News Release

Scripps student awarded Chrysalis Scholarship from the Association for Women Geoscientists

Scripps Institution of Oceanography/UCSD

Grant and Award Announcement

University of California - San Diego

Image available upon request

Scripps Institution of Oceanography doctoral student Nancy Bowers has been awarded the 2002 Chrysalis Scholarship from the Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG).

Bowers, who will defend her doctoral thesis in November, is studying the fluctuations of Earth's magnetic field.

The 2002 AWG Chrysalis Scholarship provides $1,500 to two women geoscience graduate students. The AWG has six chapters and nearly 1,000 members involved in a wide range of earth science disciplines in the United States and abroad.

Thesis research for Bowers, who is studying under advisor Steve Cande, a professor in the Geosciences Research Division at Scripps, involves the analysis of high-frequency fluctuations of Earth's magnetic field as observed in magnetic data collected over oceanic crust from two time periods (10 million-year-old and 800,000-year-old crust). Both were collected at the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the northeast Pacific Ocean, approximately 310 miles off the coast of Oregon and northern California.

Bowers has participated in nine geophysical research cruises on which she has collected and processed a variety of information, including magnetic, seismic, bathymetric, and gravity data. She also has participated in the collection and processing of paleomagnetic drill cores from basalt flows in Iceland.

Bowers was first author of a November 2001 study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research concerning Earth's magnetic field.

A native of Renton, Wash., Bowers initially focused her career on archaeology. But after taking a few geology courses she changed her career path and graduated from the University of Washington with bachelor's degrees in both geological sciences and anthropology.

Three years later she earned a master's degree in structural geology from the University of Wyoming, Laramie. In 1993, she entered Scripps's geological sciences curricular group.

Bowers has received numerous academic scholarships and awards, including the Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Best Student Paper Award from the American Geophysical Union; an Amoco Production Company Research Grant; a Bruno Hanson Scholarship; and a Geological Society of America Research Grant.

The Association for Women Geoscientists is a professional organization with goals to encourage the participation of women in the geosciences; to promote their professional advancement; and to exchange technical and professional information. Besides students, members include scientists in academia, government, and industry.

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Scripps Contacts: Mario Aguilera or Cindy Clark: 858/534-3624 scrippsnews@ucsd.edu


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