David Evans (Yale professor)
Encyclopedia
David Evans is a professor
of geology
and geophysics
at Yale University
. He works on quantitative reconstruction of supercontinents. He is involved in the Snowball Earth
theory of Precambrian ice ages by demonstrating that the magnetic latitudes of ancient ice deposits were tropical.
, the second child of a lawyer and a homemaker. He attended Nicolet High School in Milwaukee. He received his undergraduate degree in geology and geophysics from Yale College in 1992. He completed his graduate work at the California Institute of Technology
. He is married to Lely Dai Evans, with children Corinne (born 2002) and Jamie (born 2003).
of rocks from South Africa, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Russia and China, Evans has worked to reassemble the configuration of supercontinents that preceded Pangea. He was a member of drilling projects of the Kaapvaal craton with the Agouron institute for geobiology, and a member of the scientific team to develop a large igneous province global "barcode" record of plume magmatism on Earth. He has also contributed primary data demonstrating that ancient ice ages had continental ice sheets reaching tropical latitudes, which has been incorporated into the Snowball Earth theory of the planet's long term paleoclimate. Evans is involved with the latest efforts at reconstructing the history of supercontinents on Earth through the last three billion years. He is the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Yale University; and the current coordinator of field student expeditions to locations including Norway, Queensland, Australia, British Columbia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa, as well as undergraduate excursions to Sicily and Barbados. He has spent sabbatical leaves in Taiwan and Australia, where he studied modern and ancient mountain building processes. Evans is a 2002 honoree of the Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering, and a finalist for the Blavatnik Awards for young scientists.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
and geophysics
Geophysics
Geophysics is the physics of the Earth and its environment in space; also the study of the Earth using quantitative physical methods. The term geophysics sometimes refers only to the geological applications: Earth's shape; its gravitational and magnetic fields; its internal structure and...
at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. He works on quantitative reconstruction of supercontinents. He is involved in the Snowball Earth
Snowball Earth
The Snowball Earth hypothesis posits that the Earth's surface became entirely or nearly entirely frozen at least once, some time earlier than 650 Ma . Proponents of the hypothesis argue that it best explains sedimentary deposits generally regarded as of glacial origin at tropical...
theory of Precambrian ice ages by demonstrating that the magnetic latitudes of ancient ice deposits were tropical.
Biography
Evans was born and raised in Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, the second child of a lawyer and a homemaker. He attended Nicolet High School in Milwaukee. He received his undergraduate degree in geology and geophysics from Yale College in 1992. He completed his graduate work at the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
. He is married to Lely Dai Evans, with children Corinne (born 2002) and Jamie (born 2003).
Career
Using paleomagnetismPaleomagnetism
Paleomagnetism is the study of the record of the Earth's magnetic field in rocks. Certain minerals in rocks lock-in a record of the direction and intensity of the magnetic field when they form. This record provides information on the past behavior of Earth's magnetic field and the past location of...
of rocks from South Africa, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Russia and China, Evans has worked to reassemble the configuration of supercontinents that preceded Pangea. He was a member of drilling projects of the Kaapvaal craton with the Agouron institute for geobiology, and a member of the scientific team to develop a large igneous province global "barcode" record of plume magmatism on Earth. He has also contributed primary data demonstrating that ancient ice ages had continental ice sheets reaching tropical latitudes, which has been incorporated into the Snowball Earth theory of the planet's long term paleoclimate. Evans is involved with the latest efforts at reconstructing the history of supercontinents on Earth through the last three billion years. He is the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Yale University; and the current coordinator of field student expeditions to locations including Norway, Queensland, Australia, British Columbia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa, as well as undergraduate excursions to Sicily and Barbados. He has spent sabbatical leaves in Taiwan and Australia, where he studied modern and ancient mountain building processes. Evans is a 2002 honoree of the Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering, and a finalist for the Blavatnik Awards for young scientists.
Interests
Evans musical interests include Bela Fleck and Victor Wooten, Ludwig van Beethoven, Public Enemy, and Claude Debussy. He is known to colleagues and students as 'Majestic D,' his alter ego who infuses hip hop culture with educational geology themes. He is fluent in German and proficient in Chinese.Advisees
- Timothy Raub
- Theresa Raub (née Daniels)
- Eben Rose
- Daniel Peppe
- Ross Mitchell
- Taylor Kilian
- Joseph Panzik
- Erik Sperling (Advisory committee)
- Jakob Vinther (Advisory committee)
- Simon Darroch (Advisory committee)
External links
- http://earth.geology.yale.edu/people/moreinfo.cgi?netid=dae22 Yale University faculty page
- http://www.packard.org/fellowsDetails.aspx?RootCatID=3&CategoryID=70&ItemID=2889 Packard Fellowship summary