Career Profile: Rachel Beane
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Click on a topic below, or scroll down to read the entire profile: Teaching philosophy * Research interests and approach * Service activities * Balancing responsibilities * Advice for new faculty
Rachel's approach to teaching
Rachel's goal as a teacher is to create dynamic interactions, both between herself and her students and between her students and the course material. To that end, she incorporates a research project in every class she teaches. She also takes advantage of Bowdoin's location near the coast of Maine, integrating field labs in the fall and spring. And she emphasizes writing and oral presentation skills, too, because they will be useful to all of her students, whatever their future professions.
One of Rachel's favorite class research projects was a mapping project in an introductory-level geology course. Her students mapped a small island, and each group also analyzed some aspect of the geology—the geochemistry, the volcanics, and so on. When they were done, they presented their results to each other. Because each group had something to contribute to the class' overall understanding of the geology, they found the projects very rewarding. In another class, Rachel applied for samples of a Mars meteorite from NASA. (She got the idea from a student's interest in meteorites.) Her class then conducted a petrographic analysis of the meteorite samples, looking at the mineralogy and microstructures for clues to the volcanic and climate history of mars. The students were very excited to work with these samples, doing original research, and Rachel got to learn right along with her students.
Building on her desire to integrate research into her classes, Rachel applied for (and received) two Course Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) grants from the National Science Foundation. This has facilitated her inclusion of research in the Casco Bay region of Maine into her classes, such as the island study mentioned above.
Rachel takes a dynamic approach to teaching for a variety of reasons. For one, she doesn't have the patience to sit for an hour-long lecture herself, so she doesn't feel right making her students do so. She enjoys personal interactions better, and feels comfortable teaching through conversations and small group activities. Of course, Rachel does still incorporate some lecture time in her classes, but she intersperses it with other modes of learning. In particular, she draws on her experiences as an instructor in an outdoor education program, where she learned firsthand that experiential learning is very effective. You can learn more about Rachel's approach to teaching on her teaching consultant website for Bowdoin.
Research interests and approach
Rachel is a metamorphic petrologist. Her dissertation research was based on field work in the Ural Mountains, and (ten years later) she is still working with some of those rock samples, answering new questions. She also has a research program based closer to home, though—studying the geologic history of Maine. The northern Appalachians are not unlike the Urals, Rachel points out; both were formed by the continental collisions that created Pangaea.
Through a combination of field work and laboratory analysis, Rachel looks for the details of the history recorded in rocks. She uses whatever tools seem appropriate: a Brunton compass, a petrographic microscope, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), or Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD). The deformation recorded at the microstructural level is related to tectonic-scale processes; Rachel looks for that connection.
When she moved to Maine, Rachel allowed herself some time to explore the geology of her new home state. Fortunately, she says, her department gave her the space to do that, knowing that it would take her a little while to get her research program underway. She took advantage of field trips and field symposia in the region, and also just spent some time looking for potential research projects for students. That initial investment has paid off nicely, both for Rachel and her students.
One unusual aspect of Rachel's work with research students, given her position at a small, undergraduate institution, is that she does work with some graduate students. They come to her, to work in her EBSD lab. This lab was funded through a MRI (major research instrumentation) grant from NSF. The grant proposal is one of the successful proposals in SERC's online proposal collection.
Service activities
Rachel is currently chair of her department, a teaching consultant on campus, and the manager for the SEM lab. While she was not really given a choice about being chair—in her three-person department, everyone must take turns—she has chosen to take on some important work during her three-year term. Feeling that it was important to give their students the best education possible, she has led the department through an analysis of what each course contributes to the curriculum, in terms of both course content and skills. As a result, they have changed the requirements for the geology major and added some new courses. She has also written a proposal to add a new tenure-track faculty line for the geology department, which has been approved, pending funding. Both of these accomplishments were, in a sense, voluntary, but Rachel knows they will have a positive impact on the geology department for years to come.
Strategies for balancing work and personal life
Rachel is one of nearly a dozen academic geoscientists SERC has interviewed about managing work-life balance. Follow this link to learn how she manages a healthy balance of her career and family commitments.
Advice for early career geoscience faculty
Rachel's interview on balancing work and life responsibilities also includes some advice for new faculty members. In addition, she says, "Be patient and be compassionate with yourself, your students, and your colleagues. Allow yourself to enjoy what you have chosen to do, bringing enthusiasm to your research, your teaching and your life."
