ROBERT C. THOMAS
Professor of Geology

ADDRESS:

122 Block Hall
Department of Environmental Sciences
The University of Montana - Western
710 South Atlantic
Dillon, Montana 59725
Telephone (406) 683-7615
Fax (406) 683 - 7493
Email: r_thomas@umwestern.edu
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Robert C. Thomas is originally from Pleasanton, California, where summer trips to national parks inspired his passion for geology. He earned an AA from Chabot College ('82), a BA in geology from Humboldt State University ('85), a MS in geology from the University of Montana ('87) and a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Washington ('93), where he studied environmental changes that caused mass extinctions during the Cambrian (500 million years ago). His first faculty position was at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY and he has been a faculty member at the University of Montana Western for16 years.

During his tenure at Montana Western, he helped the campus evolve from a traditional state Ònormal schoolÓ into an experiential learning university that uses an immersion scheduling system where students take one course at a time. Montana Western is the first public university in U.S. history to use this system and Professor Thomas uses it to teach most of his courses in the natural lab of southwest Montana. His research is commonly done in collaboration with UMW students, and he has recently worked on projects ranging from the geologic history of the northern margin of the Yellowstone hot spot to fluvial Arctic grayling habitat restoration and assessment on the upper Big Hole River.

Dr. Thomas's passion is public outreach. To that end, he helped to lead ten GeoVenture field trips for the Geological Society of America, for which he was awarded the Society's Distinguished Service Award in 2007. In addition, he co-authored a series of geological road signs that have been placed along the Lewis and Clark Trail in the State of Montana and he is currently working with colleagues on two layperson books entitled Roadside Geology of the Yellowstone Country and Geology Underfoot in Montana.

Dr. Thomas's professional service includes many years of teaching the Princeton University (YBRA) geology field camp, serving on the boards of the Tobacco Root Geological Society and the Yellowstone Bighorn Research Association (YBRA), serving as the President of the Rocky Mountain Paleontological Society, and editing Northwest Geology and the Journal of Geoscience Education. He has organized numerous symposia, authored and edited over 70 publications and procured a half of a million dollars in grant support. In 2008, he was selected for the Humboldt State University Distinguished Alumni Award, and was elected into Fellowship in the Geological Society of America, and honor bestowed on the "best of the profession" in the geosciences. In 2009, he was awarded the prestigious Outstanding Baccalaureate Colleges Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

His most important contributions are his two daughters, Abbey (11) and Haley (6), and his 21-year marriage to Anneliese Ripley.



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