This year\u2019s conference will kick off with emeritus faculty Dan Murray co-hosting a virtual<\/a> field trip<\/a> on Thursday, Oct. 1 at noon to share updates on the ancient bedrock geology of Rhode Island. (Murray was also the organizer for URI\u2019s last conference in 1998<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n According to URI geoscientist Dawn Cardace<\/a>, one of this year\u2019s organizers, \u201cThis is a community-led initiative, loosely managed, but much loved: Every year, the host organization shapes the event to fit the host college, the site, and the local flavors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A century of science<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n URI\u2019s hosting this year helps continue a significant tradition in New England geological history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference began in 1901 with a field trip led by geologist William Morris Davis, considered the “father of American geography.\u201d An instructor at Harvard, Davis led a trip to the Westfield River and reported it in the \u201cAmerican Journal of Science,\u201d the longest-running scientific journal in the U.S. The conference has met annually since that time, with brief exceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This year\u2019s Ocean State slate includes trips to examine barrier sands at Napatree Point in Westerly, a tour through the glacial geology of Watch Hill and Slocum, the granite of Narragansett Pier, metamorphic processes at work in Jamestown and Newport, and a Rhode Island beach and bay tour. Attendees are also invited to meet Erik Rock and Greta Granite<\/a>, Rhode Island\u2019s Dambo trolls in Charlestown, on a self-guided tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n URI geosciences faculty members will lead trips, sharing unique aspects of Rhode Island geology and global discoveries by URI geoscientists. J.P. Walsh, Nicole Raineault and Katie Kelley from URI\u2019s Graduate School of Oceanography will offer two half-day trips featuring a look at the local Rhode Island coast and GSO resources and facilities, while Ambarish Karmalkar will run a computer-based program on the Kingston Campus for the unofficial weather forecasters among us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n URI coastal hydrogeologist Christopher Russoniello<\/a>, who focuses on water impact in his work and is a co-organizer for the conference, will be at Blue Shutters Beach in Charlestown the morning of Oct. 3, rain or shine, offering a look at the coastal hydrogeology of southern Rhode Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Registration is open now<\/a>. See the website for trip descriptions, times, meeting places, and camping information. Russoniello, who attended last year\u2019s conference in Connecticut, says that the neighbors and residents who joined their expedition, bringing their own insights and information, shared stories that were equally valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese tours are not just for our URI students but also families and neighbors of URI and beyond,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are looking forward to learning from the folks taking these tours, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The conference includes a community BBQ at Yawgoo Bakes in Exeter on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 3, which will offer a meet-and-greet and training and employment updates for area undergrads and the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe wanted to put together a well-rounded program,\u201d Russoniello said, \u201cand are drawing on all our resources to show what we have to offer for training and inspiration for the next generation of earth scientists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are looking forward to welcoming everyone to this year\u2019s conference,\u201d Cardace added, \u201cand to showing off URI and Rhode Island.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sponsors and partners include the newly-created URI Department of Earth Sciences, Planning, and Design<\/a> (formerly Geosciences and the Department of Landscape Architecture and Planning), NASA Rhode Island Space Grant and the Rhode Island Society of Environmental Professionals. Department chair Thomas Boving says the conference puts a spotlight on the newly formed department which brings together the geosciences and landscape architecture into a new cross-disciplinary department. \u201cESPD is a unique program; we want to let more people know we\u2019re here and what we can do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To learn more or to register, visit the conference\u2019s website (<\/em>www.neigc.info<\/em><\/a>) or email <\/em>chris.russoniello@uri.edu<\/em><\/a> \/ <\/em>cardace@uri.edu<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Sept. 15, 2026 \u2013 University of Rhode Island geosciences students get to welcome an event that hasn\u2019t happened at URI since before they were born\u2014and the larger public is also welcome to join and be a student of geology for a day (or two). Hosted by URI this year, the annual New […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":110765,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5,1906,1914,1913,1902,1915],"class_list":["post-110764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-college-of-the-environment-and-life-sciences","tag-experiential-learning","tag-graduate","tag-public-engagement","tag-student-engagement","tag-undergraduate"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110764"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110764\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110770,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110764\/revisions\/110770"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2026\/09\/ESPD-1024x768.jpg\")