Which centers were visited?

Attendees visited the Astrogeology Science Center, Arizona Water Science Center, Southwest Biological Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, and Western Geographic Science Center while on campus. 

Who were the attendees visiting? 

Visiting Attendees were Ned Mamula (Director), Fred Samarelli (Senior Advisor), Anne Barrett (Acting Deputy Director), Darrin Thome (Acting Southwest Regional Director), Jim Leenhouts (Acting Deputy Regional Director), Adrienne Bartlewitz (Rocky Mountain Regional Chief of Staff/Acting Chief of Staff for Deputy Director of Operations), including Ivo and Baerbel Lucchitta, Larry Soderblom, and Pat Chavez who worked on the Flagstaff campus many years ago. 

What were the activities?

Activities included guided tours of facilities, interactive demonstrations of scientific equipment and outreach tools, exploration of planetary defense archives and photogrammetry labs, and a field excursion to the historic Cinder Lake Crater Field 2 used for training the Apollo and Artemis astronauts. The events also included a campus-wide cookout and a trip to the Pinon Plain Mine and the south rim of the Grand Canyon to discuss scientific projects, wildfire recovery, and water management with the other Centers on Campus. Feel free to peruse our photos below.

The speakers for the visit included Chris Okubo, Lori Pigue, Greg Vaughan, Travis Gabriel, Sonya Bogle, Marc Hunter, Larry Soderblom, Baerbel Lucchitta, Amber Gullikson, Tenielle Gaither, Tim Titus, Elise Rumpf, Mike Bland, Ben Wheeler, and David Mayer.  

Physical Scientist Dr. Lori Pigue started off the day with outreach and communications activities created by “AstroComm,” Astrogeology’s communications group. Dr. Pigue, also Communications Lead, had the opportunity to engage with leadership and share hands-on demonstrations, which she expressed great appreciation for the opportunity to engage with the USGS leadership directly.  

"It was so fun to share our hands-on demonstrations and get a little ‘play time’ with the director and our regional and national team," Dr. Pigue said. 

Dr. Pigue’s ‘play time’ included showcasing Astrogeology’s Augmented Reality SandTable, a demonstration of how gravity works on the Earth, Moon, and Mars, a Walk-on-Mars map, and a large-scale model of the near-Earth Asteroid Eros. 

She said, “I really appreciated that USGS Leadership is passionate about public outreach and making sure that solid USGS science gets into the hands and eyes of the Nation.” 

Were photographs taken?

Below are photographs taken during the director's visit. Click the title of each photo to peruse the activity.  

Many on campus reflected on finding renewed energy for their work, given the enthusiasm from leadership and the support we received during the visit. Engaging directly through hands-on experiences and having grounded conversations provided the Astrogeology team members and USGS Leadership common ground for advancing our mission. Both sides left with a long list of action items and a new perspective on USGS support for national interests. 

Dr. Chris Okubo, Acting Science Center Director, commented about the visit:

“This was a great opportunity to discuss our science with USGS Leadership. The visiting team was very enthusiastic about what they saw. The visit was a huge success all around!”