Stoffel, J.L., and McCarville, K. Creating the Future: Fostering Undergraduate Student Research Poster Presentation at the Council on Undergraduate Research Program Directors Meeting June 14-18, 2011, Washington University in Saint Louis.
April, 2011 Kray, S., and McCarville, K. GIS mapping of glacial erratics in Fayette County, Iowa. Iowa Academy of Science, Waverly, Iowa.
Mar. 10, 2011 McCarville, K. A new interpretation for the classical avian fossil locality at Fossil Lake, Oregon (abstract). Oral presentation at Joint meeting of AFO, COS and AOU, Kearney, Nebraska.
Oct. 31, 2010 McCarville, K. A volcanic maar origin for the avian paleontological locality at Fossil Lake, Oregon (abstract). Oral presentation at Geological Society of America 2010 Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado.
Oct. 2010 McCarville, K. Global Warming: Fostering Student Research in a Chilly Climate, a short presentation as part of GSA Short Course 511: Establishing and Sustaining an Undergraduate Research Program: A Professional Development Workshop for New and Future Faculty, cosponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research. Geological Society of America 2010 Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado.
Oct. 2009 McCarville, K. Place-based pedagogies increase student engagement, skills and geoscience content knowledge (abstract). Poster. Geological Society of America 2009 Annual Meeting, Portland, Oregon.
2002, 2008: McCarville, K. Invited vignette: Careers for Women in Science, in Peters and Gega, Science and Elementary Education (ninth edition), Merrill Prentice Hall, p. 143-145.
McCarville, K. NAGT Cutting Edge workshop series – seven teaching activities contributed to the SERC Website: Reflectance Spectra; Mapping Glacial Erratics with GPS and GIS; Walkable/Bikeable Community Maps; Forensic Paleontology; Natural Selection Game; Forestry Management Plan Revision; Soil Biota
Dr. M demonstrating how to locate and document a loggerhead sea turtle nest on St. Catherine’s Island, GA, with interns and volunteers.
Field Trip Leader
In addition to frequent field study trips for classes, I have organized and led trips for professional organizations and universities, including more than a dozen Grand Canyon geology raft trips.
May 2021 Geology Leader, Geology of Grand Canyon raft trip, Arizona. Michigan Basin Geological Society. 35 participants.
July 2020 Co- organizer and Geology Leader, Geology of Grand Canyon raft trip, Arizona. UIU Advancement and Alumni Office. 17 participants.
July 2018 Co-organizer and Geology Leader, Geology of Grand Canyon raft trip, Arizona. Ancient Order of the Fire Gigglers. 17 participants.
May 2016 Co-organizer and Geology Leader, Geology of Grand Canyon raft trip, Arizona. UIU Advancement and Alumni Office. 17 participants.
May 2014 Hydrogeology of the Black Hills, more than 30 stops. ES417 (9 students) and PHY215 (2 students), plus one Environmental Science alumna.
June 18-21, 1998
Organizer and Leader, Grand Tour of the Black Hills of Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Association for Women Geoscientists Denver Chapter. 20 participants.
Aug. 1994 Organizer, Stateline Diamond District, Colorado and Wyoming.
Association for Women Geoscientists Denver Chapter. 14 participants.
