SUNY Ulster Presents Dr. Chuck Ver Straeten as the Fall 2024 John Burroughs Natural Science Lecturer on Tuesday, November 12 at 7 p.m.
October 29, 2024 – Stone Ridge, NY – SUNY Ulster will host a lecture on Earth’s Oldest Known Fossil Forests, Catskill Mountains by Dr. Chuck Ver Straeten on Tuesday, November 12 at 7 p.m. in Burroughs Hall 120 on the Stone Ridge campus.
Dr. Ver Straeten, the Curator of Sedimentary Rocks for the New York State Museum will talk about the 2018 discovery of the world’s oldest known fossil forest in Cairo, at the base of an abandoned quarry. The discovery of this 385-million-year-old forest is helping scientists understand the transition of Earth to a forested planet.
Involved with the Cairo, NY fossil forest research team, Dr. Ver Straeten focuses on Devonian Period sedimentation and stratigraphy, which includes sea-level history, mountain building, and the preservation of volcanic ash layers in shallow seas and lakes through time.
The John Burroughs Natural Science Lecture Series is named in honor of renowned local naturalist John Burroughs (1837-1921) and is sponsored by the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Department. The Series seeks to periodically bring speakers to the SUNY Ulster campus to offer free lectures to the academic community and the general public on topics of interest in the natural sciences.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, email Steve Schimmrich at schimmrs@sunyulster.edu.
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