ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY - ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COLLABORATION

Students at Illinois State University and researchers at the Illinois State Geological Survey have collaborated on several research investigations. This collaboration has two goals: 1) To advance the understanding the geology of the state, 2) and to train students at Illinois State University in cutting edge techniques and scientific theory. These goals were accomplished by teaming students with Survey researchers conducting research projects involving geophysical data acquisition and interpretation, geochemical sampling, and geological mapping. A majority of the students in this collaboration were supported by funds from The Illinois Board of Higher Education as part of The Workforce and Economic Development Grant Program. Other students in the collaboration were supported by grants from the United States Geological Survey's EDMAP and Hydrochemical Stream Sediment Reconnaissance programs and from a grant from the United States Department of Energy as part of the "Geographic Information System Approach for Play Portfolios to Improve Oil Production in the Illinois Basin" grant. Since the fall of 2001, twenty-four students have participated (twelve are or were undergraduates, three of which continued on as graduate students at Illinois State University. Several other participants are now in other graduate programs. The twenty-four students were equally divided among the sexes, one was black, one was Hispanic, and two were part-native American. Five students presented their collaborative research at the 2002 Annual Geological Society of America meeting held in Denver, Colorado. The success of the collaboration is demonstrated by 1) increased student professional development, 2) student leadership in new projects, 3) graduate school assistantships or fellowships, and 4) and professional placements of the participants.