Curriculum Vitae

Beach erosion

Beach erosion and fog at Kezar Lake, Maine. The empty chair invites readers to explore my professional interests of glacial geology (land); limnology (lake); the Anthropocene (chair), New England’s sense of place (setting), and writing (this caption).

Last updated May 23, 2024

PERSONAL

Citizenship: U.S.A. – Born in Edgerton, Wisconsin.

Office/Lab: #227 Beach Hall, University of Connecticut

Website: Homepage

Email: robert.thorson@uconn.edu

Mail: Earth Sciences (U- 1045), University of Connecticut, 354 Mansfield Road, Storrs, CT 06269-1045.

EDUCATION

Ph.D. Geological Sciences, University of Washington – Seattle, 1979.

M.S. Geology, University of Alaska – Fairbanks, 1975.

B.S. Earth Science Teaching, Bemidji State College – Minnesota, 1973.

EMPLOYMENT

Academic Positions

2022-present: Professor of Earth Sciences, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Connecticut.
2005-present: Coordinator, Stone Wall Initiative, Connecticut State Museum of Natural History (website, blog, correspondence, visits, lectures).
2019-2022: Professor of Geoscience, Department of Geosciences, University of Connecticut.
2019-2021: Interim Head, Department of Geosciences, University of Connecticut (transitional position from Center for Integrative Geosciences to Department of Earth Sciences (December 2019-August 2021).
2004-2010: Honors Fellow, University of Connecticut Honors Program (earlier designation for those overseeing and teaching Honors Core Courses, which continues).
2004-2019: Professor of Geology, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Department of Anthropology, and Center for Integrative Geosciences, University of Connecticut.
1996-2004: Professor of Geology and Geophysics, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Connecticut. (Joint appointment with Department of Anthropology).
1990-1996: Associate Professor of Geology and Geophysics jointly appointed to Department of Anthropology.
1987-1995: Associate Professor of Geology and Geophysics, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Connecticut.
1984-1987: Assistant Professor of Geology & Geophysics, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Connecticut.
1984-1986: Research Affiliate, Earth Surface Processes, University of Alaska Museum, Fairbanks, AK.
1982-1984: Founding Director, Alaska Quaternary Center (AQC), University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK.
1982-1984: Head, Earth Surface Processes, Earth Sciences Division, University of Alaska Museum, Fairbanks, AK.
1982-1984: Director, Alaska Tephrochronology Center, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK.
1980-1984: Assistant Professor – Geology and Geophysics, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK.
1979-1980: Assistant Professor – Department of Geology, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, WI.
1973-1975: Teaching Assistant – Department of Geology, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK.

Visiting Academic Appointments

2012-2013: Affiliate Scholar, American Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
1999-2000: Professor Visitante de Obras Civiles, Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria, Valparaiso, Chile (supported by year-long Fulbright Scholar appointment).
1991-1992: Visiting Scholar, Department of Geography, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH.
1990-1991: Visiting Faculty Fellow, Department of History, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

Professional Positions

2004-2018: Journalist (Opinion Columnist), Hartford Courant. A weekly and bi-weekly Thursday column emphasizing Earth, environment, education, and sense of place.
2002-2003: Board of Contributors to “Place,” a nationally award-winning, special Sunday commentary section to The Hartford Courant.
1979-1981 Geologist (GS-13), U.S. Geological Survey, Branch of Western Environmental Geology, Menlo Park, CA. WAE status–when actually employed), part-time.
1978-1979 Research Associate, U.S. National Park Service, Assigned from USGS to NPS, co-employed by National Geographic Society, Denali National Park, AK.
1976-1979 Geologist (GS-13), U.S. Geological Survey, Puget Sound Earth Sciences Applications Project, Seattle, WA.
1975-1976 Geological Assistant, U. S. Geological Survey, Arctic Environmental Project, Branch of Alaskan Geology, Menlo Park, CA
1975 Field Assistant, U.S. Geological Survey, Arctic Environmental Project, Branch of Alaskan Geology, Fairbanks, AK.
1975 Field Assistant, U.S. Geol. Survey, Earthquake Hazards Project, Branch of Western Environmental Geology, Juneau, AK

TEACHING

Seven salient accomplishments.

Developed and piloted GSCI 2050W: Communicating Earth & Environmental Science in the Department of Earth Sciences to highlight the growing importance of science communication in STEM science. This writing-intensive course is now offered at least once per semester by a range of faculty.
Taught UConn’s first course on Global Climate Change in Spring 2001 (GEOL 495 Global Climate Change)
Four decades of piloting, overhauling, teaching and maintaining the undergraduate Geology, Geosciences, and Earth Sciences Curriculum, often as chair and member of the GSCI curriculum committee. When serving as Interim Head (2020-2021), my 1000-2000 level course templates were responsible for 100% of online instruction, 96% of 1000-level enrollments, and 72% of total departmental enrollments. Most recently, I helped realign the university-wide Common Curriculum for Environmental Literacy (TOI-4) toward Earth sciences.
A primary mentoring and teaching commitment to the Honors Program at the University of Connecticut. Since 2004 I have served as the Department Liaison and Advisor for the Honors Program. I currently teach two Honors Core courses and a First-Year Honors Seminar each year. I have been heavily engaged since my 2002 dean-nominated candidacy as director of the Honors Program program and was instrumental in creating its core curriculum.
More than four decades of designing and teaching courses in geoscience literacy and introductory geology: GSCI 1010: Age of the Dinosaurs, GSCI 102: Earth and Life Through Time, GEO 101: Environmental Geology, GSCI 1050-1051: Earth’s Dynamic Environment, GSCI 1055: Geoscience and the American Landscape, and the award-winning GSCI 1000E: The Human Epoch: Living in the Anthropocene,
Advising and co-advising of graduate students at the M.S. and Ph.D. levels in geology, archaeology, and history.
Decades of instruction in advanced (undergrad/grad) geoscience courses, most often GSCI 4210-5210: Glacial Processes & Materials.

HONORS & AWARDS

Solo and shared awards for research, leadership, teaching, writing, and journalism.

Shared awards indicated by asterisk.*

2024 – Honorary Member of Phi Beta Kappa. Elected and inducted May, 2024
2023 – Best History Writing of 2023, History News Network (Feb 6, 2024). For “How Stone Walls Became the Signature Landform of New England,” Smithsonian.
2023 – *Teaching, Learning, and Student Success Award. UConn’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for leading the Anthropocene Initiative (2019-2023) within the Department of Earth Sciences. Shared with professors Ben Chilson-Parks and Tammo Reichgelt.
2018-2020 – Three-time Nominee from Department of Earth Sciences, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor.
2019 – Director’s Service Award, Center for Integrative Geosciences, University of Connecticut.
2018 – American Antiquarian Society, Elected Member. For historical scholarship.
2015 – Elected Fellow – Geological Society of America. Based on original scholarly research and service to the profession.
2012 – Lifetime Achievement Award, People’s Action for Clean Energy, a regional environmental advocacy organization since 1975. Award was for environmental journalism in the Hartford Courant.
2011 – *New England Museum Association’s Book Award. Shared third place award (206 entries by 64 museums) for Hill-Stead: The Country Place of Theodate Pope Riddle. (Princeton: Princeton Architectural Press, Edited by James F. Gorman, 2010).
2010 – Honors Faculty Member of the Year, University of Connecticut.
2004 – *Connecticut Book Award (nonfiction) shared as chapter author for Voices of the New Republic, edited by Howard Lamar and Christopher Bickford (New Haven: Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences).
2004 – *Bookbuilder’s Guild of New York, shared as chapter author for Voices of the New Republic, edited by Howard Lamar and Christopher Bickford (New Haven: Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences).
2004 – *Homer Babbidge Award for the Association of Connecticut History, shared as chapter author for Voices of the New Republic, Edited by Howard Lamar and Christopher Bickford (New Haven: Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences).
2003 – David Blick Award For Science Education, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut.
2003 – Connecticut Book Award (nonfiction), Connecticut Center for the Book, a Library of Congress Affiliate, for Stone by Stone: The Magnificent History in New England’s Stone Walls (New York: Walker & Company, 2002).
2003 – *Thomas Wellman Award for Community Service – shared as member of original board of contributors to the Hartford Courant’s “Place,” American Association of Opinion Page Editors” (that year I was the most frequent contributor).
2000 “Worn-out dissertation award” – Self-award in jest based on a letter from the Office of the State Geologist, Washington Department of Natural Resources, requesting a new copy of my dissertation because the original was worn out from overuse.
1998 – Fulbright Scholar – Bilateral Fulbright Commission. Environmental Geology in Chile. Servicio Nacional de Geologia y Mineria, Santiago, La Universidad de Chile, and Universidad Tecnica de Federico Santa Maria. (A first for the department).
1998 – Smithsonian Institution – Notable Book for Children (shared with Kristine Thorson and Gustav Moore) for Stone Wall Secrets (Gardiner, ME, Tilbury House Publishers, 1998).
1997 – Outstanding Alumni Award, Bemidji State College, Minnesota.
1990 – Special Achievement Award, University of Connecticut.
1990 – Mellon Foundation Fellow, Yale University University-College Regional Program.
1986 – Special Achievement Award, University of Connecticut.
1983 – *Choice “Best Reference,” shared with chapter authors for Late Quaternary Environments of the United States, Stephen C. Porter, Ed., Minneapolis, Univ. Minn. Press (I was co-author for two of four chapters on glaciation).
1974 – Penrose Bequest Grant, Geological Society of America.
1973 – Summa cum laude, Bemidji State College (Minnesota).

PUBLICATIONS

Books

Published Books

*Asterisk indicates anonymous peer review. All are solo-authored except Stone Wall Secrets

The Walden Experiments. Princeton University Press. Scholarly trade book in preparation under contract.
The Guide to Walden Pond. An Exploration of the History, Nature, Landscape, and Literature of one of America’s most Iconic Places. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Hardcover, 2018. Softcover, 2018. 259 pages.
*The Boatman: Henry David Thoreau’s River Years. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Hardcover April 2017 . Softcover October 2019. 308 pages.
*Walden’s Shore: Henry David Thoreau and Nineteenth-Century Science. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Hardcover January 2014, Softcover 2015. 429 pages.
Beyond Walden: The Hidden History of America’s Kettle Lakes and Ponds. New York, NY: Bloomsbury. Hardcover, 2009, 303 pages.
Exploring Stone Walls: A Field Guide to New England’s Stone Walls. New York, NY: Bloomsbury/Walker. Softcover, 2005. 187 pages.
Stone By Stone: The Magnificent History in New England’s Stone Walls (New York, NY: Bloomsbury/Walker. Hardcover September 2002, multiple printings). Paperback since 2005. 287 pages.
*La Falla Marga-Marga, Vina del Mar, Chile. Valpariso, Chile: Publicada Occasional de la Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria, Depto. De Obras Civiles, Softcover 1999, 48 p., 21 figuras, una monografia entero.
Stone Wall Secrets . Gardiner, ME:, Tilbury House Publishers, Hardcover 1998. Unpaginated. Note: co-authored with Kristine Thorson and illustrated by Gustav Moore. Softcover, 1999, Revised softcover edition by Harcourt Brace, since 2014.
*Isostatic Effects of the Last Glaciation in the Puget Lowland Washington. Washington D.C.: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report, 81-370, 1981, 100 pages. Note: this monograph was published and distributed by the USGS as a stand-alone document archived in WorldCAT as a book.

Published Audiobooks

Stone By Stone: The Magnificent History in New England’s Stone Walls. Read by Robert M. Thorson. Tantor Media (A Division of Recorded Books, Inc.), Old Saybrook, CT, Oct 2022

Book Editor

Interior Alaska: A Journey Through Time (Anchorage, AK, Alaska Geographic Society, 1986), 256 pages (credited to me as author/editor by Library of Congress, WorldCAT, and others as the default first-chapter author. Editor was Richard K. Nelson).
Glaciation in Alaska: The Geologic Record, edited by Thomas D. Hamilton, K. M. Reed, and Robert M. Thorson (Anchorage, AK: Alaska Geological Society, 1986), 212 p.
Glaciation in Alaska: Extended Abstracts from a Workshop, edited by Robert M. Thorson and Thomas D. Hamilton (Fairbanks, AK: University of Alaska Museum Occasional Paper No. 2, 1984), 100 pages.

Chapters in Edited Books

Peer Reviewed: exceptions indicated by *

In press – Thorson, Robert M., “Walden’s Core Idea: Earthly Birth and Renewal.” Mercer University Press.
2022 – Thorson, Robert M., “Seeking Respite in Natural Science,” in What Would Henry Do, Volume 2, Margaret Bergman, Editor. Concord, MA, Thoreau Farm Trust, pages 70-71). Note: These are all very short chapters.
2019 – Thorson, Robert M., “The Maine Woods Rhomboid,” in Rediscovering the Maine Woods: Thoreau’s Legacy in an Unsettled Land, John Kucich, Editor (Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press), 59-83.
2017 – Thorson, Robert M., “Physical Science,” in Henry David Thoreau in Context, James Finley, ed. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017), 247-258.
2012 – Thorson, Robert M. “The Geology of Walden Pond,” in Geological Society of America Guidebook for Field trips in Connecticut and Massachusetts, Northeast Section 47^th Annual Meeting, Hartford, CT, Thomas, M. A., (ed), March 17-2-. 2012, Guide. State Geological and Natural History Survey of Connecticut Guidebook Number 9, p. E1-E9.
2010 – Thorson, Robert M., “The Stone Walls of Hill-Stead,” in Gorman, James, Ed., Hill-Stead, The Country Place of Theodate Pope Riddle, Princeton, NJ., Princeton Architectural Press, 2010).
2003 – Thorson, Robert M.. “The Physical Environment of Connecticut Towns, Then and Now: Processes, Attitudes and Perceptions,” in Lamar, H. and Cooper, C., Voices of the New Republic, Connecticut Towns, 1800-1832, (New Haven: Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2003), p. 225-232.
2003 – Thorson, Robert M. and Christian A. Tryon. “Bluff Top Sand Sheets in Northeastern Archaeology: A Physical Transport Model and Application to the Neville Site, Amoskeag Falls, New Hampshire” in, Cremeens, D. L., and Hart, J.P., Geoarchaeology of Landscapes in the Glaciated Northeast (Albany: New York State Museum Bulletin 497, 2003) p. 61-74.
1998 – Thorson, Robert M., Andrew. G. Harris, Sandra. L. Harris, Robert Gradie III, and Michael W. Lefor, “Colonial Impacts to Wetlands in Lebanon, Connecticut,” in Welby, C.W., and Gowan, M. E., Eds. A Paradox of Power: Voices of Warning and Reason in the Geosciences: Boulder, CO: Geological Society of America Reviews in Engineering Geology vs. XII, 1998), p. 23-42.
1990 – Thorson, R.M., “Geologic Contexts of Archaeological Sites in Beringia,” in Lasca, N.P. and Donahue, J., eds., Archaeological Geology of North America: Boulder, Colorado. Geological Society of America, Decade of North American Geology, Centennial Special Volume 4, 1990), 399-420.
1987 – Thorson, R.M., “Geomorphology of the Alaskan Pacific Coast and Mountain System” in Graf, W., ed., Geomorphology of North America: Geological Society of America, Decade of North American Geology. Special Centennial Volume No. 2, 1987) p. 517-528 (in Chapter 13, Muhs, D., chapter leader)
1986 – Thorson, R.M., “The Ceaseless Contest,” in Interior Alaska, a Journey Through Time, ed. Richard Nelson (Anchorage: The Alaska Geographic Society, 1986). Chapter 1. Note: I am listed as the book author in bibliographic data bases due to a cataloging error.
1986 – Thorson, R.M., “Late Cenozoic Glaciation of the Northern Nenana Valley,” in Hamilton, T.D., Reed, K.M., and Thorson, R.M., eds., Glaciation in Alaska: The Geologic Record (Anchorage: The Alaska Geological Society, 1986) p. 99-122.
1986 – Thorson, R.M. and Hamilton, T.D., “Glacial Geology of the Aleutian Islands,” in Hamilton, T.D., Reed, K.M., and Thorson, R.M., eds., Glaciation in Alaska: The Geologic Record (Anchorage: The Alaska Geological Society, 1986) p. 171-192.
1986 – Hamilton, T.D., Reed, K.M., and Thorson, R.M. “Introduction and Overview,” in Hamilton, T.D., Reed, K.M. and Thorson, R.M., eds., Glaciation in Alaska: The Geologic Record (Anchorage: The Alaska Geological Society, 1986), p. 1-8.
1983 – Hamilton, T.D. and Thorson, R.M. “The Cordilleran Ice Sheet in Alaska.” in Late Quaternary Environments of the United States, Volume I, The Late Pleistocene. S.C. Porter (Ed.), (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1983), chapter 2, p. 38-52.
1983 – Waitt, R.B., Jr. and Thorson, R.M., 1983. “The Cordilleran Ice Sheet Washington, Idaho, and Montana,” in Late Quaternary Environments of the United States, Volume I, The Late Pleistocene, ed. S.C. Porter (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1983) chapter 3, p. 53-70.

Book Reviews

Thorson, Robert M., 2023, “‘Thoreau’s Axe’ Review: Better Focus, the ‘Walden’ Way,” (print and online), The Wall Street Journal, April 14, 2023. https://www.wsj.com/articles/thoreaus-axe-book-review-in-focus-in-the-woods-7d59c0b6
Thorson, Robert M., 2022, “Evolution of a Theory” (print) and “Two Books on the Young Charles Darwin” (online). The Wall Street Journal, Oct 14, 2022. https://www.wsj.com/articles/two-books-on-the-young-charles-darwin-11665758891
Thorson, Robert M., 2022, “Book Reviews: The Transcendentalists and Their Worlds,” Journal of Environmental History, 37:4, October 2022, https://doi.org/10.1086/721325.
Thorson, Robert M., 2022,”The Cauldrons Beneath Us” (in print as “Terra Furnace.” The Wall Street Journal “Bookshelf” Review of Super Volcanoes: What They Reveal about Earth and the Worlds Beyond by Robin George Andrews, March 5, 2022.
Thorson, Robert M., 2021, “Roots of Fire.” The Wall Street Journal “Bookshelf” Review of How the Mountains Grew: A New Geological History of North America by John Dvorak. August 13, 2021, p. C12.
Thorson, Robert M., 2021, “Deep Environmental History.” Environmental History 26: 605-607, July, 2021 (doi: 10.1093/envhis/emab038).
Thorson, Robert M., 2021, ” We are Stardust.” (print/online). Review of Meteorite, by Timothy Gregory, 2020. The Wall Street Journal “Bookshelf” August 2021.
Thorson, Robert M., 2020, “On the Gaps of Deep Time (print/online), Review of The Book of Unconformities by Hugh Raffles. TheWall Street Journal, Aug 28, 2020.
Thorson, Robert M., 2019, Review of Underland: a Deep Time Journey by Robert Macfarlane. Orion (print/online), Summer 2019, 75-76.
Thorson, Robert M., 2019, “The Earth and Us” (print/online), Review of Origins: How Earth’s History Shaped Human History by Lewis Dartnell, The Wall Street Journal “Bookshelf,”C9, May 9, 2019.
Thorson, Robert M., 2018, “Thinking in Eons,”(print/online), Review of Timefulness by Marcia Bjornerud (Princeton University Press, 2018), 208 p., The Wall Street Journal “Bookshelf,” A11, Dec 30, 2018.
Thorson, Robert M., 2019. Rachel Carson: Silent Spring & Other Writings on the Environment, Edited by Susan Steingraber (New York: Library of America, 2018), xliii+ 546 pp. Environmental History 24:221-223, January 2019 (DOI: 10.1093/envhis/emy119).
Thorson, R. M., 2018. Henry David Thoreau: A Life, Laura Dassow Walls (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017). Environmental History, 23:992-924, October 2018 .https://academic.oup.com/envhis/advance-article/doi/10.1093/envhis/emy076.
Thorson, R.M., 1989. Beringia in the Cenozoic Era. Kontrimavichus, V.L., Ed., 1986, Rotterdam, Balkema, 724 p: Geoarchaeology an International Journal, v.4, p. 81-83.
Thorson, R.M., 1988. North America Adjacent Oceans During the Last Deglaciation, Ruddiman, W.R., and Wright, H.E. Jr., Eds., Geological Society of America, Decade of North American Geology, Volume K-3: Geoarchaeology an International Journal, v. 3, p. 308 309.
Thorson, R.M., 1987. Late Pleistocene History of Northeastern New England and Adjacent Quebec, Borns, H.W. Jr., La Salle, Pierre, and Thompson, W.B., Geoarchaeology, and International Journal, v. 3, 92-93.

Book Prefaces

2010 – Thorson, Robert M., “Preface” to The Outcomes of the Life of a Geologist: An Autobiography by T. Nelson Dale (1846-1937), edited by Reinhard A.Wobus, (Professor of Geosciences, Williams College), Vol. 61, p. Pages 1-2. New Haven, Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, Yale University. ISBN 978-1-878508-29-4.

Articles

Scientific Journals

Peer Reviewed

In Press, Thorson, Robert M., “Conserving the Historic Stone Walls of New England.” The Public Historian, Print: February 2025
In Press, Thorson, Robert M., “Thoreau’s River Seasons: A Phenological Baseline.” The Concord Saunterer, Print Fall, 2024
Thorson, Robert M., 2023, “Taxonomy and Nomenclature of the Stone Domain in New England.” Historical Archaeology, 57, 1353-1384, Submitted March, 2022, Accepted October 30, 2022, Published September 21, 2023. Issue Date December 2023
Thorson, Robert M., Daniel Forrest, and Brian Jones, 2014, Hydraulic back-flood model for the archaeological stratigraphy of the Connecticut River Alluvial Lowland, central Connecticut, USA. Quaternary International, v. 342, August 2014, Pages 173-185 (DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2014.03.026).
Glauberman, Philip J., and Thorson, R. M., 2012, Flint Patina as an Aspect of “Flaked Stone Taphonomy”: A Case Study from the Loess Terrain of the Netherlands and Belgium. Journal of Taphonomy, v. 10, issue 1, p. 21-43.
Burchsted, Denise, Daniels, Melinda, Thorson, Robert, and Vokoun, Jason, 2010, The River Discontinuum: Applying Beaver Modifications to Baseline Conditions for Restoration of Forested Headwaters. Bioscience, December 2010, v. 60, No. 11, p. 908-922.
Holmes, Charles E., Ben A. Potter, Joshua D. Reuther, Owen K. Mason, Robert M. Thorson, and Peter M. Bowers., 2008. “Geological and Cultural Context of the Nogahabara I Site,” American Antiquity 73 (4), 781-790. [Note: on this I worked only with the first author.]
Thorson, Robert M., 2006, “Artifact Mixing at the Dry Creek Site, Interior Alaska,” Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska, New Series, V. 4 (1), p. 1-10.
Thorson, Robert M., 2001, “Remote aquifer response to the18 November 1755 Cape Anne Earthquake,” Seismological Research Letters, v. 72, No. 3, May/June, 2001, p. 363-365.
Thorson, Robert M., 2000, “Glacial Tectonics. A Deeper Perspective,” Quaternary Science Reviews, V. 13-14, p. 1391-1398.
Thorson, Robert M., 1999, “El limite glacial in Sudamerica y su papel en Biografia; Observaciones de Darwin,” Ciencia al Dia Internacional (an internet journal), No. 4, Vol II, Dec. 1999.
Thorson, Robert M., 1996, “Earthquake Recurrence and Glacial Loading in Western Washington,” Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 108, no. 9, 1182-1191.
Thorson, Robert M., 1996, “The Five-Square Strategy for Excavating Colluvial Slopes,” The Review of Archaeology, 17: 1.
Thorson, Robert M. and C.A. Schile, 1994, “Deglacial Eolian Regimes in New England,” Geological Society of America Bulletin, 107: 751-761.
Thorson, Robert M., 1993, “Postglacial Offset on the Seattle Fault,” Science, 260: 825-826.
Thorson, Robert M. and R.D. Guthrie, 1992, “Stratigraphy of the Colorado Creek Mammoth Locality, Alaska,” Quaternary Research, 37:214-288.
Thorson, Robert M. and S.L. Harris, 1991, “How “Natural are Inland Wetlands? An Example from the Trail Wood Audubon Sanctuary in Connecticut, USA.” Environmental Management, 15: 675-687.
Thorson, Robert M. and R.S. Webb, 1991, “Postglacial history of a cedar swamp in southeastern Connecticut,” Journal of Palaeolimnology, 6: 17-35.
Thorson, Robert M., 1990, “Glaci-isostatic response of the Puget Sound Area, Washington,” Geological Society of America Bulletin, V. 201, p. 1163-1174.
Thorson, Robert M. and McBride, K., 1988, “The Bolton Spring Site, Connecticut: early Holocene human occupation and environmental changes in southern New England,” Geoarchaeology: An International Journal, v. 3, No. 3, 221-234.
Thorson, Robert M., Clayton, W.S., and Seeber, L., 1986, “Geologic evidence for a large prehistoric earthquake in eastern Connecticut,” Geology, v. 14, p. 463-467.
Thorson, Robert M., and Bender, G., 1985, “Eolian deflation by ancient katabatic winds; a late Quaternary example form the north Alaska Range,” Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 96, p. 702-709.
Dixon, E.J. and Thorson, R.M., 1984, “Taphonomic analysis and interpretation in NorthAmerican Pleistocene archaeology,” Quaternary Research, v. 22, p. 155-159.
Thorson, Robert M. and Guthrie, R.D., 1984, “River ice as a taphonomic agent: an alternative hypothesis for bone “artifacts,” Quaternary Research, v. 22, p. 172-188.
Thorson, Robert M. and Dixon, E.J., 1983, “Alluvial history of the Porcupine River, Alaska: Role of glacial-like overflow northwest Canada,” Geological Society of American Bulletin, 94, 576-589.
Thorson, Robert M., Dixon, E.J., Smith, G.S., and Batten, A., 1981, “Interstadial Proboscidean from South-Central Alaska: Implications for Biogeography, Geology, Archaeology,” Quaternary Research, 16, 404-417
Thorson, Robert M., Plaskett, D.C., and Dixon, E.J., 1980, “A reported Early-Man Site Adjacent to Southern Alaska’s Continental Shelf: A Geologic Solution to an Archaeological Enigma,” Quaternary Research, 13, 259-273.
Thorson, Robert M., 1980, “Ice-Sheet Glaciation of the Puget Lowland, Washington, during the Vashon Stade (Late Pleistocene),” Quaternary Research, 13, 303-321.
Thorson, Robert M., 1978, “Recurrent late Quaternary Faulting Near Healy Alaska,” Short Notes on Alaskan Geology, Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Geology Report, 61, 10-14.
Thorson, Robert M. and Hamilton, T.D., 1977, “Geology of the Dry Creek Site; a Stratified Early Man Site in Interior Alaska,” Quaternary Research, 7, 149-176.

Professional Magazines and Circulars

Thorson, Robert M., 2023, “New England stone walls lie at the intersection of history, archaeology, ecology and geoscience, and deserve a science of their own,” The Conversation (online), December 4, 2023.
Thorson, Robert M., 2020, “What ‘Walden’ can tell us about social distancing and focusing on life’s essentials,” The Conversation (online),March 26, 2020.
Thorson, Robert M., 2019, “Thoreau’s Great Insight for the Anthropocene: Wildness is an attitude, not a place,” The Conversation (online), March 8, 2019.
Thorson, Robert M., 2014, “Henry’s Rock and Mineral Collection.” Thoreau Society Bulletin, No. 285, Spring 2014, p. 7-8.
Thorson, Robert M., 2010, “The Spirit of Kettle Lakes.” LakeLine V. 30, No. 1, Spring 2010, p. 19-22.
Thorson, Robert M., 2009, “Loving Lakes to Death,” Natural History, July/August 2009, p. 48. (Edited excerpt of my book, Beyond Walden).
Thorson, Robert M., 2009, “Did Thoreau Have Aspergers Syndrome?” Thoreau Society Bulletin, 262, Spring 2009, p. 9-10. (Note, this article solicited a lengthy scholarly response from John H. Mahoney, a clinical psychologist, published in TSB Number 267, Summer 2009, p. 1-5).
Daniel Forrest, Brian Jones and Robert M. Thorson, 2008, “The Adriaen’s Landing Project and the Development of the Connecticut River Floodplain at Hartford,” Bulletin of the Connecticut Archaeological Society 70: 5-16
Smagugla, Amy P., Robert M. Thorson, and Neil Kamman. 2008, “Meet the Lakes of the Northeast, ” Lakeline 27 (4): 25-29.
Thorson, Robert M., 2006, “Touching the Past,” Connecticut Walk Book, The Connecticut Forest & Park Association Publication No. 36-V2. p. 205.
Thorson, R. M. 2004, “Jailhouse Rock,” GSA Today (Geological Society of America’s monthly magazine), Volume 14, No. 9, p. 30.
Thorson, Robert M., 2003, “Preserving Stone Walls,” Connecticut Preservation News, Vol. XXV, No. 5, Sept/Oct 2002, p. 11 and 16.
Thorson, Robert M., 2001, The Perfect Flood? (On the public sense of threat). National Public Radio News (WNPR) News Highlight, electronically published/archived at http://news.wnpr.org/xpr/feature.jhtml. p 1-4. May, 2001.
Forrest, D. T., Thorson, R. M., and Raber, M. S., 2000 (December), “Adriaen’s Landing — Archaeology, Geology, and Palynology.” Cultural Resource Management, v. 23, no. 10, p. 30-32. (Invited).
Thorson, R.M., 1998. Stone Wall Secrets: Geology as Environmental History, GSA Today (Geological Society of America’s monthly magazine), November, p. 8-9.
Thorson, R.M. and Gregory Brick, 1995. Stratified Drift as Historical Baggage. GSA Today (Geological Society of America’s monthly magazine), v. 5, no. 9, 174-176.
Thorson, R.M., 1994. Final Report for Project 1434-94-6-2467: Postglacial Offset Along the Seattle Fault. National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Technical Summaries, 1994 Projects.
Thorson, R.M., 1991. Presentation of the Archaeological Geology Division Award to David M. Hopkins (Citation). Geological Society of America Archaeological Geology Newsletter, 101, 577-579
Thorson, R.M. and Holiday, V.T., 1990. Just what is Geoarchaeology? Geotimes, V. 35, 19-20. Thorson, R.M., 1990. Annual Review of Archaeological Geology. Geotimes, January, p. 32-33.
Thorson, R.M., 1989. Neotectonics in Alaska and Northwest Canada, “in” Carter, L.D., Hamilton, T.D., and Galloway, J.P., Eds., Late Cenozoic History of the Interior Basins of Alaska and the Yukon:U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1026, p. 108-109.
Thorson, R.M., 1989. Late Quaternary Paleofloods along the Porcupine River, Alaska: Implication for Regional Correlation, “in” Carter, L.D., Hamilton, T.D., and Galloway, J.P., Eds., Late Cenozoic History of the Interior Basins of Alaska and the Yukon: U.S. Geological Survey Circular, 1026, p. 51-54.
Thorson, R.M. and Hamilton, T.D., 1983, Glaciation Fluctuated Repeatedly in Alaska. Geotimes, September, 18.
Dixon, E.J., Plaskett, D.C., and Thorson, R.M., 1983. Cave Deposits, Porcupine River, Alaska: National Geographic Society Research Reports, 1979 Projects, p. 129-153.
Hamilton, T.D. and Thorson, R.M., 1976. Surficial geologic Mapping in the Philip Smith Mountains and Chandalar Quadrangles, Books Range. U.S. Geological Survey Circular, 733, 9-10.

Conference Proceedings and Technical Reports

Meeting abstracts not listed.

Burchsted D., Daniels M.D., and Thorson R.M.. 2010, “Restoring the River Discontinuum: Looking at the Example of Beaver Dams. World Environment and Water Resources 2010 Congress Proceedings. American Society of Civil Engineers–Environmental Water Resources Institute, May 16-20, Providence, RI
Thorson, Robert M., 2000, Shoreline stratigraphy of Lake Washington; implications for Holocene crustal strain and earthquake recurrence in the Cascadia forearc. Penrose Conference 2000, Great Cascadia Earthquake Tricentennial, Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries Special Paper 33, p. 120-121.
Thorson, R. M., 1999, Del Rio Aconcaugua, Selected Geologic Topics, Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria Depto. De Obras Civiles, 30 p.
Thorson, R. M., 1998. Neotectonics and Shoreline Change, Sammamish Delta, Lake Washington. Project #1434-HG-97-GR-03057, National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, Final Report.
Thorson, R. M., 1999. Neotectonics and Shoreline Change, Sammamish Delta, Lake Washington. Project #1434-HG-97-GR-03057, National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Annual Project Summaries, Volume VXXXIX.
Thorson, R.M. and E.B. Leopold, 1998. Shoreline transgression and crustal motion at Lake Washington: National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Annual Project Summaries, Volume VXXXVIII.
Thorson, Robert M. 1998, The Fate of Robins Pond. University of Connecticut Wildlife Research Conservation Center, Annual Report.
Thorson, R.M., 1998, Back to the Sandbox. University of Connecticut Institute for Teaching and Learning, Annual Magazine Newsletter.
Thorson, R. M., and Brick, G., 1996. Landscape Archaeology of the Jinny Hill Mining District. Final Report, Connecticut State Historical Commission and the U.S. National Park Service, 46 p.
Thorson, R. M., 1996. History and Hydrology of Great Pond Natural Preserve, Glastonbury, Conn., Final Report, The Nature Conservancy, Connecticut Office, Middletown, 45 p.
Bugden, W.F. and R.M. Thorson, 1994. Groundwater Interaction with a Kettle-Hole Wetland. In Connecticut: Hydrologic and Geochemical Evidence. Proceedings of the 1994 FOCUS Conference on Eastern Regional Ground Water Issues, October 3-4, 1994, p. 407-424.
Thorson, R.M., 1983. Isosotatic Effects of the last glaciation in the Puget Lowland, Washington, “in” Yount, J.C. and Crossen, R.S., Earthquake Hazards of the Puget Sound region, Washington, Proceedings of Workshop IV, U.S. Geol. Survey Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 83-19, 300-301.
Thorson, R.M., 1983. Pre-late Pleistocene Glacial Sequence in the Nenana Valley – a Revision, “in” Thorson, R.M. and Hamilton, T.D., Eds., University of Alaska Museum Occasional Paper No. 2, 83-87.
Thorson, R.M., 1983. Stratigraphic evidence from variable past permafrost conditions at Canyon Village Bluff, north east Alaska. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science’s Fourth International Conference on Permafrost, 1257-1262.

Encyclopedia Entries

2006 – Thorson, Robert M., “Geology.” The Encyclopedia of New England: The Culture and History of an American Region. Feintuch, Burt and D. H. Watters, Editors.,Yale University Press, p. 567-569.

Magazine Journalism

Thorson, Robert M., 2024, “New England stone walls deserve a science of their own,” UConn Today, January 3, 2004, (reprinted from The Conversation).
Thorson, Robert M., 2023, “How stone walls became a signature landform of New England,” Smithsonian, November 14, 2023.
Thorson, Robert M., 2022: Note: The following 10 short essays were discrete and separately titled columns that the editor chose to print simultaneously under the heading “Forces of Nature,” the cover story for the November, 2022 issue of Connecticut Magazine titled “The Land.”
- Thorson, Robert M. 2022, “Our Land,” Connecticut Magazine 85:11, 50-52.
- Thorson, Robert M. 2022, “The Straits,” Connecticut Magazine 85:11, 52-53.
- Thorson, Robert M. 2022, “The Shore,” Connecticut Magazine 85:11, 53-54.
- Thorson, Robert M. 2022, “Diamond Pixels,” Connecticut Magazine 85:11, 54-55.
- Thorson, Robert M. 2022, “The Hills,” Connecticut Magazine 85:11, 56.
- Thorson, Robert M. 2022, “Rock Stars,” Connecticut Magazine 85:11, 57.
- Thorson, Robert M. 2022, “Lakes Lost and Found,” Connecticut Magazine 85:11, 58.
- Thorson, Robert M. 2022, “Crushing Insights,” Connecticut Magazine 85:11, 59.
- Thorson, Robert M. 2022, “Revealing Climate’s Story,” Connecticut Magazine 85:11, 60-61.
- Thorson, Robert M. 2022, “Land of Steady Habits,” Connecticut Magazine 85:11, 61.
Thorson, Robert M., 2021, “UConn Geoscience: Earth’s Dynamic Planet,” UConn Early College Experience Magazine, (Brian Boecherer, Editor, University of Connecticut, Summer 2021, v 7, p. 8-9.
Thorson, Robert M, 2018, “In Thoreau’s Footsteps,” Country Magazine, Nov 1, 2018, page X. (Invited discussion of my recent book, The Guide to Walden Pond.)
Thorson, Robert M, 2019, “The Shape of Storrs,” UConn Magazine, V 20, No 3, Fall, 2019, includes technical addendum online (About why glacial soil led to the foundation of the university).
Thorson, Robert, M. May, 2016, “Rock On,” UConn Magazine, (online and print) and UCONN Today, online only. (About former UCONN President Homer Babbidge, Jr.’s love for New England’s historic stone walls.)
Thorson, Robert M. 2009, “A Revolutionary Wall.” Special Places: Quarterly Magazine of the Trustees of Reservations, v. 17, No. 3, p. 12-13.
Thorson, Robert M., 2009, “The Stone Walls of Hill-Stead,” Hill-Stead Plant Book: Beatrix Farrand’s Sunken Garden, Paula Brisco, Ed., p. 29-30, ISBN 978-0-974445-6-9.
Thorson, Robert M., 2006, “A Mammoth Fascination with Proboscideans,” Cross Paths, v. 9, Issue 2, Summer, 2006, (Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center), p. 6-7.
Thorson, Robert M., 2005, “Stone Walls Disappearing,” Connecticut Woodlands: The Magazine of the Connecticut Forest & Park Association, v. 69, No. 4, Winter, 2005).

Newspaper Essays and Opinions

Newspapers

Other than the Hartford Courant

Thorson, Robert M., 2011, Geology Professor Takes on Settler’s Rock (on the origin of Settler’s Rock, Block Island). Block Island Times, August 24, 2011, p. 13.
Thorson, Robert M. 2007, Selfish Dog Owner Ruins a Rhode Island Beach (on unleashed dogs and public use of nature). Providence Journal, January 13, 2007.
Thorson, Robert M., 2006, Strip Mining History (on mining and thievery of abandoned stone walls), New York Times, October, 8, 2006.
Thorson, Robert M., 2003, Legacy of Stone (on conserving stone walls). Boston Globe, Wednesday, January 1, 2003, p. A15.
Thorson, Robert M., 2002, Warming up the Northwest Passage (on global climate change). The Providence Journal, Monday, December 30, 2002, p. A8.
Thorson, Robert M., 2002, Tragedy of the Commons: Selling off New England’s stone walls (on conserving stone walls). Providence Journal, Wednesday, November 27, 2002, p. 4
Thorson, Robert M., 2002, Something there is that loves a wall (Comment on excerpts on the release of my book, Stone By Stone). Willimantic Chronicle, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2002.
Thorson, Robert M., 2001, Maple Trees may flee to avoid warming. Providence Journal, March 12, 2001, p. A10.
Thorson, Robert M., 2000, Hold the Fort! (on the failed Fort Trumbull development).The New London Day, Sunday, December 31, 2000, p. C1.
Thorson, Robert M., 1996, Forty Years on Plato’s Highway (satire on the failed Route 6 expressway from Windham to Bolton). Manchester Journal Inquirer, November 18, 1996, p. 19-20.

Hartford Courant (492)

Invited Features (7)

Features for Sunday Opinion Section

Thorson, Robert M., 2013, Living Sustainably Within Your Watershed: UConn Water Worries (front page opinion on statewide water policy. (on building a pipeline to Storrs). Hartford Courant, January 20, 2013, p. C1.
Thorson, Robert M., 2011, Winds of Change?: Powerful Tornadoes Nothing New — But Frequency, Ferocity in Keeping with a Warmer World. (on the killer tornadoes of June, 2011). Hartford Courant, June 5, 2011, p. C1.
Thorson, Robert M., 2005, New Orleans Can’t Stand in Nature’s Way (on Hurricane Katrina), Hartford Courant, September 4, 2005, p. C1.
Thorson, Robert M., 2002, These Stones Belong to You and Me (on conserving stone walls). The Hartford Courant, Sunday, December 1, 2002, p. C1.

Other

Thorson, Robert M., 2004, Students like Safdie (commentary on architectural plans for science center). Hartford Courant, September 23, 2004, p.A13.
Thorson, Robert M., 2004, Focus on the River (on architectural plans for the Connecticut Science Center). Hartford Courant, Sunday Sept 12, 2004, p. C7.
Thorson, Robert M., 2003, Monitor Development (on big issues for state development). Hartford Courant, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2003.

Invited Essays (24)

Note: All were solo-authored by me after being invited and appointed to the Board of Contributors for Place, a special subsection of the Sunday Opinion section. I was their most frequent contributor during the five years it ran. This section one a national journalism award (see awards).

Thorson, Robert M., 2010, Spring Melt Pulls Veil from Roadside Trash (on melting snow, spring freshets, and the great oceanic garbage swirls). Hartford Courant, March 21, 2010, p.
Thorson, Robert M., 2010, What makes Waterfalls from the Rocks? (on the origin of roadcut-clinging icings) Hartford Courant, February 21, 2010, p. C5 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2009, A State By Geological Consent (on the origin of Connecticut). Hartford Courant, March 22, 2009, p, C5 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2007, Holding Nature in Trust (On the necessity of land trusts) Hartford Courant, May 6, 2007, p. C4 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2006, Red Brick UConn Campus No Place for Metal Monstrosity (on Frank Gehry’s anti-natural architectural proposal). Hartford Courant, November 19, 2006, p. C5 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2006, Rocky Reckoning (on the cultural meaning of three terms: rock, stone, and boulder). Hartford Courant, February 26, 2006, p. C5 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2006, Harvest the Galapagos for Sneakers? (on anti-environmental merchandising). Hartford Courant, January 1, 2006, p. C5 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2005, A Reverence for Stone: Why Rock Walls Surround the Sacred Ground of New England Cemeteries. Hartford Courant, October 23, 2005, p. C4 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2005, There’s No Place Like Home (Commentary on Southern New England’s limited exposure to natural hazards). Hartford Courant, April 24, 2005, p. C5 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2004, Natural Landing (Commentary on The Wright Brother’s 101st aniversary and Bradley Airport), Hartford Courant, December 12, 2004, p. C5 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2004, All that’s left is the name: Without its stone wall, “Fieldstone Commons” is Nothing of the Sort. Hartford Courant, December 19, 2004, p. C6 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2004, Red Sox Nation’s Rock-Solid Foundation (on the unifying force of regional geology). Hartford Courant, October 31, 2004, p. C5 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2004, Exit Ramp Culture (Connecticut History Part IV; on mall over-development) Hartford Courant, September 12, 2004, p. C4 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2004, Wetlands on Trial (on the challenge facing town conservation commissions). Hartford Courant, May 2, 2004, p. C4 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2004, Thin Blue Line: A Danger for Drinking Water, Hartford Courant, April 11, 2004, p. C5 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2004, The Sand Trap, Hartford Courant, January 18, 2004, p. C4 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2003, Losing Ground (Connecticut History part III, on postglacial soils and their conversion) Hartford Courant, November 9, 2003, p. C5 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2003, Jailhouse Rock: The Symbol of Pilgrim Freedom Shouldn’t be Behind Bars (On Plymoth Rock). Hartford Courant, September 23, 2003, p. C4 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2003, Connecticut’s Glacial Gifts (Connecticut History, part II, on glacial geology). Hartford Courant, Sunday, August 31, 2003, p. C4 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2003, The Tides of Time; No Longer a Commodity, Whales are Still Precious (on whale beachings and community response). Hartford Courant, Sunday, August 24, 2003, p. C5 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2003, Cheshire’s Dark Underworld (on abandoned mining landscapes). Hartford Courant, Sunday, July 13, 2003, p. C3 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2003, Cat Tales: Tracking the Elusive Evidence of Cougars in Connecticut. Hartford Courant Sunday, June 15, 2003, p. C5 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2003, Making Connecticut, the Primal State of Architecture (Connecticut History, Part I, Bedrock Geology) Hartford Courant, June 8, 2003, p. C4 (Place).
Thorson, Robert M., 2003, Riverfront Reconsidered (on Hartford’s Riverside threat by flooding). Hartford Courant, Sunday, March 9, 2003, p. C5 (Place).

Freelanced (3)

Thorson, Robert M., 2002, Diamonds are Forever–Unfortunately (on converting dead bodies of pets into keepsake diamonds). Hartford Courant, Sunday, Sept 1, 2002.
Thorson, Robert M., 2002, Yucca Mountain is not Yuck a Mountain (on Nuclear Waste Disposal). Hartford Courant, August, 2002.
Thorson, Robert M., 2001, A detective discovers our shifting sands (on winter sanding and mining of aquifers). Hartford Courant, Monday Feb. 12, p. A11.

Regular Op-Ed Columns (458)

Fourteen years of professional part-time journalism under contract to the Hartford Courant via a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) from the UConn administration that this is part of my scholarly work. All columns were solo-authored. They are numbered sequentially from the inaugural column on March 26, 2004: weekly through January 3, 2008 and every other week after that. All were initially syndicated within the Chicago Tribune newspaper group, and often reprinted within the syndicate. Many still circulate online. To be linked to UConn Geoscience’s Engagement website. The titles in boldface are selected by the editors, whereas the explanations in parenthesis are mine. The dates for most recent columns are those of the online edition, which goes up either Wednesday or Thursday. The print edition was always on Thursday with a circulation of ~250,000. Generally the print pages were A 11 through A15. I stopped writing columns after May 10, 2018, followed the quick retirement of my longtime mentors and editors Peter Pach and Carolyn Lumsden.

Columns #197 through #458 were published every other Thursday. Columns #1-196 were published every Thursday.

458. May 10, 2018. Hawaiian Eruption — A power Beyond Ours. (On Kilauea and human powerlessness.)
457. April 26, 2018. U.S. Backs Big Oil Against Tiny Arctic Tribe. (On being disrespectful of indigenous human rights and addicted to petroleum).
456. April 12, 2018. Voices of UConn Activists Echo ’70s Students. (On the students moving higher education and the nation culturally forward.)
455. March 29, 2018. Gun Range Plan Hostile Fire in Quiet Griswold. (On the proposed ruination Patachaug State Forest for a state gun range.)
454. March 15, 2018. Winter Nor’easters Washing Cape Cod Away. (On the long-term fate of Cape Cod, given melting ice sheets).
453. March 1, 2018. Evidence on Fracking for Gas Lowers Alarm. (On a robust data set that fracking causes minimal water pollution).
452. February 15, 2018. Support Hamster’s Cruel Death Raises Questions. (On the ethics and public policy of of overprescribing emotional support animals.)
451. February 1, 2018. Connecticut River Ice Jam Good Theater, But No Catastrophe. (On political grandstanding and hyperinflating a routine natural event.)
450. January 18, 2018. Danger Lurks at Base of California Foothills. (On Debris flows being a natural consequence of the terrain, and not to be confused with mudslides.)
449. January 3, 2018. How We Shape our Fallible Memories. (On looking back on my best reading experience of 2017, Oliver Sacks’s The River of Consciousness.)
448. December 21, 2017. Happy Solstice: Brighter Days are Ahead. (On the transformation for Christmas greetings, or Holiday greetings, or the fundamental celebration, the astronomical solstice.)
447. December 7, 2017. Moody’s puts a price on Climate Change. (On building in all the wrong places and the true cost of deregulation in America’s vulnerable places.)
446. November 23, 2017. Thankful for Science, Our Beautiful Blue Planet. (On the good news that whole earth works together in almost miraculous ways.)
445. November 8, 2017. As We Go Global, We Lose Human Diversity. (On biodiversity and globalization, especially in Homo sapiens.)
444. October 25, 2017. Connecticut’s Best Books of the Year. (On the return of the Connecticut Book Awards with immigration, white racism, and art history).
443. October 11, 2017. Amazon, Please Stay Away (Wink, Wink). (On the failure of our state government to get it’s fiscal and economic house in order.)
442. September 28, 2017. U.S. Courts Taking Climate Change Seriously. (On the rise of the judicial branch relative to the others).
441. September 14, 2017. End Relief for Self-Inflicted Natural Disasters. (On the efficiency of designing with Nature, rather than against her.)
440. August 31, 2017. Failed Connecticut Legislators Need to Get it Together. (On not doing their job, which is to compromise for the sake of the state.)
439. August 17, 2017. Solar Eclipse Puts Us in our Natural Place. (On the deeper benefits of the eclipse, after the “Holy Cow” moments are gone.)
438. August 2, 2017. Don’t Drain These Swamps, Mr. Trump. (On reversing the negative connotation of the word and on reversing the WOTUS rule, the Waters of the United States.)
437. July 20, 2017. Keep English Part of the Liberal Arts. (On the affordability of liberal arts for small colleges.)
436. July 6, 2017. Celebrating Thoreau’s Independence at 200. (On skipping the fireworks and following his commitment to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.)
435. June 21, 2017. Climate Change: Turning Carbon into Rock. (On sequestration using geothermal heat to create carbonate rock.)
434. June 7, 2017. Crumbling Foundations a Natural Disaster. (On whether or not a chemical reaction can be a natural disaster.)
433. May 24, 2017. We’re Well Rid of Confederate Symbols. (On political correctness and racism: Washington, Jefferson, and other slaveholders.)
432. May 10, 2017. Climate Change and the Nuclear Power Riddle. (On whether the costs of carbon fuels are worth the risk of nuclear power).
431. April 26, 2017. “Fearless Girl” Disarms Wall Street’s Bull. (On the power of art to communicate cultural memes.)
430. April 12, 2017. Trump Cuts Sending Scientists to Streets. (On economic suicide, the cutting of research in science and technology.)
429. March 30, 2017. Connecticut Gets High marks in Literature. (A good reason to live in the state, and an announcement of the return of the Connecticut Book Awards.)
428. March 15, 2017. Failing U.S. Concrete May Cost Trillions. (Engineering studies reveal that the life span of concrete is being shortened by changes in our atmosphere).
427. March 1, 2017. Don’t Dig Larson’s Hartford Highway. (A strong statement opposing Rep. Larson’s plan to put miles of interstate beneath the Connecticut River Valley).
426. February 16, 2017. Oroville Dam One of Many Aging Structures. (Rebuilding the tallest dam in the U.S. should send a message to southeast Asia’s plan to tame the Mekong River.)
425. February 2, 1017. Let’s Drag This Skeleton Out of UConn’s Closet. (The State Museum of Natural History has a skeleton it should exhibit as an alternative mascot to Jonathan. Let’s call her Meggie.)
425. January 18, 2017. Big Oil Moves in with New Administration. (On the parallels between tobacco and petroleum industries)
424. January 4, 2017. Time to Put Humans Back into Nature. (On Anthropocene, rather than environmental thinking).
423. December 21, 2016. Give Trump Coal — Those Jobs are Not Coming Back. (On the automation and the economy of coal mining).
422. December 6, 2016. Just Who Is In the Working Class? (On a powerful word that we should stop using).
421. November 22, 2016. Thankful for Those Easing Journey Home. (On the wonderful normal people of this nation, as opposed to our politicians).
420. November 8, 2016. The Power Grid’s Achilles’ Squirrels. (On power outages caused by evolved behavior).
419. October 26, 2016. Dylan Doesn’t Know His Rolling Stone. (On the pointless geo-lyrics of the the most popular rock song ever).
418. October 12, 2016. A Clear-Eyed Indictment of Broken Education System. (On Judge Moukawsheer’s decree and good writing).
417. September 29, 2016. The Wild Canine in Your Backyard. (On Coyotes and human behavior).
416. September 15, 2016. Don’t let Amtrack Tear Through Shoreline Villages. (On poor transportation planning and ignorance of geology).
415. September 1, 2016. Piltdown Man Shows How Biases Can Trump Facts. (On the messy nature of science from a famous hoax).
414. August 18, 2016. No Rain is Only Half the Drought Story. (On the real cause of flooding and New England’s drought).
413. August 3, 2016. CT’s Vacant Old State House a Sign of Decline. (On political failure to pass a budget, a venerated state capitol shuttered).
412. July 21, 2016. Simple Chemical to Blame for Rotting Basements. (A good argument for learning the basics of geology).
411. July 7, 2016. Nothing Entertaining About Zoo’s Animal Prisoners. (The case against zoos).
410. June 22, 2016. A Lesson from Yellowstone’s Deadly Hot Springs. (Drawing a conclusions from the tragic death of Colin Scott).
409. June 9, 2016. When School’s Out, Set Kids Free to Learn. (On my own childhood reflections of summer vacation, where the real cognitive integrations took place.)
408. May 26, 2016. We’ve Fallen Into our Virtual Looking Glass. (On the neurological and philosophical implications of cell phone addiction.)
407. May 12, 2016. Raising Glastonbury Dam is An Environmental Win. (On watershed mitigation for main-stem corruption.
406. April 14, 2016. Sexually Confused Fish are an Environmental Alarm. (On endocrine disrupting chemicals in our national wildlife refuges.)
405. March 31, 2016. Rename Glacier National Park? It’s Melting. (On climate change, melting glaciers, and Argentina’s glacier protection law.)
404. March 17, 2016. Do You Behave When No One is Looking? (On the science of religion and the evolution of social networks.)
403. March 3, 2016. Good Reasons to Pull for UConn Co-op. (On the value of a good independent bookstore and the cooperative, rather than corporate reading community.)
402. February 18, 2016. No Getting to Bottom of Sound Dredging Fight. (On agency speak as a new language and the dumbing down of technical language.)
401. February 4, 2016. In Face of Real Wars, I’ll Skip ‘Star Wars.’ (On the spread of war through popular entertainment.)
400. January 20, 2016. No One Noticed Cheaper Flint Water was Contaminated? (On the geochemistry that public officials should know.)
399. January 6, 2016. Hartford Symphony’s Value is Greater than its Music. (On the social implilcations of cultural organizations.)
398. December 24, 2015. Lump of Coal for Christmas? I’ll Take Two. (On the disappearance of coal for space heating and on being thankful for better alternatives.
397. December 9, 2015. Blame Technology for Student Jaywalkers? (On the attention span and patience of college-age students breaking state law.)
396. November 26, 2015. Thankful for the Earth’s Shifting Ways. (On the real cause of Earth’s highest biodiversity: geology.)

395. November 11, 2015. Real Trout Brook Battle is Man vs. Nature — Again. (On know knowing what floodplains are good for, and massive overbuilding.)
394. October 29, 2015. Windsor Locks Turns Its Back on Casino Lure. (On the absurdity of casino politics near state borders.)
393. October 14, 2015. One Scientist’s Plea to Shed “Watershed.” (Linguistically, the word refers to the divide between catchments).
392. September 30, 2015. Nothing Like a Good Dose of Manure to Clear the Airway. (On the startling hypothesis that early exposure to manure microbes helps prevent asthma).
391. September 17, 2015. Gender, Ethnicity, Age Often Trump Science. (On what guides our policy decisions relative to actual information.
390. September 3, 2015, State Off Target on Willington Firearms Facility. (On over-reaching by state authority and the reminder that noice is a pollutant).
389. August 20, 2015, p. A14., U.S. Rife with Abandoned, Polluted Mines. (On the catastrophic failure at Gold King Mine, Colorado).
388. August 6, 2015, p. A8, Don’t Brake for Ducks in the Road. (On highway safety and our instinct to save wildlife.)
387. July 23, 2015, (online) Shrouded Superfund Site is A Grim Reminder. (On not pretending sites got away just because they’re hidden.)
386. July 9, 2015, (online) Happy to Live in Land of Steady Habitats. (on the state budget and the need for landscape conservation)
385. June 25, 2015, (online) Time to Face Up the World’s Worst Problelm –Us. (On Pope Francis’s unwillingness to treat overpopulation)
384. June 11, 2015, (online) Idealized Online Work World is No Place for Me (on the new-image of officeland, young, Californian, congested, and car-based).
383. May 28, 2015, (online) Real Grades Would Show We’re Not all Above Average. (On creeping grade inflation, standardized testing, and Common Core Standards.)
382. May 14, 2015, p. A12, Immersed in the Light We Cannot See. (On invisible radiation, a liberal arts education, and book group insights.)
381. April 30, 2015, p. A12, Glastonbury Pays for Going Against Nature. (On the certainly of landslides and the bias of the developers to look the other way.)
380. April 16, 2015, p. A12, Importing Water to Fuel UCONN Mansfield Growth Foolish. (On non-sustainability and water diversions.)
379. April 2, 2015, p. A14, Malloy Cuts Hit Unique Cultural Assets. (On budget politics and our sense of place in Connecticut.)
378. March 19, 2015, It’s the Winter that Breaks our Pavement. (On the cause of potholes and proper engineering prevention.)
377. March 5, 2015, The Continuing Mystery of Flight 370. (On the physiography and sedimentation of the abyssal ocean floor).
376. February 15, 2015, Obama Right to Oppose Keystone Pipeline. (On environmental politics and the future of sociology.)
375. February 5, 2015, p. A12, Snowdrifts Raise my Cosmic Consciousness. (On Comet 67P/C-G and the origin of everthing we know).
374. January 21, 2015, online, What’s the Risk of More Connecticut Quakes? (On the balance between calming anxiety and the need to know.)
373. January 7, 2015, online, Boy Scout Leader’s Actions Top Stupid List. (On a cascade of stupidity from defacing natural resources to counterproductive signage).
372. December 11, 2014, online, The Great Climate Change Denial Industry. (On a national policy bought and sold by petrodollars.)
371. November 25, 2014, online, Being Grateful for Non-material Riches. (Henry Thoreau as a model for sustainability in an age of Black Fridays.)
370. November 12, 2014, online, Political Shifts Threaten Sane Energy Policy. (On a do-nothing Congress that fiddles while Rome burns.)
369. October 29, 2014, online, Warming Sooner Solved by Science Than Politics. (On the rate of rise of greenhouse pollution –the fastest ever– and a quarter century of political posturing.)
368. October 16, 2014, p. A12, Water Rich Connecticut in Minor Drought (On the several kinds of new years, the water year included.)
367. October 2, 2014, p. A14, Let Go of Plagarism Charge Against Foley (On the slippery slope of plagarism in the internet age.)
366. September 18, 2014, p. A14, Enjoying the Melodious Roar of Harleys (On the mental health benefit of reframing noise pollution as minimalist music.)
365. September 4, 2014, p. A14, Historic Image of Connecticut Not Reality (On impossible scenery and retrospective image-making ).
364. August 21, 2014, p. A12, Keep Special Interests Out of Water Plan (On water politics vs. water reality. Why not plan for the essence of life?)
363. August 7, 2014, p. A12, Connecticut Must Retreat from the Shore (On the shoreline politics of “Shore Up,” which suggests going vertical, in stead of horizontal.)
362. July 24, 2014, p. A14, GPS Gets You There Without Being There (On having a sense of place grounded in ground truth).
361. July 10, 2014, Science Vs. Beliefs on Creationism, Climate (On denying climate change and earthly evidence of creation).
360. June 25, p. A14, Cashing In on Climate Change — Wanna Bet? (On an egregious example of not understanding the severity of the situation).
359. June 11, 2014, Protection of State Lakes Gets Little Attention (on how Connecticut lakes are at the bottom of the pile with respect to funding and public attention).
358. May 28, 2014, Honorary Degrees are a Dubious Bit of Pomp (on how unearned degrees devalue those that are earned).
357. May 15, 2014, Politics Catches Up with Climate Change (on the U.S. National Climate Assessment and regional needs).
356. May 1, 2014, State Should Restrict Shoreline Rebuilding (on the seashore resturant “Dock & Dine” which should be demoiished, rather than defended but going vertical).
355. April 17, 2014, Good Case that College Athletes are Employees (on the Northwestern University ruling and third graders in Guilford, CT).
354. March 20, p. A10, 2014, No Delay: Implement Common Core Standards (on the difference between educational politics and educational
353. March 6, 2014, p. A16, Private Property Rights Trumped by Nature (on EPA’s new wetlands policy extending protection everywhere)
352. February 19, 2014, p. A12, Martian ‘Jelly Doughnut’ A Geologist’s Delight (on calling attention to an undertaught subject: How the earth works.”
350. January 22, 2014, p. A12, King’s Holiday Honors Values, Recalls Lessons (on my favorite holiday, given the values promulgated).
349. January 8, 2014, p. A12, When Politicians Fight, Facts Take Beating (on how poliitical biases de-active our analytical reasoning: true for liberals and conservatives.)
348. December 26, 2013, p. A12, The Next Frontier: The Brain (on my candidate for top science story of the year).

347. December 12, 2013, p. A12, No Room on the Range for Wild Horses (on the failed government policy and eating horse flesh).
346. November 28, 2013, p. A12, JFK and the Demise of the WASP Stronghold (on the rapidity of culture change).
345. November 14, 2013, p. A16, Don’t Insult Teachers — They are “Doing” (on the merits of alternative teacher certification).
344. October 31, 2013, p. A17, Honey, They Shrank the Town Green (on a case where the “New Urbanism” that forgot its roots).
343. October 17, 2013, p. A16, I-Phone Zombies Lost in Electronic Shallows (on brain changes due to habituated use of the internet and social networks).
342. October 3, 2013, p. A12, Colorado Floods Bad, Heavy Rains Worse (on flood probability and watershed behavior).
341. September 19, 2013, p. A12, Don’t Neglect Troops’ Spiritual Side (on the conflict between atheism and military purpose).
340. September 5, 2013, p. A16, Syrian Crisis Needs International Response (on treating it like an earth-shattering asteroid).
339. August 22, 2013, p. A12, Alcohol, Marijuana Prohibitions Don’t Work (on the Pine-Ridge Reservation and Indian Alcohol Policy).
338. August 8, 2013, p. A10, Get Scared at What’s Coming This Way (on the Russian Asteroid and repeat probabilities).
337. July 25, 2013, p. A10, Connecticut’s ‘Not Going for the Dogs (on owning members of your family).
336. July 11, 2013, p. A12, Old Man of the Mountain Rises in Myth (on American mythmaking and reality).
335. June 27, 2013, p. A12, Finally, Carbon Limits on Power Plants (on King Coal and its hopeful demise).
334. June 13, 2013, p. A12, Bombing Snakes with Poisoned Mice (on the control of invasive snakes in Guam and a threat to Hawaii).
333. May 30, 2013, p. A12, Metro-North a Success Despite Derailment (on overlooking how good we’ve got it with mass transit).
332. May 16, 2013, p. A12, The Mark You don’t Want to Hit (on reaching 400 parts per million of atmospheric CO2).
331. May 2, 2013, p. A12, Grade Inflation Undermining Universities (on self-esteem and hyperinflation).
330. April 18, 2013, p. A12, Effort to Revive Extinct Pigeon Misspent (on the Passenger Pigeon as a genetic chimera).
329. April 4, 2013, p. A14, Red-light Cameras Just the Ticket (on human nature and legal enforcement).
328. March 21, 2013, p. A10, Enjoying our Atmosphere? Remember Mars (putting climate change in context).
327. March 7, 2013, Time to Break Sugar, Diabetes Connection (on a global survey confirming the connection).
326. February 21, 2013, p. A10, Floating in a Cosmic Shooting Gallery (on the log-log scale of asteroid impacts and being thankful for each day).
325. February 7, 2013, p. A14, Loon Deaths Raise Environmental Alarm (on the fallout from invasive species).
324. January 24, 2013, p. A12, Superintendents Outline Strong School Reform (on the NextED plan for reforming a failing system).
323. January 10, 2013, p. A12, Living on the Ebb and Flow of Disaster (on the use and misuse of our shorelines).
322. December 27, 2012, p. A12, Gun Control Easiest Problem to Address (on the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting).
321. December 13, 2012, p. A12, End of World Delayed –Tomorrow’s Coming (on cyclical calendars and the Mayan Calendar Bunk).
320. November 29, 2012, p. A14, Salmon Failure Timely Environmental Alarm (on making use of failure).
319. November 15, 2012, p. A14, Without Readiness, Disaster Warnings Fail (On the importance of communication alerts).
318. November 1, 2012, p. A14, Hurricane Sandy Climate Change Message (on the power behind the megastorm).
317. October 18, 2012, p. A14, Presidential Candidates Ignoring Environment (on saying the obvious and pointing out how vulnerable democracy is to bad news).
316. October 4, 2012, p, A14, Human Ox pulls Celebrate Agrarian Past (on doing re-enactments right).
315. September 20, 2012, p. A12, Teaching State History Unites Civic Family (on the use of history to build identity).
314. September 6, 2012, p. A14, Motorocycle Noise Pollution Silences Nature (on the link between noise and birds in the the state of “Live Free or Die.”)
313. August 23, 2012, p. A14, Feds Stalled, Nuclear Waste Here Indefinitely (on the politics of Yucca Mountain).
312. August 9, 2012, p. A10, The Plan was No Violent Videos (on kids and violent movies).
311. July 26, 2012, p. A14, Human Nature Fueling Global Warming (XXX).
310. July 12, 2012, p. A12, State All Wet on Lake Protection Efforts (on the governor saying one thing and doing another).
309. June 28, 2012, p. A14, Man Prime Offender as Invasive Species (on the havoc we create by failing to understand dispersal).
308. June 14, 2012, p. A18, Getting our Brains Around Political Choices (on the organic psychology of decision-making).
307. May 17, 2012, p. A12, Swimming with the E.Coli in Chicago (on letting individuals make their own choice).
306. May 3, 2012, p. A14, Dogs Menacing Passerby are Bullying (on making the owner link).
305. April 19, 2012, p. A14, Drillers Frack, Earth Quakes, Links Growing (on a pointed review of fears).
304. April 5, 2012, p. A14, Climate Change Heating Up Our Winters (XXXX).
303. March 22, 2012, p. A14, Not-so-mad Scientists on the Loose (XXX).
302. March 8, 2012, p. A14, Ancient Seeds Yield Life, Give Hope (on the germination of an ice-age seed).
301. February 23, 2012, p. A14, Obama’s Military Cuts Honor Eisenhower (on the warrior-servant who worried about military spending).
300. February 9, 2012, p. A14, Fuming Over Unending Emissions Test (on the absurdity of state regulation).
299. January 26, 2012, p. A14, Halt Keystone Pipeline, Protect Sand Hills (on the sensitive of stabilized dune fields).
298. January 12, 2012, p. A14, Change in Latitude; Change in Attitude (XXXX).
297. December 29, 2011, p. A12, Cut Heating Costs, Live Closer Together (on BTU sprawl).
296. December 15, 2011, p. A14, Esty’s Green Strategy has Profit Motive (on what “going green” really means).
295. December 1, 2011, p. A14, Development Fight Costs Public Too Much (on mandatory public review of unneeded projects).
294. November 3, 2011, p. A16, Had Enough? Bury the Power Lines (on a public nuisance of trees and power lines).
293. October 20, 2011, p. A18, Hartford’s Stone Field, Symbol of Resistance (on public art and the Occupy Movement).
292, September 22, 2011, p. A15, Real Risk Lies in Forgetting about Quake (on the memory component of the disaster cycle).
291, September 8, 2011, p. A 15, Why Leave Power Lines in Harm’s Way? (on power outages and forest ecology).
290, August 25, 2011, p. A13, Drought a Sign of Increasing Vulnerability (on climate change and political hydrology).
289, August 11, 2011, p. A11, Political Hypoxia Killing Coastal Waters (on the corn lobby, the Iowa caucus, and the Dead Zone).
288, July 28, 2011, p. A13, One Union Label Does Not Fit All (on state employees not being a monolithic block).
287, July 14, 2011, p. A13, Cut Down of Deer to Halt Lyme Disease (on the out-of-control deer population and its costs).
286, June 30, 2011, p. A 13, Why Cougar Story Won’t Just Go Away (on the first road-kill mountain lion in Connecticut).
285. June 17, 2011, p. A11, God’s Popularity Dipped, but Holding Steady (on Culturnomics, a new discipline).
284. June 2, 2011, p. A13, Sand Trap Ends Mars Rover’s Stellar Round (on the end of a space era and a golfer’s nightmare).
283. May 19, 2011, p. A13, Old Man River Shouldn’t Be Shackled (on the recent retreat of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers).
282. May 5, 2011, p. A17, How We’ll Know When Gas is High Enough (a critique of personal choices and federal policies).
281. April 21, 2011, p. A13, UConn Dilemma: Which Way the Water Drains (on campus as an island of urban pollution in a rural town).
280. April 7, 2011, p. A15, On West Coast, Two Versions of the “Big One” (on the contrasting seismotectonics of Cascadia and California).
279. March 23, 2011, p. A13, Nuke Disaster: No Calculating for Chaos (on non-linear behavior of natural systems and overconfidence).
278. March 10, 2011, p. A15, Radon Danger is Well Worth a Warning (on the downside of Mother Earth and geo-ignorance).
277. February 24, 2011, p. A15, Why is the User of State Services a “Consumer”? (on good intent and bad language within the State Department of Developmental Services).
276. February 10, 2011, p. A13, Realizing Weather is Different from Climate (on record-breaking snowfalls & temperatures, public perception, and climate change).
275. January 27, 2011, p. A13, Sorting by Species Rather than Culture Makes Sense (on the oppositional measurment of cultural diversity and biodiversity).
274. January 13, 2011, p. A15, Penguin Plunge Warmest Ever (on the true impact of climate change: Bikinis in January).
273. December 30, 2010, p. A11, An Ugly Ghost of Environmental Present (on invasive species, Asian Carp, American History, and hindsight).
272. December 16, 2010, p. A15, People Know Less, Deny More (on that perfect Christmas give, “Merchants of Doom, by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway).
271. December 1, 2010, p. A15, There’s No Denying CO2 Turns Up the Heat (on climate change politics within the 112th Congress).
270. November 18, 2010, p. A13, Sugar Isn’t Free of Carbon, Consequences (on the dominance of marketing over fact and the duplicity of industry to sell “carbon-free” carbohydrate).
269. November 4, 2010, p. A13, Twain Brought Mining’s Peril to Surface (on the rescue of Chilean Miners and the prescience of Mark Twain’s Comstock Lode).
268. October 21, 2010, p. A15, Voting Against Red/Blue Dichotomy (on my distaste for partisan politics and an endorsement of an indepedent).
267. October 7, p. A13, An Invasion Launched from Water Gardens (on invasive species as the public face of a private search for beauty).
266. September 23, 2010, p. A13, Climate Change Brings Rivera to Michigan (on the unusual warmth of Lake Superior and basic physics).
265. September 9, 2010, p. A13, Supersized Game Leaves a Bad Taste (on the social, psychic, and environmental impact of college football hyperbole).
264. August 26, 2010, p. A15, Golf’s Reward? A Healthy Dose of Humility (on bartender philosophy and self-flagellation: it feels good).
263. August 12 2010, p. A13, Ridgeline Houses Insult nature, Fellow Man (on the “Magisteral Gaze,” and t he social and environmental costs of ridgeline houses).
262. July 29, 2010, p. A11, Fenced-in Kill isn’t Hunting — It’s Murder (on blood lust and sport, rather than hunting and food).
261. July 15, 2010, p. A15, Preservation Pioneer Blazed New Trails (on Sam Dodd and saving Nature from behind the scenes).
260. July 1, 2010, p. A13, Thoreau Didn’t Like Granite Monuments (on the desecration of his Home Site with “hammered stone” monuments, which he detested)
259. June 17, 2010, Note: Column written but not on retrievable archive (will find).
258. June 03, 2010, p. A13, Holiday, Graduation Bring Sacrifice to Mind (on graduation and Memorial Day, both great sacrifices).
257. May 20, 2010, p. A15, Human Errors Plague of Petroleum Age (on the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and spill vs. leak semantics).
256. May 6, 2010, p. A13, Some Students Just Don’t Get It (on the myth that college is 13th grade and the lack of common courtesy).
255. April 22, 2010, p. A11, Europe at the Mercy of Broken Bubbles (on Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull and the explosion process).
254. April 8, 2010, p. A11, Biofuel Production Puts Pressure on Water (on a train derailment that didn’t need to happen and the politics of synfuels).
253. March 25, 2010, p. A13, Drop Noxious “Homeland Security” with “Defense” (on the Coast Guard losing its image and the euphemism of the Department of War).
252. March 11, 2010, A Sign of Life In the Bowels of the Earth (on the Chilean Earthquake and the apt analogy between flatulence and seismicity).
251. February 25, 2010, p. A13, Climate Change Science Trumps Opinion (on the cause of ice ages and their ends).
250. February 11 , 2010, p. A13, Sussing Out What the Framers Meant (on the first ammendment sushi, and literary theory).
249. January 28, 2010, p. A11. Haiti: Caught in a Geological Squeeze (on the origin of Hispanolia and the inevitability of destruction).
248. January 14, 2010, p. A13, At Least It Isn’t Raining Stones (on optimism and silicate snow on exopolanets).
247. December 31, 2009, p. A11, A Few Points I must Profess (a yearly wrapup of letters responding to my columns).
246. December 17, 2009, p. A13, Climategate: Much More Heat than Light (on the email leaks and media spin).
245. December 3, 2009, p. A15, UConn’s Parking Lot C: The Big Cover-Up (on “green” parking lots, especially the one shielding the landfill).
244. November 19, 2009, p. A17, Geothermal Can be Earth-Shaking News (on seismic activity and deep geothermal extraction, and hysteria).
243. November 5, 2009, p. A15, Dickens was Right About Climate Change (on the political good news and bad news).
242. October 22, 2009, p. A15, Marketing Aside, UConn is no Wannabe (on a response to a book criticizing UConn as a corporate University).
241. October 8, 2009, p. A19, Ardie A Step Closer to Evolutionary Split (on the new homonid reconsturction).
240. September 24, 2009, Lebanon Lake Owners on the Hook for Cleanup (on the town politics of lake pollution).
239. September 10, 2009, p. A19, A New Market: Environmental Risk (on combining geoscientist and financial careers).
238. August 28, 2009, p. A15, High Cost of Pets is Borne by All (on the ethics of wildlife imports and the high cost of pet care).
237. August 13, 2009, p. A17, Cellphone Blather is a Noxious New Pollution (on breaches of etiquette, especially in natural areas).
236. July 30, 2009, p. A21, There’s No Big E at the Science Center (on the absence of evolution, or even natural bioscience at the new Science Center).
235. July 16, 2009, p. A17, Putting Their Water on a Pedastal (on water towers as ecological spiritial icons).
234. July 2, 2009, p. A17, Protecting Water Saves Tiny Town’s Store (on the inclusion on lake eutrophication into community decisions).
233. June 18, 2009, p. A23 National Survey’s Results are Clear: Lakes Need Help (on the EPA’s new national report).
232. June 4, 2009, p. A19, California’s Water Disaster Waiting to Happen (on the potential seismic failure of state infrastructure).
231. May 21, 2009, p., A21, A Lake of a Pond? Culture Muddies Waters (on cultural geology and vernacular names).
230. May 7, 2009, p. A23, Green is Just a Color — Not a Virtue (on the color chauvinism of “going green”).
229. April 23, 2009, p. A19, Nature Lost in the Heart of Commerce (on Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, over the top overdevelopment).
228. April 9, 2009, p. A23, How Warming Really Turns up the Heat (on global methane releases from permafrost).
227. March 26, 2009, p. A19, Science Isn’t Facts — It’s Learning to Understand (on Einstein’s creativity and school pedagogy).
226. March 12, 2009, p. A17, The Goose that Escaped Lake’s Icy Grasp (a modern-day Aesop’s fable about the determination to live).
225. Feb 26, 2009, p. A20, If Evolution’s Dangerous, Geology’s Not Far Behind (on celebrating Darwin’s Bicentennial birthday, Part II, and why geology is a touchy subject in public schools).
224. Feb 12, 2009, p. A21, There Will Be An Answer — Evolution (on celebrating Darwin’s Bicentennial birthday, Part I).
223. Jan 29, 2009, p. A19, Warming May Take Us Far Back Into the Past (on geologically recent global warming that was completely natural).
222. Jan 15, 2009, p. A15, Yellowstone: Just the Tip of the Volcano (on news that isn’t news and reverence for Earth).
221. Jan 2, 2009, p. A11, A Happy New Year for Science – And State (on the Obama Science Platform)
220. Dec 18, 2008, p. A23, Government Workers Minding The Store (on the politics of muzzling government employees).
219. Dec 4, 2008, p. A19, How About a Giveback by UConn Bosses? (on cost-cutting in academia).
218. Nov. 6, 2008, p. A29, Other Mammals Face Bigger Problems (on the sad state of mammalian extinctions).
217. Oct 22, 2008, p. A27, A Long Way from Science to Beliefs (on Darwinism and the slippery slope between science and religion.)
216. Oct. 9, 2008, p. A27, The Perils of a Popularity Contest (on the use of a citation impact factor in science assessment).
215. Sep 25, 2008, p. A 15, Leave Barrier Islands to the Wind and Tides. (on Hurricane Ice and Galveston, TX).
214. Sep 11, 2008, p. A9, Wasilla: Outpost Built on a Broken Dream. (on geography and presidential politics).
213. Aug. 28, 2008, p. A11, Makeover Nice, but Pond Needs Deeper Solution. (on Mirror Lake and pond eutrophication).
212. Aug 14, 2008, p. A9, Ice Getting Thinner. (On climate change and a poet’s death by falling through the ice).
211. Jul. 31, 2008, p. A11, $37 Million to Pen Up Excess Wild Horses? (on environmental damage and the BLM strategy to hand-feed wild horses).
210. Jul. 17, 2008, p. A11, By the River’s Rules: Natural Processes Make Way for No Man’s Home. (On migration of the Connecticut River and lax regulation).
209. July 3, 2008, p. A11, Anthropologists Have No Place on Battlefield. (on the use of anthropologists as spies and professional ethics).
208. Jun 19, 2008, p. A11, A Short Drive from Traffic Jams to Empty Roads (on a futuristic vision regarding high gasoline prices).
207. June 5, 2008, p. A13, Grand Canyon Dating Undercuts Creationism. (on new geological studies from the Grand Canyon and the impossibility of Noah’s Flood).
206. May 22, 2008, p. A17, The Roots of Spring: A Planetary Collision (on the cause of Earth’s seasonality and the irony of beauty from terror).
205. May 8, 2008, p. A15, Football’s Footprint: Will UConn Offset Carbon from Far-Flung Football Program? (on President Hogan’s Climate Pledge).
204. Apr 24, 2008, p. A17, Taking a Dim View of Ridgeline Development (on Traprock Ridges and housing policy).
203. Apr 10, 2008, p. A15, Teens Can’t Appreciate What They Don’t Read (on the decline of reading among this cohort).
202. Mar 27, 2008, p. A13, What Children Believe. (on psychological research, ingrained beliefs and fundamentalism)
201. Mar 13, 2008, p. A11, Green Isn’t Always Good. (on the global problem of using “green” to indicate environmental correctness).
200. Feb 28, 2008, p. A13, When Fans Really Rock. (on global soccer matches picked up by seismometers in Africa).
199. Feb 14, 2008, p. A13, An Independent Shut Out of a Defining Choice. (on Joe Leiberman and the two-party system).
198. Jan 31, 2008, p. A11, Breeding Disasters. (on global population as the uber problem of our times).
197. Jan 17, 2008, p. A9, Biblical Literalism: Troubling and Wrong. (on Mike Huckabee’s candidacy and an Obama endorsement).

Columns above are published every other week on Thursday.

Columns below are published every week on Thursday.

196. Jan 3, 2008, p. A9, A Window on the Brain (on the most under-rated scientific paper of the year).
195. Dec. 27, 2007, p. A11, Christmas Kindness in Alaska – With a Side of Soup. (on the significance of the holiday in a dark place).
194. Dec. 20, 2007, p. A11, TV Suffers Writer’s Block. (on wishing the writer’s strike would be longer and grown-up whining).
193. Dec. 13, 2007, p. A11, The Power to Reshape Earth (on the Anthropocene and human as the dominant geological agent).
192. Dec. 6, 2007, p. A11, A Lot More to Autumn than Fall. (on the organic chemistry of leaf color and the physics of their fall).
191. Nov. 29, 2007, p. A13, Death to the Penny. (on copper mining, small change and the archaeology of currency).
190. Nov. 22, 2007, p. A15, We Should be Thankful for the Water. (on forgetting how important fresh water is to Thanksgiving)
189. Nov. 15, 2007, Earth: A Lot Deeper than Most are Taught. (on the state of earth science education in the U.S.)
188. Nov. 8, 2007, p. A9. Perpetuating a Polarity Between Black and White. (on false dichotomies in general and their intentional divisiveness).
187. Nov. 1, 2007, p. A13., Stop Playing with Fire: Sprawling Into Burn Zones is Predictably Disastrous. (on chaparral, the U.S. Forest Service, and the waste of tax dollars).
186. Oct 25, 2007, p. A11., Sowing Their Wild Oats. (on celebrating Connecticut authors and the Amish Practice of Rumspringa).
185. Oct. 18, 2007, p. A13. Behind Gore, Science. (on critiques of An Inconvenient Truth and the history of the greenhouse effect).
184. Oct 11, 2007, p. A11. Best Being Left Behind? (on the state of math education and the U.S. refusal to participate in global education testing).
183. ct. 4, 2007, p. A15. A Line in the Fresh Air. (on air-drying clothes, energy savings and neighborhood covenants).
182. Sept 27, 2007, p. A15. Out of the Blue: Peruvian Meteorite Shows Larger Forces at Work. (on planetary risk and birth rates).
181. Sep 20, 2007, p. A15, Disrespecting Walden. (on building cairns on his cairn and quotes about stonework).
180. Sep 13, 2007, p. A9, Water Shortage Should KO Student Apartment Project. (on groundwater hydrology and the identity theft of town names).
179. Sep 6, 2007, p. A13, The Wrong Course. (on the environmental impact of golf, especially as the industry declines).
178. Aug 30, 2007, p. A9, Weather’s Dividing Lines. (on the role of plants in meteorology and the rabbit-proof fence in Australia).
177. Aug 23, 2007, p. A9, Money, Mission Skew Rankings. (on the respective commitments of public vs. private universities).
176. Aug 16, 2007, p. A9, The Big Polluted: Runoff Clouds Mississippi With Algae, Solids. (on phosphorous and eutrophication of the nation’s most important river, visible during the bridge collapse).
175. Aug 9, 2007, p. A9, Not on Russia’s Plate. (on plate tectonics and Soviet expansion into the Arctic).
174. Aug 2, 2007, p. A9, Chasing Story Isn’t Worth the Risk of Disaster. (on the beautiful ferocity of nature, helicopter crashes, and info-tainment).
173. Jul 26, 2007, p. A9, Nothing Liberal About Conservation. (on the conversion of African Rain Forests and conservative politics).
172. Jul 19, 2007, p. A11, Dry Days Loom in the West. (on climate change on our watch and U.S. Water polity).
171. Jul 12, 2007, p. A9, From Hazard to Catastrophe. (on natural hazards, the control of language and a failed government policy).
170. Jul 5, 2007, p. A13, Politics Aside, New Orleans A Lost Cause. (on the geological impossibility called New Orleans).
169. Jul 28, 2007, p. A13, Tarzan: A Great Jumping-Off Point. (on the origin of human bipedality and arboreal limb-walking).
168. Jun 21, 2007, p. A11, No Time Left for Dunking. (on strip mall development, gasoline consumption and donuts).
167. Jun 14, 2007, p. A11, Evolution Leads to Dinosaur Artist’s Discovery. (on the Hall of the Dinosaurs at Yale Peabody Museum and the notion of a “lucky break” for artists).
166. Jun 7, 2007, p. A9, Stalking Good Food. (on locovores and the agricultural policy of rhubarb vs. celery).
165. May 31, 2007, p. A11, A Day to Remember Land That’s Been Lost. (on the need for a memorial day for landscape death).
164. May 24, 2007, p. A11, The Myth Museum. (on the new Creation Museum built outside Cincinnati by “Answers in Genesis).
163. May 17, 2007, p. A11, A Hurdle, Not a Miracle. (on fetal ontogeny and misunderstandings in the abortion debate).
162. May 10, 2007, p. A11, Reaping Consequences of Technology. (on groundwater arsenic poisoning in India)
161. May 3, 2007, p. A 13, The Cat Menace. (on feral cats, the decline in songbirds, and the definition of wild).
160. April 26, p. A11. Chased Out by Vultures (on species protection and private interest) [2007].
159. April 19, p. A11. A Tragedy, but Hardly a Surprise (on the Virginia Tech shooting and the sexualization of violence. [2007].
158. April 12, p. A11. The Right Thing for the Wrong Reasons (on the U.S. Supreme Court forcing the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide. [2007].
157. April 5, p. A9. A Little Overheated (on the specific denotations and connotations of global warming). [2007]
156. March 29, p. A11. More Heat Than Light (on agreeing with CO2 warming skeptics). [2007]
155. March 22, p. A11. When an Idea Prevails (on Clovis technology and the War in Iraq). [2007]
154. March 15, p. A9. Why So Reckless (on academic toxic waste disposal and the cost of research). [2007]
153. March 8, p. A7. Science at the Wheel (on David Baltimore’s innaguration and politics). [2007]
152. March 1, p. A7. Natural Disaster? (on leapfrogging degradation at Skywalk, in the western Grand Canyon). [2007]
151. February 22, p. A11. Don’t Monkey with Science (on Intelligent Design and Barry Goldwater). [2007]
150. February 15, p. A11. A Storm of Debris (on the danger of space junk and the Chinese testing) [2007]
149. February 8, p. A15. Super-sizing While the Earth Burns (on Emperor Nero, the super bowl, and global warming). [2007]
148. February 1, p. A9. Tapping into Earth Power (on the importance of geothermal energy development). [2007]
147. January 25, p. A9. Inching Closer to Doomsday (on the Doomsday clock and adjustment for environmental impacts of global warming). [2007]
146. January 18, p. A11. Dog Attack Raises Readers’ Hackles (follow-up on Jan 4 column on individual rights in public spaces). [2007]
145. January 11, p. A9. Recreational Risk; Living Dangerously has Rewards, Responsibilities (on lost climbers on Mount Hood and evolved risk behaviors). 2007.
144. January 4, p. A11. Attacked on the Beach; Aggressive Dogs, Angry Owner Ruin Sunset Stroll (on public use of natural places). [2007]
143. December 28, p. A11. Fake-Tree Disorder (on Richard Louv’s Nature Deficit Disorder and plastic Christmas trees). [2006]
142. December 21, 2006, p. A11. Examining Ethics of Fruit (on a statewide ruling on the ethics of holiday giving and value of giving something natural). [2006]
141. December 14, p. A17. A Black Day for the Earth (on holiday retailing and obsessive materialism). [2006]
140. December 7, p. A19. How is CO2 Pollution? (on the likely Supreme court ruling that EPA must do its job). [2006]
139. November 31, p. A11. Move the Lighthouse, Even the Bard Agrees (on Surfing and Environmental vs. historic preservation at Montalk Point, Long Island, NY). [2006]
138. November 23, p. A13. We’re Off the Menu (on holiday turkey traditions, escaped emus, and dinosaur extinction). [2006]
137. November 16, p. A15. Waste in the Water (on aquifer duplicity and the environmtal cost of bottled water). [2006]
136. November 9, p. A13. In Nature’s Way (on California’s chaparral wildfires). [2006]
135. November 2, p. A11. Playing Games with Glaciers (on global warming and the real Yale-vs-Harvard rivalry in College Fjord, Alaska). [2006]
134. October 26, p. A13. Radioactivity’s Role (on deep geothermal life drawn from radioactivity). [2006]
133. October 19, p. A11. Glass of Science is Half-Empty (on science education and mandatory testing). [2006]
132. October 12, p. A9. World’s Getting Flatter (on overuse of the term globalization; homogenization would be better). [2006]
131. October 5, p. A15. No Stone Unturned (on geologists traveling through airport security with scientific specimens…alas confiscated). [2006]
130. September 28, p. A13. Marketing’s Missing Link: Intelligence (on Neanderthal intelligence vs. college students). [2006]
129. September 21, p. A13. Don’t Mess with Nature (on the growing mud volcano at Sidoarjo, Indonesia and oil drilling). [2006]
128. September 14, p. A13. Grown-Up Thinking (on functional nuclear magnetic resonance imagining and the definition of an adult). [2006]
127. September 7, p. A17. In Chile, Long Time to Overcome 9/11 (on the previous 9/11 during the CIA-Pinochet coup in 1973). [2006]
126. August 31, p. A11. Little Lost Planet (on Pluto’s demotion and the march of scientific progress). [2006]
125. August 24, p. A11. Defining Best Professors (on spoiled college kids and deathbed memories). [2006]
124. August 17, p. A11. Science Has No Measure for Strength of Prayer (on the Templeton-funded study on intercessory prayer; it doesn’t work). [2006]
123. August 10, p. A15. Lesson in Entertainment (on Al Gore’s, inconvenient truth, and lamenting the loss of the lyceum) [2006]
122. August 3, p. A11. Digging Into History (on historical archaeology and historic truth). [2006]
121. July 27, p. A11. Roadkill’s got a Role in the Natural Order (on evolution and animal-sensitive habitats). [2006]
120. July 20, p. A9. Midnight Golfers Fight Global Warming (on Alaskan environmental changes and midnight darkness from forest fire smoke). [2006]
119. July 13, p. A11. Fishing Lessons (on the importance of outdoor education and natural limnology). [2006]
118. July 6, p. A9. A Better Anthem (on America the Beautiful vs. Star Spangled Banner, musically and otherwise). [2006]
117. June 29, p. A15. Something Sinister in the Air (on methane in marine sediments and catastrophic warming). [2006]
116. June 22, p. A11. Size Really Matters (on China’s Three-Gorges Dam and problematic hydrology). [2006]
115. June 15, p. A19. Hope Takes Flight; For Birdwatchers, the Goal is Always in Sight (on the ivory billed woodpecker and the point of birdwatching). [2006]
114. June 8, p. A15. Agency Working too Hard on Paperwork Mountain (on the cost of excessive vigilance by the Department of Mental Retardation). [2006]
113. June 1, p. A11. The Spirit of Exploration (on the new science center and the training of future scientists). [2006]
112. May 25, p. A15. Hello, New Breed (on genetic hybrids between grizzlies and polar bears in the Arctic and global warming). [2006]
111. May 18, p. A11. What’s Nature Really Worth? ; Adding Up the Value of Earth’s “Services” (on ecosystem services).
110. May 11, p. A15. It’s Going Under: One More Reason to Stop Pouring Money Into Doomed City. (on the loss of hurricane season). [2006]
109. May 4, 2006, p. A11. School’s Out for…Spring? (on UConn’s early graduation). [2006]
108. April 27, 2006, p. A13. It May Be Hot Down Below, But It’s Cold Up There (on Easter and springtime).
107. April 20, 2006, p A9. Immigration, Cellphones, and the Rule of Law (on setting rules that aren’t enforced).
106. April 13, 2006, p. A13. Rising Waters Should Erase All Doubts (on rapid ice sheet melting).
105. April 6, 2006, p. A15. Bambi Myth Must Die (on the scourage of whitetailed deer).
104. March 30, 2006, p. A11. Children Being Cheated Out of Fuller Education (on No Child Left Behind).
103. March 23, 2006, p. A19. Daytime Lobotomy in the Jury Room (on intrusive television in otherwise dignified settings).
102. March 16, 2006, p. A9. Where Elephants Roam? American High Plains Preserve Would Protect Species (on the true benchmark for habitat restoration).
101. March 9, 2006, p. A19. Darfur’s Drumbeat of Disaster (on the “dead heart” of Africa in geological terms).
100. March 2, 2006, p. A11. Mountain in Motion (on deadly lahars in the Philippines).
99. February 23, 2006, p. A17. Goldilocks and Gridlock (on transportation improvements and the Indiana toll road).
98. February 16, 2006, p. A15. The Geese Have Got to Go (on gross-outs and water pollution from too many geese).
97. February 9, 2006, p. A11. Highway’s No Place for a Giant TV Sex Ad (on electronic billboards and invasive TV).
96. February 2, 2006, p A13. Broadwater Drawbacks (on liquefied natural gas facility in Long Island Sound).
95. January 26, 2006, p. A11. Dust from the Beginnings (On the space mission Stardust).
94. January 19, 2005, p. A9. Evolving Curriculum (On Intelligent Design as Philosophy).
93. January 12, 2006, p. A11. Elemental Danger (On the Sago coal mining disaster).
92. January 2, 2006, p. A11. A Handful of Resolutions for a Top-Drawer New Year (On the stories of drawer junk).
91. December 29, 2005, p. A13. What Are penguins Doing Here? (On the absence of penguins from the Arctic).
90. December 22, 2005, p. A15. It’s Christmas — And Not Just for God’s Sake (On Christmas as a secular word).
89. December 15, 2005, p. A15. Two Predators Engagted in Timeless Ritual. (On the New Jersey Bear Hunt).
88. December 8, 2005, p. A13. The Places You’ll Go (Review of Book Award Finalists on on the Environment).
87. December 1, 2005, p. A15. Big-Box Schools Have Their Price. (On supersized high schools).
86. November 24, 2005, p. A13. Thanks for the Mysteries (a Thanksgiving day natural meal).
85. November 17, 2005, p. A17. Nature for Its Own Sake (An obituary for John Fowles and an ode to trees)
84. November 10, 2005, p. A13. No More Name Changes (On the silliness of UConn Husky Way).
83. November 3, 2005, p. A11. No Difference Beteen a Chilean and a Pole? (on cross-cultural personality traits).
82. October 27, 2005, p. A13. Dead Deserve Revenge: Thefts, Vandalism Despoil Bolton Resting Place (on cemetery gravestone thievery).
81. October 20, 2005, p. A13, Pumpkins Aweigh!: Pumpkin Flood a reminder of fall high-water season. (On river flooding from hurricane storms).
80. October 13, 2005, p. A11. For the Love of Leaves: Don’t Begrudge Heritage Corridor a Little Green (on autumn).
79. October 6, 2005, p. A11. Faith Trumps All: On Human Origins, Most Think With their Hearts. (On Dover Pennsylvania’s Evolution Decision).
78. September 29, 2005, p. A13. Safe in the Center: Rugby’s A World Away from Gulf (on the stable continental interior).
77. September 22, 2005, p. A11. No Sense in Rebuilding (New Orleans).
76. Septemeber 15, 2005, p. A9. Running a River Dry: Blame Thoughtless Overconsumption at UConn (on selfish students wasting water).
75. September 8, 2005, p. A13. Warming Welcome? Trend could tip us into gentler Cycle. (on the North Atlantic Multi-Decadal Oscillation).
74. September 1, 2005, p. A11. Spoiled or Preserved? Edgartown’s a gem — not so for the doorway to Denali. (on blight).
73. August 25, 2005, p. A11. Have Faith; Together We Can Weather The Storm. (On the heat wave and climate change).
72. August 18, 2005, p. A11. Cleanup: Open and Shut Case (on toxic military waste and saving the submarine base at Groton).
71. August 11, 2005, p. A9. Under a Cloud: Bomb’s Roots Deep Within our Nature. (on the 50th aniversary of bombing Japan).
70. August 4, 2005, p. A11. Silly, But So Exclusive: Buy-in is high, but reward is status (on Martha’s Vineyard’s Private Beaches).
69. July 28, 2005, p. A9. Down the Drain: Who’s to Blame for Disappearing Siberian Lakes?
68. July 21, 2005, p. A7. Addicted to Golf: Incredibly Bad courses Show How Far Committed Players Will Go. (on the comparative geomorphology of courses)
67. July 14, 2005, p. A11. It All Runs Downhill (On silly signage, protecting Long Island Scound, and taxpayer’s money).
66. July 7, 2005, p. A13. Military Calling Shots at MIT? (On Theodore Postol and the militarization of campus).
65. June 30, 2005, p. A13. Destroying Tracks of History at UConn (The state fossil, Eubrontes, being ignored)
64. June 23, 2005, p. A11. A Place for Windmills (Yes for Nantucket, No for Berkshires).
63. June 16, 2005, p. A19. Tapping the Feeling of Fatherhood (what I think about being a Dad.)
62. June 9, 2005, p. A15. Not Necessarily for God. (Memorial Day should not be for public religion).
61. June 2, 2005, p. A15. No Dummy He Is: Brain Size Matters, But I’ts Not the Whole Story. (an essay on Yoda from Star Wars and Homo florsiensis).
60. May 26, 2005, p. A13, How Geography Funds Got Lost: (John Rowland’s corruption took down the CT Geographic Alliance).
59. May 19, 2005, p. A15. Belief Doesn’t Make it Science: Creationism Born Again as Intelligent Design. (on religion in the classroom).
58. May 12, 2005, p. A9. Barriers in the Stream (The effects of large dams on the world’s river systems).
57. May 5, 2005, p. A15. Earth Calling Space Cowboy (NASA’s budget preferences for heroic missions at expense of earth science.)
56. April 28, 2005, p. A9. Unidentifiable Freeway Objects Heading Your Way (On the dangers of poorly secured or thoughtlessly secured loads).
55. April 21, 2005, p. A13. In Praise of Dust: Much Maligned Material Plays Key Roles in Cycle of Life.
54. April 14, 2005, p. A13. Fishing With Buddha: Under The Surface, Angling Taps a Spiritual Current. (reflections on opening day).
53. April 7, 2005, p. A19. The Wilding of Ruburbia (Return of the coyotes to New England).
52. March 31, 2005, p. A9. Deadly Lake Defanged (Lake Nyos, Africa and limnic eruptions).
51. March 24, 2005, p. A9. Religious Values Casting Long Shadow Over Science . (Life and Death with the Terry Schiavo Case).
50. March 17, 2005, p. A13. Oil Glutton U.S. Should pass on Wildlife Refuge (Environmental impacts on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge).
49. March 10, 2005, p. A11. Getting A Measure Of The Oceans’ Warming (Climate science and the new findings from oceanography).
48. March 3, p. A11. It’s hard to Relate to Einstein’s Example (Scientific heroes and appropriate models).
47. February 24, 2005, p. A11. Warning: Labels Should Be Critically Considered Before Application (On Banning Evolution from the public schools).
46. February 17, 2005, p. A11. Liberal Academia? Look Who’s Minding The Store (on the conservative element in academia).
45. February 10, 2005, p. A13. Death Penalty Isn’t Rocket Science – Unfortunately (On the complexity of social science and the death penalty).
44. February 3, 2005, p. A 11. The Farming Life is no Country Club (Farmland preservation isues).
43. January 27, 2005, p. A7. To Student’s Benefit, UConn Campus Taken by Storm (Governor’s call to stay home during blizzard releases tickets for students).
42. January 20, 2005, p. A7. We all pay a price for ignoring the warning signs (California landslides are ignored).
41. January 13, 2005, p. AA. The fearful practice of treating global warming as fiction (Michael Crichton’s new book creates a problem for those who like fiction).
40. January 6, 2005, p. A9. Tragedy and triumph on many levels (Year in Review)
39. December 30, 2004, p. A9. Tsunami warning system could have saved lives. (Indian Ocean tsunami).
38. December 23, 2004, p. A9. Unwrapping a gift from the heavens. (Star of Bethlehem and the Chesapeake Bay impact structure).
37. December 16, 2004, p. A13. Canst Thou hear me now? (cell phones and church steeples are a good combination).
36. December 9, 2004, p. A15. Time’s a-wasting: Get going on Yucca Mountain. (If the Japanese can site one, then why can’t we?)
35. December 2, 2004, p. A15. My weekly correspondence with the public. (review of first seven months).
34. November 25, 2004, p. A11. The day the turkeys listened. (developing self confidence through turkeys).
33. November 18, 2004, p. A15. Kerry ignored the frog vote. (expert speaker gagged for political reasons in a state that went blue).
32. November 11, 2004, p. A15. Choking on second hand television. (visual/noise pollution).
31. November 4, 2004, p. A19. Fossils from out of left field. (new human species, Homo floresiensis).
30. October 28, 2004, p. A11. I would love a well-planned parade. (conflict of interest between acaemics and athletics).
29. October 21, 2004, p. A13. Bush is for technology; Kerry is for science (based on statements to the AAAS).
28. October 14, 2004, p. A13. There’s a better way to choose school names (chosing between academic achievment and social equity).
27. October 7, 2004, p. A11. Appreciating subtlety, but longing for fireworks. (Mt. St. Helens and the presidential debates).
26. September 30, 2004, p. A15. That Sinking Feeling n New Orleans (New Orleans subsidence).
25. September 23, 2004, p. A17. Blurring the line between art and science. (geology and impressionist art.)
24. September 16, 2004, p. A15. Healing the Land’s Chemical Wounds (brownfields and wildlife refuges).
23. September 9, 2004, p. A11. Any way you slice it, Spam is bad for the environment. (Agricultural feedlots and internet spam)
22. September 2, 2004, p. A19. The few, the proud the archaeologists. (cultural resource management).
21. August 26, 2004, p. A11. Mother Nature is not out to get you. (hurricanes).
20. August 19, 2004, p. A11. Keeping greenhouse gas from seeing the light of day (on underground sequestration).
19. August 12, 2004, p. A15. Earth tips the scales (Earth has bulges of weight gain and loss.).
18. August 5, 2004, p. A9. What does it really mean to be a “Native American?” (Kennewick Man).
17. July 29, 2004, p. A15. Ernst Mayr belongs in the Hall of Fame. (evolutionary bilogy).
16. July 22, 2004, p. A11. It’s easier to stay Connected in Canada (internet services).
15. July 15, 2004, p. A13. The unwelcome predators in my backyard. (feral cats should be taken care of)
14. July 8, 2004, p. A9. An environmental disaster to celebrate (historical debris flow).
13. July 2, 2004, p. A11. The “old man” has met his maker: Nature. (New Hampshire’s Old Man in the Mountain).
12. June 24, 2004, p. A13. Set children straight on climate change. (On being critical of Hollywood climate change scenarios).
11. June 17, 2004, p. A13. Academics have reason to cheer for college athletics. (on accademic marketing).
10. June 10, 2004, p. A15. For mad humanist, life’s trials written in stone. (celebrating insights form nature writing).
9. June 4, 2004, p. A11. Climate change: coming to a region near you. (commentary on the movie, The Day After Tomorrow).
8. May 27, 2004, p. A15. Cicada-phobia: good news for the environment (outbreak of periodic cicadas).
7. May 20, p. A13. Our monument to wastefulness. (on the Hartford landfill).
6. May, 13, 2004, p. A11. The mother of all scheduling conflicts (on family policy, Mother’s Day, and Commencement).
5. May 6, 2004, p. A13. Pollution could leave river in no condition to thrive. (on Long Island Sound policy).
4. April 29, p. A13. Spring weekend, There’s a message in the madness (on youth culture).
3. April 22, 2004, p. A13. Brainy “cabbage” deserves better treatment (on the plant “skunk cabbage” being a misnomer).
2. April 15, 2004, p. A15. Getting Soaked Could pay off for Eastern States (on western water policy).
1. March 26, 2004, p. A13. Uconn’s Geology Department was a Dinosaur (on why the geology department was dissolved).

UConn Advance

Note: These eight columns were an experiment in faculty “buy-in” to UCONN’s weekly print newspaper, the UCONN Advance, which later morphed into a daily e-newsletter UConn Today.

Thorson, Robert M., 2000, Fallen foliage of long ago holds clues to history of Horsebarn Hill, UConn Advance, October 16, 2000.
Thorson, Robert M., 2000, The ups and downs of Avery Point, UConn Advance, September 25, 2000.
Thorson, Robert M., 2001, Slabs in Babbidge Library recall ancient waves on sands of time, UConn Advance, February 5, 2001.
Thorson, Robert M., 2000, From mud to bricks: Firing Produces Colorful Transformation, UConn Advance, September 4, 2000.
Thorson, Robert M., 2000, Beneath Babbidge Library lies rare remnant of pre-glacial era, UConn Advance, January 24, 2000.
Thorson, Robert M., 2000, Health Center stands on rock-solid ground, UConn Advance, February 21, 2000.
Thorson, Robert M., 2000, UConn’s water tanks fed by Fenton River, UConn Advance, April 24, 2000.
Thorson, Robert M., 2000, Everlasting roses: quartz gravestone will withstand test of time, UConn Advance, October 23, 2000.

EXHIBITS

2024 – William Thomas Benton Museum of Art (Connecticut’s State Art Museum), University of Connecticut: Seeing Climate Change?. Co-curated with Amanda Douberley, Central Gallery, January-July 2024.
2020-2021 – William Thomas Benton Museum of Art, (Connecticut’s State Art Museum), University of Connecticut: The Human Epoch: Living in the Anthropocene. Co-curated with Amanda Douberly, Central Gallery, March 2020-October 2021. Central-gallery.
William Thomas Benton Museum of Art (Connecticut’s State Art Museum), University of Connecticut. Land Grant Landscapes. Contributed gallery descriptions for a long-term exhibit.
William Thomas Benton Museum of Art (Connecticut’s State Art Museum), University of Connecticut: Two Views of Middle Earth: Landscape Art and Geology. Co-curated with Thomas Bruhn, Balcony Gallery. Includes catalog for 14 works, 13 from the collection) March 24 -April 27, 2003.

RADIO PRODUCTIONS

Thorson, Robert M., 2024, National Public Radio (NPR), “Stone Wall Science,” The Academic Minute (broadcast, online, and published transcript), February 19-24, 2024

PROFESSIONAL COMMITTEES

Note: Professional committees (not public service) External to the University of Connecticut

2022-present: The Thoreau Society, Board of Directors (elected).
2017-present: Connecticut Center for the Book (Library of Congress Affiliate) Advisory Council and Chair of the nonfiction awards jury
2011-2012: Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences,Vice President.
2006-2010: Connecticut Center for the Book , Member, Advisory Board.
2006-2012: Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, Publications Committee
2006-2008: Connecticut Science Center, Exhibit Design, Technical Consultant.
2005-2008: Connecticut Center for the Book (a Library of Congress affiliate), State Advisory Council and Chair, Nonfiction Jury.
2002-2005: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Selection Panels: Star Dissertation Fellowships, Washington D.C.
1998-2003. U.S. Geological Survey, Connecticut Institute of Water Resources, Technical Advisory Board (Connecticut).
1987-1988: Archaeological Geology Division, Geological Society of America, Chairman – Denver, CO.
1986-1997: Connecticut State Museum of Natural History. Board Member and Secretary.
1986-1988 Connecticut Low-Level Radioactive Waste Advisory Board, Connecticut Hazardous Waste Management Service,Vice Chair in charge of the technical siting process.

EXTERNAL FUNDING

Note: External to place of Employment Not counting consulting.

2023 – Princeton University Press – Book Advance for The Walden Experiments.
2018 – National Science Foundation – GEOPATHS, PI – Lisa Park Boush, Co-PIs Robert Thorson, Michael Hren, William Ouimet (~$350,000)
2017 – Houghton Mifflin Harcourt – Book Advance for The Guide to Walden Pond.
2015 – Harvard University Press – Book Advance for The Boatman.
2012 – Harvard University Press – Book Advance for Walden’s Shore.
2005 – Bloomsbury Publishing Company – Book Advance for Beyond Walden.
2004 – Walker Publishing Company – Book Advance for Exploring Stone Walls.
2003 – National Science Foundation, Geoscience Directorate, Beyond Stone Walls, a K-8 Curriculum (PI – Robert M. Thorson, Co-PI David Moss and Wendy Glenn ($149,000). April 2002
2001 Walker Publishing Company – Book Advance for Stone by Stone.
2001 Connecticut TALENT (Teaching and Learning Enhanced by Technology) Accessing the Landscape of Connecticut On-Line. Dr. James A. Hyatt, James Motyka, Randolph Steinen and Robert Thorson ($19,500.)
1999 National Science Foundation (1999-2002) Active Extension in an Arc-Continent Collision, Taiwan: A GPS Structural Geomorphic Investigation, PI – Tim Byrne, Co-PI’s Robert Thorson, L. Liu) ($236,949.)
1998 Bilateral Education Fulbright Commission in Chile ($28,500).
1997 National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, U.S. Geological Survey, Neotectonics and Shoreline Change: Sammamish Delta, Lake Washington ($46,623).
1995 National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, U.S. Geological Survey, Crustal Motion at Lake Washington ($54,294).
1995 Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office, Connecticut Historical Commission, Landscape Archaeology of the Jinny Hill Mine ($30,000.)
1994 National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, U.S., Geological Survey ($27,000).
1991 Joint Highway Research Advisory Council (Connecticut State Department of Transportation), A developmental model for the origin of upland red-maple swamps in Connecticut, Phase II ($28,023).
1991 Center for Field Research (Earthwatch). Stone Walls of New England (ca. $19,000 (in kind payment)
1991 The Nature Conservancy, Hydrology and Human Disturbance at Great Pond, Glastonbury, CT ($6,436).
1990 Joint Highway Research Advisory Council (Connecticut State Department of Transportation), A developmental model for the origin of upland red-maple swamps in Connecticut ($22,000).
1989 U.S. Geological Survey Institute of Water Resources, University of Connecticut, Paleohydrology of Upland Streams in Connecticut; Base-flow discharge and climate change ($24,409)
1988 Joint Highway Research Advisory Council (Connecticut State Department of Transportation), Age and Origin of Small Wetlands in Connecticut ($25,138).
1986 Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Fissures in the Hain Quarry ($2,000).
1984 Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council (individual contract). Surficial geology and paleohydrology of the great Cedar Swamp, southeastern Connecticut ($30,000).
1982 Alaska Council of Science and Technology. Alaska Tephrochronology Project ($120,000).
1982 Alaska Council on Science and Technology. Workshop on Alaskan Glaciation. Sponsored by the Office of Quaternary Studies, University of Alaska ($5,000).
1975 Geist Fund, University of Alaska Museum, Research Grant. Geology of the Dry Creek Site, Alaska ($250).
1974 Geological Society of America, Penrose Bequest. Grant. Geology of the Dry Creek Site, Alaska ($900).

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

American Antiquarian Society (Elected)
Thoreau Society
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Geological Society of America