For Immediate Release	January 8, 1996
 
Lawrence Geologist Selected for National Science Foundation Professorship
Program
 
	
	APPLETON, WIS.- Marcia Bjornerud, associate professor of geology at
Lawrence University, has been selected by the National Science Foundation as a
distinguished scholar for its 1996-97 Visiting Professorships for Women
Program.  Of the 21 scientists in the country chosen for next year's program,
Bjornerud was one of only two who teach at a liberal arts college.   
	A specialist in structural geology and tectonics, Bjornerud will spend
first term next fall as a visiting professor at Michigan Technological
University in Houghton, Mich.  In addition to conducting her own research on
slope stability, she will teach a class on earthquake faulting as well as a
graduate level course in geological pedagogy.  
	In 1995, Bjornerud co-authored a laboratory manual that took a radically
different approach to introductory geology, shifting the conventional focus
from rock and mineral identification to one organized around themes of Earth
science, incorporating global issues that have political and economic
implications such as climate change and resource depletion.
	"I'm going to Michigan Tech to learn new analytical techniques and
practical applications of the theoretical work I have done, which I can bring
back to share with Lawrence students," Bjornerud said.  "Michigan Tech gets
someone to interject new energies into their curriculum and when I return,
Lawrence gets someone with new practical research projects."
	The NSF's Visiting Professorships for Women Program (VPW) was created in
1982 to provide opportunities for advancement of outstanding women and to
encourage female students to pursue careers in science and engineering by
increasing the visibility of successful women.  Through the VPW, female
scientists and engineers conduct advanced research at academic institutions of
their choice where they have access to top scientists in their fields and the
most advanced research facilities in the country.
	Bjornerud joined the Lawrence faculty in September, 1995 after six years
in the geology department at Miami University in Ohio.  For the past two years,
she has been named a Distinguished Speaker by the National Association of
Geology Teachers.  She earned her bachelor's degree in geophysics at the
University of Minnesota and her Ph.D. in geology at the University of
Wisconsin.   	


Contact:  Rick Peterson, Manager of News Services, 414/832-6590
 
      


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