Briget Doyle of Holland, Mich., a doctoral student in geological engineering at UMR, recently received the "Outstanding Student Professional Paper, Graduate Division" award from the Association of Engineering Geologists at its annual meeting in Vail, Colo., for her research into the 1811-12 New Madrid earthquake series, the largest to ever hit the United States.

This is the first time a UMR doctoral student has received the award.

Doyle co-authored the paper that served as the basis for the award. Titled "Seismically-Induced Lateral Spread Features in the Western New Madrid Seismic Zone," the paper discusses the existence of enormous lateral spread features thought to have been induced by seismic motion during the 1811-12 New Madrid earthquake sequence. Doyle’s research was the first to verify and characterize the lateral spread features within the New Madrid Seismic Zone.

"The Student Professional Paper award acknowledges professional contributions through written work by student members in both the undergraduate and graduate categories," says Dr. J. David Rogers, the Karl F. Hasselmann Chair of geological engineering at UMR. Rogers served as Doyle’s major field advisor and co-author of the winning paper. He is also the advisor of the UMR student chapter of the Association of Engineering Geologists.

Doyle received a plaque and her paper will be published in an upcoming issue of the Environmental and Engineering Geosciences, a refereed professional journal jointly published by the Association of Engineering Geologists and the Geological Society of America.

Doyle received her bachelor of science and master of science degrees in geological engineering from UMR in 1999 and 2000, respectively. She also holds a bachelor of science degree in hydrogeology from Western Michigan University.

Doyle is currently a visiting scholar in the geological and environmental sciences department at Hope College in Holland, Mich. Her position is supported by the National Science Foundation’s Awards for the Integration of Research and Education program.

The UMR student chapter of the Association of Engineering Geologists was also recognized for its hard work and dedication at the annual meeting. Eight UMR graduate students gave presentations at the conference.

"The chapter received the Runner-up Award for 2003, receiving a plaque and an award check for $125," Rogers says. "The plaque will be displayed outside of the geological engineering offices in McNutt Hall."