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Ron Dorn
Professor of Geographical
Science & Urban Planning
Co-Coordinator, Arizona Geographic
Alliance
ronald.dorn@asu.edu
my page (that follows) is far less important than this message
from John Lewis, written shortly before his death
Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation
John Lewis
Mr. Lewis, the civil rights leader who died on July 17, wrote this essay shortly before his death, to be published upon the day of his funeral.
July 30, 2020
While
my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that
in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You
filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great
American story when you used your power to make a difference
in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human
compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the
country and the world you set aside race, class, age,
language and nationality to demand respect for human
dignity.
That is why I had to visit Black Lives
Matter Plaza in Washington, though I was admitted to the
hospital the following day. I just had to see and feel it
for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the
truth is still marching on.
Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor. He was 14 when he was killed, and I was only 15 years old at the time. I will never ever forget the moment when it became so clear that he could easily have been me. In those days, fear constrained us like an imaginary prison, and troubling thoughts of potential brutality committed for no understandable reason were the bars.
Though I was surrounded by two loving
parents, plenty of brothers, sisters and cousins, their love
could not protect me from the unholy oppression waiting just
outside that family circle. Unchecked, unrestrained violence
and government-sanctioned terror had the power to turn a
simple stroll to the store for some Skittles or an innocent
morning jog down a lonesome country road into a nightmare.
If we are to survive as one unified nation, we must discover
what so readily takes root in our hearts that could rob
Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina of her brightest and
best, shoot unwitting concertgoers in Las Vegas and choke to
death the hopes and dreams of a gifted violinist like Elijah
McClain.
Like so many young people today, I was
searching for a way out, or some might say a way in, and
then I heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on an
old radio. He was talking about the philosophy and
discipline of nonviolence. He said we are all complicit when
we tolerate injustice. He said it is not enough to say it
will get better by and by. He said each of us has a moral
obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you see
something that is not right, you must say something. You
must do something.
Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each
generation must do its part to help build what we called
the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace
with itself.
Ordinary people with extraordinary vision
can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call
good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in
the democratic process are key. The vote is the most
powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic
society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You
can lose it.
You must also study and learn the lessons
of history because humanity has been involved in this
soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time.
People on every continent have stood in your shoes, through
decades and centuries before you. The truth does not change,
and that is why the answers worked out long ago can help you
find solutions to the challenges of our time. Continue to
build union between movements stretching across the globe
because we must put away our willingness to profit from the
exploitation of others.
Though I may not be here with you, I urge
you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up
for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can
to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and
nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn
to let freedom ring.
When historians pick up their pens to
write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it
was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate
at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence,
aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind,
brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the
power of everlasting love be your guide.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/
now ... a bit about your professor ...
Life is NOT a journey to the
grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and
well-preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside,
thoroughly used up, worn out, covered in sweat and dirt and
blood, screaming "holy sh*t, what a ride!"
My view of life, but
the saying is adapted from Mavis Leyrer, Octogenarian, of
Seattle
My responsibilities as an ASU Professor revolve around
For the last several years, I have developed an interest in
whether the steep mountain slopes that abut metropolitan Phoenix
pose hazards for people and infrastructure. Thus, I have been
studying debris flows, rock falls, and rock slides that occur all
around metroPhoenix. Students are most welcome to
participate in this hazards research. There are a host of
different opportunities for students to map out the dimensions and
volume of these mass wasting events, and hopefully, publish your
findings.
Also, for the past few years, I have been honored to be part of a
team of researchers trying to unravel the story of how the Salt
River came into existence. The Salt River's sudden arrival changed
the landscape evolution of central Arizona, and its story can
provide a general model drainage evolution in extensional
terrains.
My primary research interests rest on the geography of rock and
mineral decay (weathering). In particular, we are losing our
collective priceless global cultural heritage of rock art daily
through human and natural weathering processes. Thus, I feel
an imperative to focus my expertise to help rock art researchers
understand what geographical information can be extracted rock art
before it is lost forever. If you want to obtain an
understanding for why the study of rock art is so important,
please read Cave
Paintings
and
the
Human
Spirit:
The Origin of Creativity and Belief (Amazon
link) and listen to this
NPR interview with Dr. David Whitley. This review of Dr.
Whitley's book should convince you of its importance. However,
if you want the cliff notes version, please watch this
TED talk by Dr. Whitley.
I am also saddened by the loss of my partner in a lot of varnish research, Dr. David Krinsley. Dave hastled me constantly. In fast, at our first encounter, he told me that he thought much of my research was hogwash and challenged me to show him otherwise. I was delighted to find such a colleague who would never hesitate to point out flaws. But in the end, it was Dave who found the most wonderfully clear evidence for the power of budding bacteria in making rock varnish. To the end of my own days, I will always point to Dave as someone who constantly adopted new techniques to explore old and new questions in what he called diagenesis and what I call rock decay.
This graphic reflects
what science is all about and what very few "scientists"
admit. And if you have ever read Dune by Frank Herbert, the planetologist Liet-Kynes has this dying thought that seems to ring true: "Then, as his planet killed him, it occurred to Kynes that his father and all the other scientists were wrong, that the most persistent principles of the universe were accident and error." |
This is a
great article about how science really works. And yet, another expression of the idea: "We are here for this — to make mistakes and to correct ourselves, to stand the blows and hand them out. We must never feel disarmed: nature is immense and complex, but it is not impermeable to the intelligence; we must circle around it, pierce and probe it, look for the opening or make it." Primo Levi, The Periodic Table (1975) If you want another take on this issue, watch Kathryn Schulz's TED talk on the importance of being wrong. |
Teaching rests at the heart of my job and the reason why I chose to be a Professor instead of a Research Scientist at a laboratory.
Some professors desire to be a Sage on the Stage or a Professor
on the Pulpit; I do not. There are others who consider
themselves the Gatekeeper of Grades, giving out only a few As and
Bs; I eschew this perspective as unethical (Reading).
All
students
should
be
guided
to earn As. Guy Kawasaki, author of Enchantment:
The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions stated the
reason for my view best: "There are two types of people in this
world: bakers and eaters. Eaters think if they wind, you lose and
if you win they lose. Bakers think that everyone can win with a
bigger pie." I want students to go create bigger pies by taking
your knowledge and spreading around by mentoring others.
I maintain a consumer-oriented approach, because college is
enormously expensive in your money and time (click
here to see research indicating that professors can save
students lots of money by investigating the use of online
readings, instead of outrageously expensive textbooks).
Through my hopefully entertaining and enthusiastic teaching, I
want to help students achieve their goals. Sometimes, this
involves one-on-one discussions on how to succeed in
college. Other times, it involves helping students master
course material. Still other times, I simply help with minor
corrections to a student's path and then act as cheerleader.
Basically, I am fascinated with case studies in the metamorphosis
of students -- from people who have the goal of obtaining a
college degree -- into someone who develops a passion. What I
really enjoy is helping students develop that passion for research
as a key to deep learning. That is why I hope that you will get
engaged in research at ASU. You might also enjoy reading this personal take
by another person who has this same interest in student
metamorphosis.
Another thing that fascinates me is student etiquette. How
students interact with faculty seems to have changed a lot, and in
particular the use of email. Student expectations for faculty
response to their emails are completely different from faculty
expectations for students. This giant offset between student
email etiquette and faculty reading of emails upsets both students
and faculty. A New York Times
editorial by Molly Werthen (along with links to her and a
colleague's etiquette pages, as well as comics) could help
both understand each others' perspectives.
The bottom line is that I want each student to master my course
objectives and receive top grades. Since the current educational system does
not address the need to find spatially gifted students, I
love to identify these students -- who in many cases never found
academic comfort until they discovered the spatial thinking of
geography.
A wonderful new piece of research can help students with test
anxiety. These researchers found that if students write
about their thoughts of an upcoming big test -- even undergoing a
brief expressive piece of writing would significantly improve
student exam scores -- the most so for students "habitually
anxious about test testing." The authors explain: "[s]imply
writing about one's worries before a high-stakes exam can boost
test scores."
Some students are a bit overwhelmed by my high level of
enthusiasm -- for the subjects I teach and for teaching college
students. This can be intimidating, especially when many old
"gray beards" are looking forward to retirement [I have no plans
to retire] or slipping into administration [the dark side of
college, in my view]. Please do not be intimidated. I find
it a giant challenge to figure out new ways to engage an
ever-changing student body. This challenge is exciting,
which generates my enthusiasm.
I also enjoy helping students find the best ways to learn, such as this concise compilation by some chemistry professors. However, the job of mastering course objectives remains the responsibility of the student. Ma ka hana ka 'ike says it all in Hawaiian: in the work is the knowledge. I cannot and should not do this work for you to learn. Ultimately, this old axiom remains true even of today's texting-addicted students:
I hear for the first time, I forget.CURRENT OR UPCOMING CLASSES
I read for reinforcement, I try to remember.
I see, I question.
I do for myself, I learn.
I teach to others, I understand.
I reflect after teaching, I improve.
| Fall 2020 GPH 111/GPH112: Introduction to Physical Geography (Session A i/o) GPH 211: Landform Processes (Session B i/o) - to be taught by Zach Hilgendorf GCU 414: Teaching Geography Standards (instructor permission only; e-mail ronald.dorn@asu.edu if you are a secondary ed geography BAE major) GPH 494: Arizona Landscapes (Session B: i/o) - 1 credit class PUP 200: Cities in Cinema (Session B i/o) |
Spring 2021 GCU 113: United States and Arizona Social Studies - Session A GPH 111 Session A: Introduction to Physical Geography i/o PUP 200 Session B: Cities in Cinema (i/o) |
Graduate Students Completed Degrees
I am very proud of the success of our Geography Department's
graduate students. I have been privileged to advise
fabulous minds and these persons contribute greatly to the
development and dissemination of new geographic knowledge.
Within the last few years, these have been:
| Student | Title | Year, Degree | First Appointment After Degree |
| Ara Jeong |
Anthropocene in the Geomorphology of the
Sonoran Desert |
2019, Ph.D. Dissertation, Arizona State University | Postdoc,
Department of
Geography Education, Korea University, Seoul 02841,
Republic of Korea
|
| R. Evan Palmer |
Analysis of the Spatial Thinking of College
Students in Traditional and Web-facilitated Introductory
Geography Courses using Aerial Photography and
Geo-visualization Technology |
2014, Ph.D. Dissertation, Arizona State University | Assistant Professor, Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs |
| Phil Larson |
Conceptual field-based models to elucidate the distribution and nature of desert fluvial terraces: Case studies within the Sonoran Desert, Basin and Range, Arizona. | 2013, Ph.D. Dissertation, Arizona State
University |
Assistant Professor, Minnesota State at
Mankato |
| Emma Harrison | Introducing a terrestrial carbon pool in desert mountains | 2013, M.A. Thesis, Arizona State University | Visiting Instructor, University of Wyoming |
| Elyssa Gutbrod | Implementing Rapid Assessment of the Trail Environments of Arid Regions: Indicator Development and Implementation Scenarios | 2013, Ph.D. Dissertation, Arizona State University | GIS Professional Employment (Titan Mapping
Solutions), Calgary, Canada |
| Casey Allen |
Using rock art as an
alternative science pedagogy |
2008, Ph.D. Dissertation,
Arizona State University |
Assistant Professor,
University of Colorado-Denver |
| Douglas Frink |
Explorations into a Dynamic
Process-Oriented Soil Science |
2007, Ph.D. Dissertation |
Visiting Professor,
Valdosta State University |
| Wendy Bigler |
Historical biocomplexity in
irrigation agriculture. The Akimel O'Odham (Pima) and the
Gila River, Arizona |
2007, Ph.D. Dissertation,
Arizona State University |
Assistant Professor,
Southern Illinois University |
| Niccole Villa Cerveny | A weathering-based perspective on rock art conservation (as well as other research projects) | 2005, Ph.D. Dissertation, Arizona State University | Full-time Instructor, Mesa Community College |
| Susan Johnson | Combining geography instruction with reading: Exploring the interplay in 3rd and 5th grade classrooms | 2005, M.A. Thesis, Arizona State University | Elementary School Teacher, Virginia |
| John C. Douglass | Criterion approach to transverse drainages (as well as other research projects) | 2005, Ph.D. Dissertation, Arizona State University | Full-time instructor, Paradise Valley Community College |
| Kathleen Bergmann | Urban impacts on Rillito Creek | 2004, M.A. Thesis, Arizona State University | Army Corp of Engineers |
| Daniel A. Gilewitch | Military Geography: The Interaction of Desert Geomorphology and Military Operations | 2003, Ph.D. Dissertation, Arizona State University | Assistant Professor, United States Army Military Academy, West Point |
| Kevin A. Green | Debris slope/pediment adjustment to hydraulic processes through analyses of particle size-slope relations in different lithologies | 2003, M.A. Thesis, Arizona State University | Ph.D. Student, University of Oregon |
| Rebecca S. Beard | Stream channel change in response to cattle exclosures in semi-arid riparian ecosystems | 2003, M.A. Thesis, Arizona State University | Research Assistant, Ecuadorian Andes Land Use Change Project, University of Texas, Austin |
| Kathryn Anne Gross | Analysis of lateral channel stability for a portion of New River, Arizona, Between 1964-2000 | 2002, M.A. Thesis, Arizona State University | Hydrologist, Maricopa County Flood Control District |
| Evan Palmer | Feasibility and implications of a rock coating catena: Analysis of a desert hillslope | 2002, M.A. Thesis, Arizona State University | United States Air Force |
| Mike Applegarth | Interpretation of pediment form using geographic
information technology and field data |
2001. Ph.D. Dissertation, Arizona State University | Assistant Professor, Shippinsburg State University |
| Lorenzo Vazquez Selem | Glacial Chronology of Iztaccihuatl
Volcano,
Central Mexico. A Record of Environmental Change on the Border of the Tropics |
2000, Ph.D. Dissertation, Arizona State University | Research Professor, UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AUTÓNOMA DE MÉXICO, Mexico City |
| Niccole Cerveny | Relationships between internal fractures and surface microtopography of quartz grains | 2000, M.A. Thesis, Arizona State University | Instructor, Mesa Community College (Red Mountain) |
| Brandon Vogt | Weathering of a tombstone sphere, Tempe, Arizona | 2000, M.A. Thesis, Arizona State University | Ph.D. Student Arizona State University |
| Michael Henze | Sediment yield on Spook Hill Pediment, Arizona | 2000, M.A. Thesis, Arizona State University | Consultant, J.E. Fuller |
| Steve Gordon | An analysis of volcanic glass weathering, El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico, USA | 1999, Ph.D. Dissertation, Arizona State University | Assistant Professor, United States Air Force
Academy, Colorado Springs
Honored by the only civilian to receive prestigious teaching award |
| Donald Friend | Evolution of desert colluvial boulder fields, eastern California | 1997, Ph.D. Dissertation, Arizona State University | Assistant Professor, Mankato State University (now Associate Professor, Minnesota State University) |
| Molly Pohl | Radiocarbon dating in drylands | 1995, M.A. Thesis, Arizona State University | NSF Graduate Fellow, Ph.D. Student at Arizona State University; now Assistant Professor, San Diego State University |
| Gregory Pope | A weathering boundary layer model to interpret spatial variation in quartz weathering | 1994, Ph.D. Dissertation, Arizona State University | Assistant (now Associate) Professor Montclair State University |
| Tanzhuo Liu | Visual microlaminations in rock varnish: a new paleoenviron-mental and geomor-phic tool in drylands | 1994, Ph.D. Dissertation, Arizona State University | Research Scientist, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University |
| Thomas R. Paradise | Weathering-constrained erosion of sandstone at the Roman Theather, Petra Jordan | 1993, Ph.D. Dissertation, Arizona State University | Professor at University of Hawaii at Hilo; now Professor at University of Arkansas |
| Thad Wasklewicz | Importance of environment on basalt weathering, Hawaii | 1992, M.A. Thesis Arizona State University | Ph.D. Student at Arizona State University; now Professor at University of Memphis |
SERVICE ACTIVITIES
Because intelligence and hierarchy do not mix well, professors
try to maintain a system of distributed responsibility to ensure
that a department's mission is not only met, but exceeded. This
"service" takes different forms, based on desires and abilities of
different faculty members. In my case, most of my service activity
rests in helping coordinate and assist K-12 geography education in
Arizona as co-coordinator of the Arizona Geographic
Alliance.
ADVISING RESPONSIBILITIES
Officially, I advise those interested in receiving a B.A.E.
degree in geographic education (please
click here to see a PDF of the Geography BAE check sheet)
and honors students in geography. I am also very happy to
discuss classes, careers and and other matters related to
geography and education. For advising, please stop by during
office hours or, even better, e-mail me to make an appointment at
ronald.dorn@asu.edu.
My FAVORITE Book: Cave
Paintings
and
the
Human
Spirit:
The Origin of Creativity and Belief (Amazon
link)
Listen to this
NPR interview of Dr. David Whitley.
My FAVORITE DISCOVERY: Desert Pavement
Formation from Accumulation of Aeolian Fines
Mabbutt, J.A. 1979. Pavements and Patterned Ground in the
Australian Stony Deserts. Stuttgarter Geographische Studien,
volume 93, p. 107-123
p. 112-3: "Very commonly an aeolian origin is postulated for the
silty clays which commonly constitute the stone-free horizons
beneath stone pavement sin the Australian deserts. This is
in accord with their size-grading, in which they resemble other
deposits of acknowledged aeolian origin in arid south-eastern
Australia (BUTLER 1956), and with their uniformity and great
extent over the southern Australian arid zone. A
transportational origin is suggested by the way in which they
uniformly blanket a wide range of country rocks, including many
which could not have weathered into residual clays; on the other
hand, they extend unbroken over tablelands and uplands in a way
that excludes fluvial or lacustrine deposition. On the
ridges of the northern Barrier Range of western New South Wales
for example, mantles of this type rest with abrupt unconcormity on
little weathered sandstone, quartzite and dolomitic limestone
alike (MABBUTT et al. 1973) ... It is that windborne dust
may have been trapped by the surface stone, which was then
displaced upwards pari passu with accumulation, by relatively
shallow wetting and drying as demonstrated experimentally.
Under this reasoning the existence of a rough stone pavement may
have been a factor in the accumulation of the sediment now
underlying it.
GEOMORPHOLOGY LINKS
Other geomorphologists at ASU (who do far cooler research than I attempt):
Arrowsmith,
Ramon
Heimsath,
Arjun
Schmeeckle,
Mark
Walker, Ian
Whipple,
Kelin
VML (Varnish Microlaminations) Dating Lab, the best place to date your rock varnish: http://www.vmldatinglab.com/.
Association of American Geographers - http://www.aag.org
and Geomorphology Specialty Group Homepage - http://www.cla.sc.edu/geog/gsgdocs
American Geophysical Union - http://earth.agu.org/kosmos/homepage.html
British Geomorphological Research Group - http://boris.qub.ac.uk/bgrg
And the BGRG Useful Websites and Links page in GeomorphologyCanadian Geomorphological Research Group - http://office.geog.uvic.ca/dept/cgrg/cgrg.htm
A Favorite Thinker - Horace Walpole
• Thought to have coined the term serendipity
