Patricia H. Cashman, Class of 1972
Research professor, geological sciences, University of Nevada, Reno
Middlebury College Honorary Degree Dinner
May 24, 2008
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Patricia H. Cashman '72 |
Many people attribute their professional success to their graduate school, or to a formative experience early in their professional careers, but this is not the case for me. The skills that have served me best are things that I learned at Middlebury. I am a geologist and a teacher; my enthusiasm for both was kindled here. Peter Coney taught the introductory course that attracted me to geology. It satisfied the college’s science requirement, and to Peter, that meant everyone in the course would BE a scientist, if only for one semester. It was an exciting time in our science, when the ideas of plate tectonics were being developed and applied. Our professors were actively involved in this process in their research, and to us their excitement was palpable. Whenever they could, they included geology majors; Dave Folger, who is here tonight, was exceptionally good in this regard.
In geology 101, however, at least as important as the subject matter was the philosophy of solving scientific problems: suggesting a solution wasn’t enough—you had to test that solution. Throughout my career here, I saw the faculty focusing on geology and on teaching students to think like scientists. I became interested in both.
I taught at undergraduate colleges—Bates and Weber State—before my present position at the University of Nevada, Reno. My move to a research university was because I’m part of a two-career couple and has had its own rewards. Most of my research has been in the western U.S., though I have also worked in north Norway and elsewhere.
I’ve particularly enjoyed the collaboration with both colleagues and students that is part of research, as well as getting acquainted with some remote places and the people who live there. One particularly challenging, and ultimately satisfying, project has been behind the security guards and fences at the Nevada Test Site. Originally background research for the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, our results are now important to modeling the movement (in groundwater) of radionuclides from atomic testing.
What was it about my experience at Middlebury that equipped me for a career in science? More than anything else, I think it was carefully guided experience in problem solving. Years later, at a professional meeting, Brew Baldwin told me, “We designed the geology curriculum to gradually raise your frustration threshold—from an hour or two of not knowing the answer (in an afternoon lab) to four weeks (in a junior-year lab project) to several months (in your senior thesis).”
So right from the beginning, we had to start work without knowing what the answer would be. We learned field and lab techniques in the context of solving geologic problems, and eventually we came up with an answer.
Notice that this doesn’t require a large faculty or the latest instrumentation. It does require a dedicated and professionally active faculty, a deliberately designed curriculum, and personal attention to each student throughout the process.
So thank you, Middlebury. I’m indebted to the College, the faculty, and the spirit of intellectual excitement and collaboration they create here. And while I’m on the subject, thank you, Jim. I wouldn’t be where I am without your gentle humor and your steadfast love and support. Jim and I have collaborated professionally with some success, but our most successful collaboration has nothing to do with geology. Thank you, too, Chad and Susie. Your energy, curiosity, enthusiasm, and good spirits have kept my life’s challenges in the proper perspective.
I’m deeply honored to be here.