Morehead State University’s Dr. Jen O’Keefe, associate professor of geology and science education in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences (EASS), has been elected to the presidency of AASP – The Palynological Society.
“This is an outstanding honor and one that is well-deserved,” said Dr. Ben Malphrus, chair of EASS.
AASP – The Palynological Society was established in 1967 to promote the science of palynology (modern and fossil pollen, spores, etc.). Today, AASP is an international organization that is run by an elected Board of Directors, and led by the society president.
Dr. O’Keefe will serve as president-elect in academic year 2013-2014, president in 2014-2015, and past-president in 2015-2016. She will take office as president-elect at the business luncheon held during the society’s meeting in San Francisco in October, and assume the society presidency next year at the International Palaeontological Congress in Mendoza, Argentina.
Dr. O’Keefe earned her Ph.D. degree in geology from the University of Kentucky, her M.S. degree in geology from Texas A&M, and her B.A. degree in geology from Cornell College.
She is an ICCP-accredited organic petrographer. Dr. O’Keefe is a past director-at-large of AASP-The Palynological Society (2009-2011) and at present completing the first year of a five-year term in the leadership rotation with the Coal Geology Division of the Geological Society of America.
Since joining the MSU faculty in 2002, she has led and participated in numerous studies of coal and source rocks along a spectrum from cradle (how they formed) to grave (how combustion by-products behave in the environment). The teams of investigators she works with typically involve national and international collaborations and MSU undergraduate students.
For additional information, contact Dr. O’Keefe at 606-783-2349 or email at j.okeefe@moreheadstate.edu.
