Colby College
Department of Geology
Faculty and Staff
Academic Year 2009-2010
|
Dr. Robert A. Gastaldo, Chair
Whipple-Coddington Professor of Geology
Ph.D., Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
Dr. Gastaldo joined the Colby faculty as the inaugural
Whipple-Coddington Professor of Geology and Department Chair in 1999.
Dr. Gastaldo came to Colby with an international reputation in
paleobotany, sedimentology and taphonomy, and is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America.
In the fall semester, he will be offering The Record of Life on Earth (GE251). In the spring, he will be teaching Deciphering Earth History (GE142) and Sedimentation and Stratigraphy (GE356).
Tel: 207-859-5807
Dept. Office: 207-859-5800
Fax: 207-859-5868
Office: S G Mudd 213A
E-Mail: ragastal@colby.edu
Personal web page: Sticks 'n' Mud
(Click here to see inside his head!)
Areas of expertise and interests:
- Paleobotany
- Plant taphonomy
- Paleoecology
- Historical Geology
- Computer applications in the Geosciences
Dr. Robert E. Nelson
Professor of Geology
Ph.D., University of Washington (Seattle)
Dr. Nelson will be on sabbatical leave in the fall term, and will be teaching Principles of Geomorphology (GE254) in the spring. He joined the Colby faculty in 1982.
Tel: 207-859-5804
Fax: 207-859-5868
Office: S G Mudd 212
E-Mail: renelson@colby.edu
Areas of expertise and interests:
Dr. Valerie Reynolds
Clare Booth Luce Assistant Professor of Geology
Ph.D., University of Tennessee
Dr. Reynolds will be teaching The Earth and Environment (GE141) and Topics in Geochemistry (GE397) in the fall semester, and Mineralogy (GE225) in the spring term. The newest member of the Geology faculty, Dr. Reynolds is in her second year at Colby.
Tel: 207-859-5808
Fax: 207-859-5868
Office: S G Mudd 215
E-Mail: vsreynol@colby.edu
Areas of expertise and interests:
- Igneous petrology
- Mineralogy
- Geochemistry
- Meteorite geochemistry
Dr. Bruce F. Rueger
Visiting Assistant Professor of Geology
Ph.D., University of Colorado
Dr. Rueger will be teaching one lecture section as well as all the laboratories for Earth and the Environment (GE141) in the fall term, as well as the labs for Earth and the Environment and for Deciphering Earth History (GE142) in the spring term. This year, he'll also be offering a special JanPlan on Geology of the National Parks. He has been with the Department since 1984, and has been Visiting Assistant Professor since 2003, prior to which he was Senior Teaching Associate.
Tel: 207-859-5806
Fax: 207-859-5868
Office: S G Mudd 214
E-Mail: bfrueger@colby.edu
Areas of expertise and interests:
Dr. Walter A. ("Bill") Sullivan
Assistant Professor of Geology
Ph.D., University of Wyoming
Dr. Sullivan will be teaching Structural Geology in the fall term, and Earth and the Environment and Plate Tectonics (GE331) in the spring. A visiting member of our Department in 2007-2008, he is now in his second year as a continuing member of the Colby faculty. He will be on sabbatical leave in 2010-2011.
Tel: 207-859-5803
Fax: 207-859-5868
Office: S G Mudd 206
E-Mail: wasulliv@colby.edu
Personal web page: http://www.colby.edu/personal/w/wasulliv/index.htm
Areas of expertise and interests:
- Structural geology & tectonics
- partitioning of plastic strain in the middle and lower crust
- evolution of orogenic belts
- development of microstructures and crystallographic fabrics
- tectonic evolution of western North America
Ms. Alice M. Ridky
Administrative Secretary Extraordinaire
Alice Ridky keeps the Department of Geology (as well as the Department of
Physics and Astronomy, and the Program in Science, Technology and Society) on a steady keel, maintaining and ordering supplies and equipment, coordinating student workers, typing exams and specialized documents, keeping track of Departmental budgets and records, answering student questions, guarding the Departmental supply of M&Ms, and handling unexpected emergencies with aplomb and expertise. She joined the Department in 1983.
Dr. Donald B. Allen
Professor of Geology, Emeritus
Ph. D., University of Illinois

Dr. Allen formally retired at the end of the 2006-2007 academic year, having joined the Colby faculty in the fall of 1967. An economic geologist, mineralogist and petrologist, he has been the principle architect in the Department of analytical links with the Department of Chemistry. He remains a regular presence in the department and continues to assist students working on independent research projects.
Fax: 207-859-5868
E-Mail: dballen@colby.edu
Areas of expertise and interests:
- Economic geology and mineral exploration
- General mineralogy
- Igneous and metamorphic petrology
- Geology of Roosevelt- Campobello International Park
- Bedrock geology of Maine
- TIMS imagery and remote sensing
Dr. Donaldson Koons
Dana Professor of Geology, Emeritus
Ph.D., Columbia University
Honorary doctorates: D.Sc. 1974, D.H.E. 1977
Dr. Koons was Department Chair of Geology from 1947 until his retirement in 1982, with a tour of duty as Commissioner of the Maine Department of Conservation from 1973-75. A Fellow of the Geological Society of America, he remains active in the geological community and lives in Sidney, Maine. (Photo taken at the spring, 2003, meeting of the Geological Society of Maine, at the University of Maine, Orono.)
Tel: 207-547-3321
E-Mail: d_koons@colby.edu
Areas of expertise and interests:
- Geology of Northern Arizona
- Geology of the Grand Canyon and Vicinity
- Glacial and Bedrock Geology of Maine
- Geology in the Political Realm
Dr. Harold R. Pestana
Professor of Geology, Emeritus
Ph.D., University of Iowa
Dr. Pestana joined the Colby faculty in 1959 and retired in 1996, establishing the Bermuda program which is continued by Bruce Rueger - the first foreign-study program in the sciences at Colby. He remains active in his retirement, and lives in Waterville. (Photo taken on one of the first Bermuda programs.)
Tel: 207-859-5800 (for messages only)
Fax: 207-859-5868
E-Mail: hrpestan@colby.edu
Areas of expertise and interests:
- General Invertebrate Paleontology
- Carbonate sedimention and biostratigraphy
- Geology and natural history of Bermuda
- Early 19th century history of geology
- History of World War I
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