Day: September 29, 2021

Heliker, Christine

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Christina is a geologist who spent most of her career working for the U.S. Geological Survey on active volcanoes.  Her first job with the USGS, however, was working on glaciers from an office in Tacoma.  When Mt. St. Helens erupted in May 1980, she quickly transferred to Vancouver, to what was soon to become the Cascades Volcano Observatory.  She worked there for the next four years while completing a Master’s degree at Western Washington University in Bellingham.  In 1984, she moved to the USGS’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on the Island of Hawai`i, where she monitored the 35-year-long eruption of Kilauea until retiring. Christina returned to the Northwest in 2012, settling in Sequim, where she spends her time hiking and snowshoeing in the Olympic Mountains and working on her photography.

Since returning to the Northwest, Christina has revisited Mt. St. Helens’ crater, hiking in as far as the terminus of the fast-growing glacier that has wrapped around dome. Her talk entitled Working in the crater of Mount St. Helens, 1980-83, will  include an update on current conditions at Mount St. Helens, nearly 40 years after the big eruption. (Updated Oct. 2021)

Neal, Kathryn

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Kathryn Neal, P.E. is Civil Engineering Manager with the City of Port Angeles.  Kathryn has a Bachelor of Architecture and Civil Engineering from the University of Washington and has been a practicing Professional Engineer since 1994. In her time with Port Angeles, this has been one of the largest and most significant projects she has been involved in, and arguably the most unique. The project, which was completed this year at a cost of about $21.3M, protects the environment, will last for many decades, and was successfully accomplished within the financial constraints of a small city.

She grew up in Port Angeles, and was thrilled to be able to move back to the Olympic Peninsula about 15 years ago. She recently retired from her job; now she enjoys hiking, kayaking, reading, and imagining alternate realities.

In Ddec. 2016, Kathryn described how the city Stabilized Port Angeles’ Coastal Landfill, which was in danger to sliding into the sea.  (Updated Oct. 2021)

Kieffer, Sue

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Susan Kieffer is a geologist and planetary scientist in international renown.  She is known for her research on fluid dynamics of volcanoes, geysers and rivers and for her model of the thermodynamic properties of complex minerals.  She has also contributed to the scientific understanding of meteorite impacts.

Susan Kieffer received her B.S. in physics/ mathematics from Allegheny College in 1964 and is an alumna of Cal Tech, receiving both an M.S. (1967) in geological sciences and Ph.D. (1971) in planetary sciences. She worked with the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Arizona (1979–1990) and was affiliated with both Arizona State University (1989–1993) and Cal Tech (1982). She went on to head the Geological Sciences Department at the University of British Columbia (1993–1995). She is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a 1995 MacArthur Fellow. She was awarded the Penrose Medal by the Geological Society of America in 2014 and is currently the Charles R. Walgreen, Jr. Professor Emeritia at the University of Illinois.

Susan recently moved to Whidbey Island where she is retired, but still actively engaged in scientific writing, research and education. Her most recent book, entitled “The Dynamics of Disaster,” was published by W.W. Norton in 2014.  Dr. Kieffer hosts a popular blog called Geology in Motion.

Sue gave an explosive presentation entitled “Geologic Nozzles” to the QGS in Oct. 2016.  (Updated Oct. 2021)