| Departmental Paleontology
Collections The University of North Dakota (UND) Department of Geology and Geological Engineering houses important fossil collections representative of the state of North Dakota (and other areas) and space in which to study existing collections and new project specimens. The collections include invertebrates, vertebrates, and plants derived from faculty and student projects and donated specimens. A database is currently being constructed that contains type specimens and vertebrate and plant specimens. More will be added to this Web page as time permits to discuss category holdings. Type Collections Database (under construction)Laboratory SpaceSpace, anywhere, is always at a premium, so the department is fortunate to have relatively spacious facilities, including a dedicated Paleontology Laboratory comprising priority and type collections, a computer room, a curation room, and separate areas for museum and project activities. Another room dedicated to collection repository of vertebrates and plants and long-term projects also has space for student and/or visitor studies. Other teaching rooms house additional components of the collections, which are chronostratigraphically organized. Other rooms are available for faculty and student project use. Student Offices Graduate students have individual or shared (two per room) offices, depending on student needs. Laboratory space is readily available for paleo and strat/sed projects. Departmental Facilities The department is located in Leonard Hall, a 4-floor building with 67,000 square feet of space, including classrooms, teaching and research laboratories, a geoscience library, a large lecture bowl, and departmental and student offices.  The F.D. Holland, Jr., Geology Library holds over 35,000 volumes. With complete U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps and more than 950 periodical titles, it is the largest geoscience library in the Upper Midwest between Minneapolis and Seattle. UND's library system also features a general library and other specialized libraries. A Computer Laboratory houses computers connected to the School of Engineering and Mines network. Scanning and digitizing facilities are available for student and faculty use. The lobby/museum in Leonard Hall contains North Dakota dinosaur and other fossil exhibits and geological, environmental, and engineering displays. The Water Resources Research Laboratory is a multidisciplinary endeavor that links several departments with interests in environmental aqueous geochemistry. It includes a gas chromatograph–mass spectrometer, an inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometer, an ion chromatograph, a total organic carbon analyzer, and ancillary equipment. A Stable Isotope Geochemistry Laboratory houses two mass spectrometers and extraction lines for sample preparation. Other Facilities on Campus The North Dakota Geological Survey Wilson M. Laird Core and Sample Library adjacent to Leonard Hall contains about a half a million feet of core samples from the subsurface of North Dakota's oil- and coal-rich Williston Basin. These samples and related information are used extensively in geological research (see Interesting Links, North Dakota Geological Survey). The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) has a staff of more than 200 scientists, engineers, and technicians. The EERC provides research, analytical and engineering capabilities, and opportunities for faculty and student projects . Applied research related to mining and utilization of coal, groundwater, and environmental science is emphasized, but numerous other opportunities exist for collaboration (see Interesting Links, EERC). |
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