When and how did you choose your major?

I was thoroughly undecided when I started at UR. My freshman year I took classes in each of the three divisions to figure out what I liked best. My sophomore year I decided to major in both geology and German – the former I wanted to pursue as a career path and the latter because I had always wanted to learn a foreign language and to study abroad.

What activities were you involved in as a student and what did you gain from them?

I lived on the Music Interest Floor, sang in Chamber Singers and Madrigal Singers, and formed a renaissance quartet with friends (Matt Hall ’04, Nils Klinkenberg, ’05, Erin (Sigmund) Kurup ’05). I participated in study abroad (I spent one summer in Berlin taking German classes and spent my junior year abroad at the University of Cologne) to become fluent in German. Serendipitously, it turns out there is a wealth of classic literature in my field (geology/paleontology) in German.

What did you do immediately after graduation? How did you decide to take that path?

I spent a summer in South Florida doing research and a year in Germany on a Fulbright Fellowship in part to figure out whether I liked research and whether I wanted to pursue graduate school. Afterwards, I enrolled in the PhD program in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Southern California.

How do you balance your work and personal life?

Balancing work and personal life is still a work-in-progress for me. In academia there is constant pressure to publish and get funding. Job security is scarce and you may need to move (multiple times) before you find a tenure-track job (if you ever do). Having a spouse or a family complicates this even more – will they move with you or will you restrict your job search geographically? Many of my female colleagues struggle to figure out if and when they can have children without sacrificing their careers. For now, I have created some balance by doing my best to leave my work at work and setting aside time for the things I enjoy (singing, hiking, cooking, and gardening).

Where would you like to be in five years?

I am currently employed as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bristol in the UK. I hope this is a stepping stone to a faculty position at some point in the next few years so that I can continue doing research. I also love teaching and hope to find a job which involves teaching geology at the undergraduate and/or graduate level.

What advice do you have for current students?

No matter which major you pick, try to find time to study abroad! You won’t regret it.

Many students at the University of Rochester may enroll in introductory chemistry courses with no clue how the material can relate to anything they care about. But, Associate Professor John Kessler hopes his new class, EES 212: A Climate Change Perspective to Chemical Oceanography, can demonstrate how the material relates to students and help them understand the course concepts.

Kessler hopes to show students that “chemistry can be done outside a sterile chemistry lab.” Oceanography, he explains, provides tangible, real-life applications of chemistry, geology, and biology. It is a topic fairly new to the University, but since nearly 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by ocean, study of the oceans is critical to understanding climate change.

Junior Erin Hayes is pursuing a degree in the geological sciences and has been looking for this missing link ever since she took an oceanography class in high school. “I’m very excited to take a course that combines both my interests in Chemistry and Geology,” Hayes says.

Research experience is another academic component that Hayes and many other students strive to get.  Kessler is planning an exciting field trip where students will be able to conduct research themselves. The research will focus on oceanic methane, a contributor to greenhouse gases and a personal favorite of Kessler’s, and will explore the dynamics and effects of greenhouse gas emissions. Students interested in the opportunity should contact him or take his class to find out the details of the project.

Kessler previously taught oceanography at Texas A&M University and has done extensive work as chief scientist regarding the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He normally has a limited scope of how he can study oceanic methane, but with this unfortunate accident, researchers used the opportunity to “learn how the planet functions naturally,” says Kessler. Geologic record has shown that similar situations have occurred in the past. Since no one can deliberately release at least 200,000 tons of oil and gas, this phenomenon has not been able to be replicated. Although Kessler typically studies natural events, he performed work on this because the spill was natural but accelerated, essentially. Research from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is still being analyzed. Professor Kessler hopes to introduce students to oceanography, more specifically chemical oceanography, and will tie in his personal knowledge and research to the class.

Read More: At Least 200,000 Tons of Oil and Gas from Deepwater Horizon Spill Consumed by Gulf Bacteria

Alayna Callanan ’14 is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in geological sciences. She is the president of UR Rock Climbing Club and the Outing Club, is the secretary of the Undergraduate Student Geological Organization and is a member of Gamma Phi Beta.

In the Photos (courtesy of John Kessler): Professor John Kessler conducts research during his first expedition to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.