2023 North-Central Section Meeting

Special Events

Please contact the meeting co-chairs if you would like to schedule an event for your group: Tara Kneeshaw, kneeshta@gvsu.edu, or Ginny Peterson, petersvi@gvsu.edu.

Welcoming Reception

Wed., 3 May, 5–7 p.m., Eberhard Center.

Bruce Dice Mineralogical Museum Open House

Wed, 3 May. Departs Eberhard Center 3 p.m.; returns 5 p.m. Cost: US$10. Max. participants: 20.

Organizer: Deanna van Dijk, Calvin University, dvandijk@calvin.edu.

Description: The Dice Mineralogical Museum in Grand Rapids has a world-class collection of more than 300 minerals and some rare fossils. Participants who register and pay the fee are provided transportation by van to the museum. Upon arrival attendees will be given a short introduction to the museum and then ample time to view the collection. Those who don’t register in advance are still welcome to tour the museum during that time but will have to provide their own transportation. The Dice Museum will also be open for conference visitors all day Thursday and Friday.

Keynote Address

Thurs., 4 May, 5:30 p.m.

Adam Wygant, director of the Oil, Gas, and Minerals Division (OGMD) in the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), “Mitten state geology, how it shaped our past and will impact our future.”
Abstract: Michigan’s varied geologic history provides for its signature shape which allows Michiganders the ability to show you points of interest on their hands - a left mitten forms the Upper Peninsula, and a right mitten forms the lower peninsula. This unique shape is even reflected in the State motto, “If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.” The geologic history of Michigan also greatly influences the state’s anthropogenic development. Michigan’s combination of tectonic rifting, development of a marine sedimentary basin, and subsequent glaciation provided abundant natural resources in the form of metallic minerals, oil and natural gas, valuable mineral brines, other evaporite minerals, and aggregate resources. Even after 186 years of Michigan Geological Survey history and investigation, geologists are seeking to improve the geological understanding of the state to provide greater mineral and energy security, sequester carbon, manage dynamic changes related to climate with our shorelines and streams, and secure a future with safe drinking water resources and improved water quality.