Dr. Antun Husinec
St. Lawrence University
Submitted by ahusinec on Mon, 08/18/2008 - 10:54.
Assistant Professor of Geology
Courses I teach regularly:
Sedimentology (GEOL 216)
Carbonate Sedimentology (GEOL 347B)
Tropical Coastal Environments (GEOL 347C)
Paleoclimatology (GEOL 247)
Oceanography (GEOL 115)
Dynamic Earth (GEOL 103)
My research interests:
Current research interests emphasize the use of microfossil record and stratal patterns to understand past depositional, climatic and oceanographic systems. I am particularly interested in carbonate platform records as sea level and climate change proxies, as well as computer modeling of carbonate platform sequences. The ongoing NSF-funded collaborative research (with Fred Read, Virginia Tech) on the the Jurassic-Cretaceous sections of the Adriatic platform in Croatia will provide important paleoclimatic data for this time interval during which some of the world’s major petroleum reservoirs were generated.
Sample student projects I have supervised:
Aptian platform-interior facies of Adriatic platform, southern Croatia
Cyclicity of Barremian tidal flat deposits of southern Adriatic platform, Croatia
Comparison of two modern carbonate subtidal environments, San Salvador Island, Bahamas
Examples of presentations, exhibitions, performances and published work:
HUSINEC, A., BASCH, D., ROSE, B. & READ, J.F., 2008, FISCHERPLOTS: an Excel spreadsheet for computing Fischer plots of accommodation change in cyclic carbonate successions in both the time and depth domain. Computers & Geosciences, 34, p. 269-277. DOI:10.1016/j.cageo.2007.02.004
HUSINEC, A. & READ, J.F., 2007, The Late Jurassic Tithonian, a greenhouse phase in the Middle Jurassic – Early Cretaceous “cool” mode: Evidence from the cyclic Adriatic Platform, Croatia. Sedimentology, 54, p. 317-337. DOI:10.1111/j.1365-3091.2006.00837.x
HUSINEC, A. & READ, J.F., 2006, Transgressive oversized radial ooid facies in the Late Jurassic Adriatic Platform interior: Low-energy precipitates from highly supersaturated hypersaline waters. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 118, p. 550-556. DOI:10.1130/B25864.1
Aspects of my teaching that students find most effective and interesting:
PowerPoints, Field projects, Jeopardy review quizzes, Use of ANGEL, Knowledge of the material
Some ways I connect with students outside the classroom:
This summer I was very happy to take along two of my undergraduate students to Croatia, where we all worked on the NSF project entitled Joint U.S.-Croatian Cooperative Research Project: Greenhouse and Transitional Climates in 50 m.y. Carbonate Record of the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Dinaric Platform, Croatia. Charles Harman (09) and Rafferty Sweeney (09) gained experience in field work in an international setting and were trained in the forefront high resolution sequence stratigraphic methodologies in outcrop studies of carbonate platforms. They also collected samples for analysis of stable isotopes. This close student-faculty collaboration outside of the regular academic calendar, and on-site discussions with Fred Read (Virginia Tech), one of the world’s most awarded carbonate sedimentologists, as well as with local Croatian experts, provided an excellent opportunity for students’ intellectual growth. Charles and Rafferty, who both continue with their work on this project through their theses as my mentees, will share their experiences of working in an international venue through a classroom and/or campus-wide presentation, encouraging their peers to get involved in similar projects available at St. Lawrence.
My teaching philosophy:
Involving undergraduate students in one's own research is one of the most valuable ways of teaching geology. This works well only when students actively participate in the research process. Of course, they lack experience and will typically require guidance but that should not make them "second-order" members of the team that dust and do the simplest, most tedious laboratory work. They should participate in interpreting data, in presenting the results, and in writing the final research reports. Undergraduate students who are actively and successfully involved in a research, give professional presentations and publish papers, will have a better-than-average chance to continue their successful education in a graduate school.
Ways I offer service to my discipline and/or the University:
Geological Society of America - Research Grant Committee (Member-At-Large, 2009-2012)
Geologos Journal (Editorial Board Member, 2009-present)
Fulbright Alumni Association (Executive Board Member in Croatia, 2006-present)
St. Lawrence University - Scholarships, Fellowships and Grants Committee (Member, 2008-present)
Examples of my work as a visiting scholar or guest at another institution:
University of South Carolina, Department of Geological Sciences. April 10, 2008. Invited lecture.
University of Kansas, Department of Geology. May 3, 2005. Invited lecture.
Rice University, Department of Earth Science. March 14, 2005. Invited lecture.
My hobbies and/or personal interests:
Soccer!
My current projects:
U.S. National Science Foundation (Geology/Paleontology Program), Research Grant EAR 0639523 – Joint U.S.-Croatian Cooperative Research Project: Greenhouse and Transitional Climates in 50 m.y. Carbonate Record of the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Dinaric Platform, Croatia; U.S. P.I.: J.F. Read, Croatian P.I.: A. Husinec
Ministry of Science, Republic of Croatia (Geosciences Program), Research Grant 181-1953068-0241 - Sedimentary Record of Jurassic-Cretaceous Climatic Changes in Karst Dinarides; P.I.: A. Husinec
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