Brock University has a long history of palynological research - at least, long relative to its history. Jaan Terasmae was recruited to Brock from the Geological Survey of Canada in the last 1960s, a few years after the university was incorporated. The emphasis of the (then) Department of Geological Sciences was on Quaternary geology and paleoecology, and many students were taught the importance of pollen analysis by Dr Terasmae, including Peter Barnett (Ontario Geological Survey) and his sister Cathy, and Steve Blasco (Geological Survey of Canada - Atlantic).

The emphasis shifted slightly when I (Francine McCarthy) was hired as Dr Terasmae's replacement in 1991. With five MSc students, one PhD student, and over a dozen honours students, I studied palynomorphs and other microfossils from marine environments and from the Great Lakes. the next major change occurred about 1.5 years ago, when the department hired Martin Head, long-time CAP member and former president. Martine moved back to Canada from the UK, where he was a lecturer at the University of Cambridge. We were able to make a case that a smallish institution like Brock would greatly benefit from hiring a second palynologist, as Martin's interests are primarily stratigraphic and taxonomic, while mine are primarily paleoecological and taphonomic. As a result, we are one of the few universities in North America to be able to claim more than a single palynologist on the faculty,

Martin has since taken on an MSc student from Colombia (Manuel Paez), and two undergraduate students (Dave Christie and Lisa Neville) have been working on parts of their honours theses with me in the Palynology Lab. Scholars from Egypt (Salah El Beialy) and Iran (Ebrahim Ghasemi-Nejad) are visiting Martin, and contribute to a lively environment for palynological enquiry. We are always looking for students and colleagues interested in joining our team. For more information, contact francine@brocku.ca or mhead@bocku.ca.

Departmental web site: http://www.brocku.ca/earthsciences/

---

 
Note: This article first appeared in CAP Newsletter 29(2):2-3, 2006. It has been slightly edited for clarity.