Dr. Kyle House

Kyle House is geologic mapping specialist with more than 30 years of professional experience creating geologic maps of beautiful desert landscapes created by rivers, lakes, alluvial fans, volcanos, earthquakes, and landslides. He has worked as a mapper for the Arizona Geological Survey, the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, and the U.S. Geological Survey. Kyle has been mapping the fantastic landscape of the Owyhee River Corridor for 18 years and has logged 100s of miles of foot traverses in the corridor and has floated the river with maps and hiking boots in hand ~10 times. He has also been mapping the lower Colorado River corridor for 25 years and has made maps of a variety of desert rivers including the Humboldt, Walker, Truckee, and Carson Rivers in Nevada, and the Bill Williams, Verde, and Santa Cruz Rivers in Arizona. Kyle has BS (geology) and BA (geography) degrees from Western Washington University, Bellingham; and MS and PhD (geosciences) degrees from the University of Arizona, Tucson. He currently lives in Flagstaff, AZ and various field areas. 

Dr. Gordon Grant

Gordon Grant is a Research Hydrologist with the USDA Forest Service at the Pacific Northwest Research Station in Corvallis, Oregon, USA, and also Courtesy Professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. Following a decade-long career as a whitewater river guide on western US rivers, in 1985 he began his career with the research branch of the Forest Service with the overarching goal of advancing understanding of how stream networks, watersheds, and entire landscapes respond to changes in streamflow, sediment transport, and wood entrainment. His research has focused on the geomorphic response of rivers to changes in stream flow and sediment transport due to land use, dams and dam removal, volcanic eruptions, and climate change. This work has included extended collaborations with research groups in Japan, China, and Italy. He is a former Deputy and Associate Editor for the journal Water Resources Research, and a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. He also serves on the board of directors of the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences (CUASHI) and chairs the National Steering Committee for the US National Science Foundation-sponsored Critical Zone Observatory.

Dr. Emily Cahoon

Dr. Emily Cahoon is a Term Assistant Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences. She teaches courses in petrology, volcanology, environmental geology, and geological data visualization and analysis. Her research pursues questions broadly focused in geochemical, petrologic, and volcanological problems – with an emphasis on magmatic processes related to flood basalt emplacement, crystal growth, and geochemical cycling. Emily is currently a Research Associate – Oregon State University. In her  free time, she loves exploring rural post offices with her corgi Regis.

Bill Burgel

Bill retired in 2010 after a successful 40-year career in the railroad industry. Bill worked for several railroads in both the engineering and operating departments. His work for Union Pacific encompassed the design of the first computer-aided dispatching office in the nation. This office was located in Portland and Bill was the Regional Chief Dispatcher for several years before the office was moved to Omaha. After retiring from the railroad in 1989, he assisted the Surface Transportation Board as their rail operations manager for two major mergers, once in Washington DC and the second time in Chicago. Bill has managed many rail studies for both Oregon and Washington DOTs as well as for TriMet and Sound Transit in Seattle. While working for the railroad, his interest and training in geology was often called upon to resolve landslide issues and rerouting studies, implement early earthquake warning strategies, and conduct numerous long railroad tunnel analyses. Bill has given numerous presentations on rail issues as well as earthquake preparedness and topics pertaining to regional geology to local audiences throughout the Pacific Northwest.