Academic Curriculum Vitae

Updated October 3, 2007

Ivy and Brick are familiar images at the University of Connecticut, where Professor Thorson makes his academic home.

ROBERT M. THORSON

PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT

• Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
• Department of Anthropology
• Center for Integrated Geosciences (Affiliate)
• Connecticut State Museum of Natural History (Stone Wall Initiative, Coordinator)

FIELD OF SPECIALIZATION

• Earth Surface Processes
• Archaeological Geology
• Geoscience Education
• Science Writing

EDUCATION

• 1979 Ph.D. - Geology; University of Washington
• 1975 M.S. - Geology; University of Alaska, Fairbanks
• 1973 B.S. - Earth Science Teaching; Bemidji State University (Minnesota)

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

• 2004-present: University of Connecticut, Professor of Geology.
• 1999-2000. Professor Visitante, Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria, Depto. de Obras Civiles, Valparaiso, Chile.
• 1996-2004: Professor of Geology and Geophysics (and Professor of Anthropology), University of Connecticut.
• 1991-92: Visiting Scholar in Geography, Dartmouth College
• 1990-96: Associate Professor (Joint Appointment Department of Anthropology), University of Connecticut
• 1990 Visiting Faculty Fellow, Yale University / Mellon Foundation, Department of History
• 1987-95: Associate Professor, Geology and Geophysics, University of Connecticut
• 1984-86: Research Affiliate in Surficial Geology, University of Alaska Museum, Fairbanks, Alaska
• 1982-84: Director, Alaska Quaternary Center, University of Alaska-Fairbanks
• 1982-84: Head, Surficial Geology, Earth Sciences Division University of Alaska Museum 1982-84 Director, Alaska Tephrochronology Center, University of Alaska
• 1980-84 Assistant Professor, Geology and Geophysics, University of Alaska
• 1979: Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
• 1973-75 Teaching Assistant, Department of Geology, University of Alaska-Fairbanks

OTHER PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS

• 2004-present: The Hartford Courant: Opinion Columnist, Weekly (Science, academia, commnity life)
• 2002-present: The Hartford Courant: Member, Place Board of Contributors (Essays on Nature)
• 2000-Present: Public Archaeology Survey Team, Staff Geologist:
• 1979-81 Geologist, WAE Status, Branch of Western Environmental Geology, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA.
• 1977-79 Geologist, Puget Sound Earth Sciences Applications Project, U.S. Geological Survey, Seattle, WA
• 1975-77 Geologist, Arctic Environmental Project, Branch of Alaskan Geology, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA Research Associate, North Alaska Range Early Man Research Project, National Geographic Society and National Park Service, Washington, DC.
• 1975 Field Assistant, Earthquake Hazards Project, Branch of Alaskan Geology, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA

HONORS AND DISTINCTIONS

Awards:

• 2004: (shared as chapter author) three awards for Voices of the New Republic, Edited by Howard Lamar and Christopher Bickford. Connecticut Book Award (nonfiction); Bookbuilder's Guild of New York, 2004, and the Homer Babbidge Award for the Association of Connecticut History.
• 2003: Connecticut Book Award (nonfiction) for Stone by Stone (New York, Walker & Company)
• 2003: (shared as member of original board of contributors) Thomas Wellman Award for Community Service, American Association of Opionion Page Editors for Hartford Courant's "Place."
• 2000: Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected)
• 2000: (informal) "Worn-out dissertation award," Washington State Department of Natural Resources.
• 1998 Fulbright Scholar, Servicio Nacional de Geologia y Mineria, Santiago, Chile
• 1998 Smithsonian Institution, Notable Books for Children (shared with Kristine Thorson)
• 1997 Outstanding Alumni Award, Bemidji State University, Minnesota
• 1990 Special Achievement Award, University of Connecticut
• 1986 Special Achievement Award, University of Connecticut
• 1983 Founding Director of the Alaska Quaternary Center, University of Alaska
• 1974 Penrose Bequest Grant, Geological Society of America
• 1973 Summa cum laude, Bemidji State College (Minnesota).

Selected Committees External To The University of Connecticut

• 2006, Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, Publications Committee
• 2006, Connecticut Center for the Book (a Library of Congress affiliate), State Advisory Council.
• 2006, Connecticut Center for the Book, Chair, Nonfiction Jury
• 2005 and 2001, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Selection Committiee: Star Disseration Fellowship, Washington D.C.
• 1998-2003 U.S. Geological Survey, Connecticut Institute of Water Resources, Technical Advisory Board.
• 1997 Nominee, Wetlands Policy Panel, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences (declined).1987 Chairman, Archaeological Geology Division, Geological Society of America,
• 1987-1992 Vice Chairman and Member, Radioactive Waste (Low Level) Advisory Board, Connecticut Hazardous Waste Management Service.

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

• American Association for Advancement of Science
• Geological Society of America
• American Geophysical Union
• Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences

ART EXHIBITS

• William Thomas Benton Museum of Art, University of Connecticut: Two Views of Middle Earth: Landscape Art and Geology. (with Thomas Bruhn, Art Curator; includes catalog for 14 works, 13 from the collection) March 24 - April 27, 2003.

PUBLICATIONS

Books

Thorson, Robert M., 2005, Exploring Stone Walls: A Field Guide to New England's Stone Walls. New York, Walker & Company, 187 pages.

Thorson, Robert M., September, 2002. Stone By Stone: The Magnificent History in New England's Stone Walls. New York, Walker Publishing Company. 287 p.

Thorson, R. M., 1999, La Falla Marga-Marga, Vina del Mar, Chile: Publicada Occasional de la Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria, Depto. De Obras Civiles, 48 p, 21 figuras..

Kristine Thorson and Robert M. Thorson, 1998. Stone Wall Secrets, Gardiner, ME., Tilbury House Publishers (Illustrations by Gustav Moore).

Thorson, R.M., 1981. Isostatic Effects of the Last Glaciation in the Puget Lowland Washington. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report, 81-370, 100 pages.

Books Edited

Hamilton, T.D., K.M., and Thorson, R.M., (editors) 1986. Glaciation in Alaska: The Geologic Record. Alaska Geological Society, Anchorage, AK, 212 p.

Thorson, R.M. and Hamilton, T.D., (editors), 1983. Glaciation in Alaska: Extended Abstracts from a Workshop: University of Alaska Museum Occasional Paper No. 2, University of Alaska, 100 pages.

INVITED BOOK CHAPTERS*

*Thorson, Robert M., 2005, Geology. The Encyclopedia of New England: The Culture and History of an American Region.Feintuch, Burt and D. H. Watters, Editors., Yale University Press, p. 567-569. *Note: This is a long encylopedia entry, rather than a book chapter.

Thorson, Robert M., 2003, The Physical Environment of Connecticut Towns, Then and Now: Processes, Attitudes and Perceptions, in Lamar, H. and Cooper, C., Voices of the New Republic, Connecticut Towns, 1800-1832, , Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, p. 225-232.

Robert M. Thorson and Christian A. Tryon, 2003, Bluff Top Sand Sheets in Northeastern Archaeology: A Physical Transport Model and Application to the Neville Site, Amoskeag Falls, New Hampshire. in, Cremeens, D. L., and Hart, J.P., Geoarchaeology of Landscapes in the Glaciated Northeast. New York State Museum Bulletin 497, p. 61-74.

Robert M. Thorson, Andrew G. Harris, Sandra L. Harris, Robert Gradie III, and M.W. Lefor, 1998. Colonial Impacts to Wetlands in Lebanon, Connecticut, in Welby, C.W., Ed., Reviews in Engineering Geology; The Voice of Reason, the Voice of Warning: Boulder, CO., Geological Society of America, p. 23-24.

Thorson, R.M., 1990. Geologic Contexts of Archaeological Sites in Beringia: "in" Lasca, N.P. and Donahue, J., eds., Archaeological Geology of North America: Boulder, Colorado. Geological Society of America, Centennial Special Volume 4, 399-420.

Thorson, R.M., 1987. Geomorphology of the Alaskan Pacific Coast and Mountain System in Graf, W., ed., Geomorphology of North America: Geological Society of America, Decade of North American Geology. Special Centennial Volume No. 2, p. 517-528 (in Chapter 13, Muhs, D., chapter leader)

Thorson, R.M., 1986. The Ceaseless Contest, "in" Interior Alaska, a Journey Through Time, R.R. Nelson (Ed.). The Alaska Geographic Society.

Thorson, R.M., 1986. Late Cenozoic Glaciation of the Northern Nenana Valley, "in" Hamilton, T.D., Reed, CM, and Thorson, R.M., eds., Glaciation in Alaska: The Geologic Record, Anchorage, The Alaska Geological Society p. 99-122.

Thorson, R.M. and Hamilton, T.D., 1986. Glacial Geology of the Aleutian Islands, "in" Hamilton, T.D., Reed, K.M., and Thorson, R.M., eds., Glaciation in Alaska: The Geologic Record, Anchorage, The Alaska Geological Society, p. 171-192.

Hamilton, T.D., Reed, K.M., and Thorson, R.M., 1986. Introduction and Overview, "in" Hamilton, T.D., Reed, K.M. and Thorson, R.M., eds., Glaciation in Alaska: The Geologic Record, Anchorage, The Alaska Geological Society, p. 1-8.

Hamilton, T.D. and Thorson, R.M., 1983. The Cordilleran Ice Sheet in Alaska, "in" Late Quaternary Environments of the United States, Volume I, S.C. Porter (Ed.), University of Minnesota Press, Chapter 2, p. 38-52.

Waitt, R.B., Jr. and Thorson, R.M., 1983. The Cordilleran Ice Sheet in Alaska, "in" Late Quaternary Environments of the United States, Volume I, S.C. Porter (Ed.), University of Minnesota Press, Chapter 3, p. 53-70.

Refereed Journal Articles

Thorson, Robert M., 2006, Artifact Mixing at the Dry Creek Site, Interior Alaska.  Anthropological Papers of the Universty of Alaska, New Series, V. 4(1), p. 1-10. 

Thorson, R. M., 2001, Remote aquifer response to the18 November 1755 Cape Anne Earthquake. Seismological Research Letters, v. 72, No. 3, May/June, 2001, p. 363-365.

Thorson, R.M., 2000, Glacial Tectonics. A Deeper Perspective. Quaternary Science Reviews, V. 13-14, p. 1391-1398.

Thorson, R.M., 1999, El limite glacial in Sudamerica y su papel en Biografia; Observaciones de Darwin. Ciencia al Dia Internacional (an internet journal), No. 4, Vol II, Dec. 1999.

Thorson, R.M., 1996, The Five-Square Strategy for Excavating Colluvial Slopes. The Review of Archaeology, V. 17, No. 1, p. 25-32.

Thorson, R.M., 1996, Earthquake Recurrence and Glacial Loading in Western Washington: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 108, no. 9, 1182-1191.

Thorson, R.M. and C.A. Schile, 1994. Deglacial Eolain Regimes in New England. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 107: 751-761.

Thorson, R.M., 1993. Postglacial Offset on the Seattle Fault. Science, 260:825-826.

Thorson, R.M. and R.D. Guthrie, 1992. Stratigraphy of the Colorado Creek Mammoth Locality, Alaska. Quaternary Research, 37:214-288.

Thorson, R.M. and S.L. Harris, 1991. How "Natural are Inland Wetlands?" An Example from the Trail Wood Audubon Sanctuary in Connecticut, USA. Environmental Management, 15:675-687.

Thorson, R.M. and R.S. Webb, 1991. Postglacial history of a cedar swamp in southeastern Connecticut. Journal of Palaeolimnology, 6:17-35.

Thorson, R.M., 1990. Glaci-isostatic response of the Puget Sound Area, Washington, Geological Society of America Bulletin, V. 201, p. 1163-1174.

Thorson, R.M. and McBride, K., 1988. The Bolton Spring Site, Connecticut: early Holocene human occupation and environmental changes in southern New England: Geoarchaeology: An International Journal, v. 3, No. 3, 221-234.

Thorson, R.M., Clayton, W.S., and Seeber, L., 1986. Geologic evidence for a large prehistoric earthquake in eastern Connecticut: Geology, v. 14, p. 463-467.

Thorson, R.M., and Bender, G., 1985. Eolain deflation by ancient katabatic winds; a late Quaternary example form the north Alaska Range: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 96, p. 702-709.

Dixon, E.J. and Thorson, R.M., 1984. Taphonomic analysis and interpretation in NorthAmerican Pleistocene archaeology: Quaternary Research, v. 22, p. 155-159.

Thorson, R.M. and Guthrie, R.D., 1984. River ice as a taphonomic agent: an alternative hypothesis for bone "artifacts": Quaternary Research, v. 22, p. 172-188.

Thorson, R.M. and Dixon, E.J., 1983. Alluvial history of the Porcupine River, Alaska: Role of glacial-like overflow northwest Canada. Geological Society of American Bulletin, 94, 576-589.

Thorson, R.M., Dixon, E.J., Smith, G.S., and Batten, A., 1981. Interstadial Proboscidean from South-Central Alaska: Implications for Biogeography, Geology, Archaeology. Quaternary Research, 16, 404-417

Thorson, R.M., Plaskett, D.C., and Dixon, E.J., 1980. A reported Early-Man Site Adjacent to Southern AlaskaÕs Continental Shelf: A Geologic Solution to an Archaeological Enigma. Quaternary Research, 13, 259-273.

Thorson, R.M., 1980. Ice-Sheet Glaciation of the Puget Lowland, Washington, during the Vashon Stade (Late Pleistocene). Quaternary Research, 13, 303-321.

Thorson, R.M., 1978. Recurrent late Quaternary Faulting Near Healy Alaska. Short Notes on Alaskan Geology, Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Geology Report, 61, 10-14.

Thorson, R.M. and Hamilton, T.D., 1977. Geology of the Dry Creek Site; a Stratified Early Man Site in Interior Alaska. Quaternary Research, 7, 149-176.

Non Refereed Journals and Magazines

Thorson, Robert M., 2006, A Mammoth Fascination with Proboscideans. Cross Paths, v. 9, Issue 2, Summer, 2006, (Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center), p. 6-7.

Thorson, Robert M., 2005, Stone Walls Disappearing. Connecticut Woodlands: The Magazine of the COnnecticut Forest & park Association, v. 69, No. 4, Winter, 2005).

Thorson, Robert M., 2003, Preserving Stone Walls. Connecticut Preservation News, Vol. XXV, No. 5, Sept/Oct 2002, p. 11 and 16.

Forrest, D. T., Thorson, R. M., and Raber, M. S., 2000 (December), Adriaen's Landing -- Archaeology, Geology, and Palynology. Cultural Resource Management, v. 23, no. 10, p. 30-32. (Invited).

Thorson, R.M., 1998. Stone Wall Secrets: Geology as Environmental History, GSA Today (Geological Society of AmericaÕs monthly magazine), November, p. 8-9.

Thorson, R.M. and Gregory Brick, 1995. Stratified Drift as Historical Baggage. GSA Today (Geological Society of AmericaÕs monthly magazine), v. 5, no. 9, 174-176.

Thorson, R.M., 1994. Final Report for Project 1434-94-6-2467: Postglacial Offset Along the Seattle Fault. National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Technical Summaries, 1994 Projects.

Thorson, R.M., 1991. Presentation of the Archaeological Geology Division Award to David M. Hopkins (Citation). Geological Society of America Archaeological Geology Newsletter, 101, 577-579

Thorson, R.M. and Holiday, V.T., 1990. Just what is Geoarchaeology? Geotimes, V. 35, 19-20. Thorson, R.M., 1990. Annual Review of Archaeological Geology. Geotimes, January, p. 32-33.

Thorson, R.M., 1989. Neotectonics in Alaska and Northwest Canada, "in" Carter, L.D., Hamilton, T.D., and Galloway, J.P., Eds., Late Cenozoic History of the Interior Basins of Alaska and the Yukon: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1026, p. 108-109.

Thorson, R.M., 1989. Late Quaternary Paleofloods along the Porcupine River, Alaska: Implication for Regional Correlation, "in" Carter, L.D., Hamilton, T.D., and Galloway, J.P., Eds., Late Cenozoic History of the Interior Basins of Alaska and the Yukon: U.S. Geological Survey Circular, 1026, p. 51-54.

Thorson, R.M. and Hamilton, T.D., 1983. Glaciation Fluctuated Repeatedly in Alaska. Geotimes, September, 18.

Dixon, E.J., Plaskett, D.C., and Thorson, R.M., 1983. Cave Deposits, Porcupine River, Alaska: National Geographic Society Research Reports, 1979 Projects, p. 129-153.

Hamilton, T.D. and Thorson, R.M., 1976. Surficial geologic Mapping in the Philip Smith Mountains and Chandalar Quadrangles, Books Range. U.S. Geological Survey Circular, 733, 9-10.

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS AND REPORTS

Thorson, Robert M., 2000, Shoreline stratigraphy of Lake Washington; implications for Holocene crustal strain and earthquake recurrence in the Cascadia forearc. Penrose Conference 2000, Great Cascadia Earthquake Tricentennial, Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries Special paper 33, p. 120-121.

Thorson, R. M., 1999, The Aconcagua River, Selected Geologic Topics, Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria Depto. De Obras Civiles, 30 p.

Thorson, R. M., 1998. Neotectonics and Shoreline Change, Sammamish Delta, Lake Washington. Project #1434-HG-97-GR-03057, National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, Final Report.

Thorson, R. M., 1999. Neotectonics and Shoreline Change, Sammamish Delta, Lake Washington. Project #1434-HG-97-GR-03057, National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Annual Project Summaries, Volume VXXXIX.

Thorson, R.M. and E.B. Leopold, 1998. Shoreline transgression and crustal motion at Lake Washington: National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Annual Project Summaries, Volume VXXXVIII.

Thorson, Robert M. 1998, The Fate of Robins Pond. University of Connecticut Wildlife Research Conservation Center, Annual Report.

Thorson, R.M., 1998, Back to the Sandbox. University of Connecticut Institute for Teaching and Learning, Annual Magazine Newsletter.

Thorson, R. M., and Brick, G., 1996. Landscape Archaeology of the Jinny Hill Mining District. Final Report, Connecticut State Historical Commission and the U.S. National Park Service, 46 p.

Thorson, R. M., 1996. History and Hydrology of Great Pond Natural Preserve, Glastonbury, Conn., Final Report, The Nature Conservancy, Connecticut Office, Middletown, 45 p.

Bugden, W.F. and R.M. Thorson, 1994. Groundwater Interaction with a Kettle-Hole Wetland. In Connecticut: Hydrologic and Geochemical Evidence. Proceedings of the 1994 FOCUS Conference on Eastern Regional Ground Water Issues, October 3-4, 1994, p. 407-424.

Thorson, R.M., 1983. Iosotatic Effects of the last glaciation in the Puget Lowland, Washington, "in" Yount, J.C. and Crossen, R.S., Earthquake Hazards of the Puget Sound region, Washington, Proceedings of Workshop IV, U.S. Geol. Survey Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 83-19, 300-301.

Thorson, R.M., 1983. Pre-late Pleistocene Glacial Sequence in the Nenana Valley - a Revision, "in" Thorson, R.M. and Hamilton, T.D., Eds., University of Alaska Museum Occasional Paper No. 2, 83-87.

Thorson, R.M., 1983. Stratigraphic evidence from variable past permafrost conditions at Canyon Village Bluff, north east Alaska. Proceedings of the National Academy of ScienceÕs Fourth International Conference on Permafrost, 1257-1262.

BOOK REVIEWS

Thorson, R.M., 1989. Beringia in the Cenozoic Era. Kontrimavichus, V.L., Ed., 1986, Rotterdam, Balkema, 724 p: Geoarchaeology an International Journal, v.4, p. 81-83.

Thorson, R.M., 1988. North America Adjacent Oceans During the Last Deglaciation, Ruddiman, W.R., and Wright, H.E. Jr., Eds., Geological Society of America, Decade of North American Geology, Volume K-3: Geoarchaeology an International Journal, v. 3, p. 308 309.

Thorson, R.M., 1987. Late Pleistocene History of Northeastern New England and Adjacent Quebec, Borns, H.W. Jr., La Salle, Pierre, and Thompson, W.B., Geoarchaeology, and International Journal, v. 3, 92-93.

ESSAYS

Refer to separate list of ESSAYS

REGULAR OP-ED COLUMNS

Refer to separate list of COLUMNS

ABSTRACTS

Published abstracts for professional meetings (Available by Request).

EXTERNAL RESEARCH GRANTS

2003 National Science Foundation, Geoscience Directorate, Beyond Stone Walls, a K-8 Curriculum (Co-PI David Moss and Wendy Glenn, $149,000. April 2002

2001 Connecticut TALENT (Teaching and Learning Enhanced by Technology) Accessing the Landscape of Connecticut On-Line. Dr. James A. Hyatt, , P.I., James Motyka, Randolph Steinen and Robert Thorson) $19,500.

1999 National Science Foundation (1999-2002) Active Extension in an Arc-Continent Collision, Taiwan: A GPS Structural Geomorphic Investigation (Co-PI's T. Byrne, L. Liu) $236,949 .

1998 Bilateral Fulbright Education Commission in Chile ($28,500).

1997 U S Geological Survey, Neotectonics and Shoreline Change: Sammamish Delta, Lake Washington ($46,623).

1995 National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, U.S. Geological Survey, Crustal Motion at Lake Washington ($54,294).

1995 Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office, Connecticut Historical Commission, Landscape Archaeology of the Jinny Hill Mine ($30,000 - $15,000 match).

1994 National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, U.S., Geological Survey ($27,000).

1991 Joint Highway Research Advisory Council (Connecticut State Department of Transportation), A developmental model for the origin of upland red-maple swamps in Connecticut, Phase II ($28,023).

1991 Center for Field Research (Earthwatch). Stone Walls of New England (ca. $19,000 (in kind payment)

1991 The Nature Conservancy, Hydrology and Human Disturbance at Great Pond, Glastonbury, CT ($6,436).

1990 Joint Highway Research Advisory Council (Connecticut State Department of Transportation), A developmental model for the origin of upland red-maple swamps in Connecticut ($22,000).

1989 U.S. Geological Survey, (Institute of Water Resources), University of Connecticut, Paleohydrology of Upland Streams in Connecticut; Base-flow discharge and climate change ($24,409; $7,548 Federal Funds).

1988 Joint Highway Research Advisory Council (Connecticut State Department of Transportation), Age and Origin of Small Wetlands in Connecticut ($25,138).

1986 Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Fissures in the Hain Quarry ($2,000).

1986 Research Foundation, University of Connecticut. The effect of historic land-use practices on small Connecticut watersheds ($3,400).

1984 Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council (individual contract). Surficial geology and paleohydrology of the great Cedar Swamp, southeastern Connecticut ($30,000).

1983 University of Alaska Grants in aid of Research, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Advanced Study, Colorado Creek Mammoth Excavation ($5,700).

1982 Alaska Council of Science and Technology. Alaska Tephrochronology Project ($120,000).

1982 Alaska Council on Science and Technology. Workshop on Alaskan Glaciation. Sponsored by the Office of Quaternary Studies, University of Alaska ($5,000).

1975 Geist Fund, University of Alaska Museum, Research Grant. Geology of the Dry Creek Site, Alaska ($250).

1974 Geological Society of America, Penrose Bequest. Grant. Geology of the Dry Creek Site, Alaska ($900).

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