Professor and chair of geology Jeff Chiarenzelli ’81 has come full circle.  When he was named Chapin Professor in fall 2012, he filled an endowed chair that was once held by one of his professors.

Chiarenzelli describes himself as “a field geologist with interest in most everything.” Since returning to his alma mater to teach, he has focused his attention on the geology and water chemistry of the Adirondack region. 

“Teaching at a small school, like St. Lawrence, allows me the freedom and resources to pursue a number of things that I, or my students, are interested in,” he explains.  He singles out “putting St. Lawrence County rock in a context (Trans-Adirondack Back Arc Basin) that can be used to refine and build more detailed models for their origin.  When I was a student here in the late 1970s, we didn’t have the wealth of detailed analytical data, like geochronology, that we have now, so everything was a mystery,” he adds. “Unraveling a bit of that mystery has been a long-time goal and a delight.”

But his most rewarding experience overall has been “working with some excellent students,” Chiarenzelli says.  “It is fun to see your students mature and develop rewarding careers in geology and environmental science.”   He cites his course in optical mineralogy: with just six students, it was “heavily project-based and it turned out to have some very real scientific import.” Professor and students traveled to the Geological Society of America meeting to present their work. “That is very cool!” Chiarenzelli exclaims.

One of Chiarenzelli’s children is a graduate of St. Lawrence, and another is a member of the Class of 2016. His job as a professor allows him to “put my 8-year-old, Ariana, on the school bus every school morning, which I thoroughly enjoy.”