Geology Measurements - There's an App for That, says Lafayette's Lucy McKnight

2015 Aug 6

Field work for Lafayette students just got easier, thanks to an innovative collaboration among geology and computer science faculty and students. Two apps, GeoFieldBook and StratLogger, have made a world of difference.

Computer science major Lucy McKnight, a rising senior from Felton, Pa., added new features to GeoFieldBook and developed StratLogger through the EXCEL Scholars undergraduate research program.

The companion apps are used in the two-course sequence Structural Geology and Sedimentology/Stratigraphy, taught respectively by Lawrence Malinconico and David Sunderlin, associate professors of geology and environmental geosciences.

Chun Wai Liew, associate professor of computer science, led a team of students doing undergraduate research in developing the apps, which are competitive educational alternatives to professional software.

Students like Lucy now have all the tools they need for research in the field - such as Google Earth, maps, and spreadsheets - in one place and data can be shared. Professors benefit by understanding what challenges students encounter while in the field.

Read more and see Lafayette students in the field.