C. Renee
Rohs, Ph.D. 
Northwest
Missouri State University
In August 2000, I joined the
geology faculty at Northwest Missouri State University in the Geology/Geography
Department. Since that time, the geology
faculty and programs have been combined with biology, chemistry, and physics to
form the Department of Natural Sciences.
Throughout my academic career, I have been committed to high quality
instruction with a firm foundation in scholarly inquiry, peer evaluation, and
effective delivery methods.
The courses that I teach
include Mineralogy and Petrology as well as introductory courses in the earth
sciences. At the introductory level, my
purposes are to pique student interest and develop an understanding of how the
earth sciences can be related to their areas of interest whether those are
education, business, travel, or the environment. Some students find that they have a passion
for understanding the earth and elect to pursue a degree in geology. These students then take the Mineralogy and
Petrology sequence in their second or third year. As with all of my courses, research
activities have shaped and augmented my teaching to illustrate the importance
of scientific inquiry and evaluation.
My current research efforts
are focused on igneous and metamorphic rocks.
These projects have emerged from my doctoral studies at the University
of Kansas and include geochronology methods using U-Pb,
Sm-Nd, and Ar-Ar as well as
geochemistry with ICP-MS and mineral identification using XRD. I have supervised a number of undergraduate
research projects in the St. Francois Mountains, Absaroka Mountains, Wisconsin,
and Northern Scotland. I have
highlighted some information in the areas of education, teaching, supervised
undergraduate research projects, research, and administrative experiences.
EDUCATION
Ph.D.
University of Kansas: Identifying Paleoproterozoic
and Mesoproterozoic crustal domains within the
Southern Granite and Rhyolite Province, Midcontinent North America.
M.S.
Geology, Kansas State University: Electromagnetic detection of saltwater in
the shallow subsurface along the Saline River Russell County, Kansas
B.S.
in Geology, Kansas State University
TEACHING INTERESTS
Petrology
The
introductory course in Petrology is offered every spring term and includes
igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks.
Many of the labs used in this course have been developed from applied
research projects or undergraduate research that bring together samples, thin sections,
maps, and geochemical data for a holistic approach to understanding their
formation.
·
Mafic rocks of
the St. Francois Mountains
·
Volcanoclastic rocks of the Absaroka Mountains
·
Buchan Series
metamorphic rocks from Northern Scotland
Mineralogy
The
prerequisite course for Petrology is Mineralogy. The introductory Mineralogy course is taught
every fall and provides the foundation for additional studies in geology. We take a systematic approach to the material
by chemical groups and structures while developing a framework for
identification and occurrence.
Field Geology of the British Isles
This
course, designed to pique interest by going to cool places and seeing awesome
geology, was developed in 2009-10 and offered in May 2010 and 2012. The reconnaissance
trip included identification and study of field sites in Ireland and Scotland
vital to the development of the modern study of geology while providing
compelling examples of geologic processes such as tectonic forces, economic
mineralization, shoreline processes, and the expanse of geologic time. Each field location was evaluated for impact
on student understanding of geological concepts, importance to the development
of the science of geology, and cultural and/or historical significance.
Field
locations included the following:
·
Coastal exposures
south and east of Edinburgh to include the Old Red Sandstone and Siccar Point
·
Buchan Series of
high temperature regional metamorphism along the northern coast near Banff, Scotland
·
Western Highlands
with the Lewisian gneissic exposures, rugged terrain,
glacial valleys and lakes (lochs)
·
Columnar basalt at
Giant’s Causeway.
·
Coral fossil beds
at Streedaugh Point and Knocknarea,
Ireland
·
Metamorphic and
igneous rocks of the Caledonian orogeny in the Connemara Region of Ireland
·
Coastal processes
at Cliffs of Moher, Bridges of Ross, and Kilbaha Bay
·
Glacial landforms
and lakes at Glendalough, Ireland
SUPERVISED UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
·
Walter, J.K., and
Rohs, C.R., 2012 Mineralogical Composition of Diabase and Altered Dolostone from the St. Francois Mountains near Annapolis,
Missouri, USA: The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon, v.
84, n. 1, Article 4.
·
Aldieri, M., Johnson, A. W. and Rohs, C. R., 2010, Petrology
of the non-felsic rocks associated with the Silvermines
Granite.
·
Bulen, Casey L.
and Rohs, C.R., 2010, Mineralogical analyses of samples from the Buchan
metamorphic series near Banff, Scotland
·
Courter, Sara. J.
and Rohs, C.R., 2010, Petrology of volcanoclastic
rocks in the Wiggins Formation, Southern Absaraoka
Range
·
Hamlin, D. B.,
Johnson, A.W., and Rohs, C.R. 2010 Field Reconnaissance in the British
Isles: An undergraduate perspective
·
Bennett, J. and Rohs, C.R., 2009, Comparison of Archean gneisses in northern Wisconsin along the southern
margin of the Superior Craton,
·
Tomlin, K. and Rohs, C.R., 2008, X-ray
diffraction and petrographic analysis of the large diabase dike intruding the Silvermines granite in SE Missouri
·
Andersen,
A.K. and Rohs, C.R., 2007, Petrology and geochemistry of the Absaroka volcanic
province
·
Andersen,
A.K. and Rohs, C.R., 2006, Comparison of igneous rocks of the Absaroka Province
and the Yellowstone Volcanic Terrane
·
Villines, L.E.
and Rohs, C.R., 2005, Unique factors and surficial processes of the reverse
estuarine system in the Estero Banderitas and Puerto
San Carlos. Missouri Academy of Science
Meeting, April 15, 2005, Jefferson City, MO
·
Donahue, K. and
Rohs, C. R., 2005, Quantitative analysis of crystalline textures and structures
in meteorites containing free iron
·
Woodland, S. and
Rohs, C. R., 2005, Identification and quantitative analysis of chondrules in ordinary and carbonaceous chondrite
meteorites
·
Collins, R. D.,
Rohs, C.R., 2004 Mineralogy of granite and rhyolite units in the St. Francois
Mountains
·
Walker, K.N.,
Rohs, C.R., Goetz-Ensminger, S.L., 2003 Mineralogy of
the Tolsona Mud Volcanoes in the Copper River Basin,
Alaska
·
Van Boening, A., Goetz-Ensminger,
S.L., Rohs, C.R., Ham, N. 2003, Provenance of supraglacial
clasts on the Matanuska Glacier, Alaska
·
Robinett, B. Goetz-Ensminger, S.L.,
Pope, J., Rohs, C.R., 2003, Stratigraphic correlation of a Pre-Illinoian diamicton, Northwestern
Missouri
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Research, even at a teaching
university, has been valuable to me in many different ways. These are a few of the reasons as to why I
think that research and other scholarly activities have been important during
my time here at Northwest.
1.
Research has
improved and enhanced my teaching. When
learning new things, it has been easier to understand my students’ perspectives
and great to experience “light bulb” moments as well.
2.
While conducting
different research projects, I have been actively involved in national and
regional organizations including the Geological Society of America and Missouri
Academy of the Sciences. The connections
and conversations that have resulted from being involved with GSA have added
zest and zeal to my life as an academic scholar.
3.
Collaborative
efforts between different universities have resulted from research initiatives
and projects.
4.
Involvement in
research projects has helped me to prepare my students for both graduate school
and employment.
During my time here at
Northwest, I have worked on a variety of different research projects including
several applied research projects, a couple of faculty research projects, and
numerous undergraduate projects. In some
of these research projects I have been able to use funds to collect samples,
prepare samples, analyze my own samples or have them analyzed. I have been able to build into budgets, the
cost of travel and analysis of rock samples for major elemental compositions,
trace element concentrations, and isotopic ratios at geochemical labs
maintained at the University of Kansas.
As a result, slowly and steadily, I have been chipping away at some
important geological projects including the following:
·
Crustal framework
·
Igneous systems
and tectonic interpretations
·
Mafic intrusions
of the St. Francois Mountains
·
Metamorphic
minerals and textures as evidence of metamorphic conditions
·
Meteorite studies
·
Milton stony-iron
meteorite with mm scale and thin section image of Sahara 98175 ordinary chondrite in cross-polarized light.
ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE
Geology/Geography Department Chair
From
July 2010 through May 2012, I served as the Geology/Geography Department
Chair. A reorganization of departments
at Northwest Missouri State University during the summer 2012 resulted in the
Natural Sciences Department that combined biology, chemistry, geology, and
physics.
Assistant to
the Provost
During
the 2006-2007 academic year, I served as the Faculty
Assistant to the Provost with a 75% reassignment. As the Assistant to the Provost, I prepared
materials for and attended annual meetings of the academic departments in all
three colleges of the university along with the Provost and respective college
Dean. These meetings gave me a unique
perspective on the curricular, space, and faculty issues that we faced as a university
and provided me with a better understanding of the importance of shared
governance.
Contact
Information
Dr.
C. Renee Rohs
Associate
Professor of Geology
Department
of Natural Sciences
Northwest
Missouri State University
800
University Dr.
Maryville,
MO 64468