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Thanks to some generous alumni, ������Ƶ geology students have a new opportunity to explore the natural world around them.

Named after the couple who gifted the fund, the David and Laurie Thomas Field Trip Endowment was established in 2023 by Laurie Thomas ’68 and the late David Thomas, PhD ’72, to support extramural geology field trips.

“Many people who end up going into geology do it because they enjoy being outdoors. For some, that interest centers on ecology, and others, on geology,” said Associate Professor Emeritus Peter Knuepfer, former chair of the Department of Earth Sciences. “Doing field trips has a dual role. One is to foster and build upon that outdoor interest into learning about how the Earth was formed. The second is getting the hands-on experience with different kinds of rocks and the processes that we can observe to study the Earth. The more field trips you do, the more exposure you get to the work we do.”

The Thomases met as students at Binghamton and especially valued the field trips, both formal and informal, that were a hallmark of the department. They set up this endowment to ensure that field trips, whether led by faculty or students, continue to nurture a love of field geology.

“The Thomases often said the most important aspect of their time here at Binghamton was field trips — locally, regionally, even internationally,” said Knuepfer, who was involved in the early steps of fostering the endowment. “They were key building blocks in terms of their professional development.”

Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Jeffrey Pietras ‘96, director of graduate studies for the program, led the inaugural Thomas field trip from in fall 2024 to look at the geology of Baraboo, Wis., from the Precambrian to the Pleistocene.

In its first iteration, the endowment was a roaring success. The trip ran from Oct. 1 to 6; six undergraduates, eight graduate students and two faculty members camped for three nights in Wisconsin state parks.

“We had a range of students. Some people had quite a bit of experience, but there was also an undergraduate who had only taken one or two classes. It was interesting to see this area through different people’s eyes,” Pietras said. “Whether they’re undergrads or grads, everybody was engaged, asked questions, made observations. I saw an excitement in the students that you can only get away from the classroom.”

The faculty and students spent the first full field day examining the history of the last glaciation at the edge of the Driftless Area, an area of southwestern Wisconsin that had never been glaciated. The students were provided insights through the expertise of Eric Carson, a Quaternary geologist from the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, whose work documents the timing and extent of ponding and drainage of Glacial Lake, Wis., as well as the reversal of the Wisconsin River.

Jeanette deCuba, a third-year doctoral student with a focus on paleoclimatology, found Carson’s expertise especially exciting.

“It was great to hear from a local expert, who could explain to us a lot of the geology of the area and its native history,” she said. “I believe learning in the field will make me a more well-rounded scientist, and it was a good reminder that there are many positions that require graduate degrees but are not necessarily professorships. Hearing a little bit about what your day looks like as a research scientist at a state survey was very cool.”

One the second day, the group investigated the Precambrian structural geology of the Baraboo Syncline, and the sediments deposited around the Baraboo Quartzite, a metamorphosed rock that was once sandstone and still retains some of that original structure. At this site, the group were joined by Alan Carroll, professor emeritus in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The trip culminated at Van Hise Rock, a historical landmark famous for being the foundation of several modern structural geologic principles.

“The geology of North America is so diverse, and you only get exposed to so much of it if you live in one region,” deCuba said.

In addition to these experiences, the group visited the Forevertron in Sumpter, Wis. — the second largest scrap metal sculpture in the world — and spent an afternoon exploring The Field Museum in Chicago, Ill. on their way back to Binghamton.

Amid change within the University — and the generational change in the department as older faculty retire and new methods of teaching enter the conversation — Knuepfer and Pietras point out that this endowment will ensure that the department has long-term funding available for field trips and can continue to improve their breadth and frequency.

“I also think that the opportunity to honor a couple of our generous alums by keeping alive the importance of field studies and field research is just so great. I’m very happy to have helped facilitate that,” Knuepfer added.

For his next trip, Pietras plans to suggest a trip to the Adirondacks. Other faculty members are welcome to submit their own field trip proposals and Pietras hopes that the trips will become a popular option during free periods in students’ schedules, such as fall and spring breaks.

“The field trip endowment itself is an open template for whoever wants to educate on any geologic process,” he added. “The field trips that I had when I was a student helped shape me. Seeing formations, being able to go to different places, gives you a broader perspective. In our field, getting outside is very critical.”