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Dorothy J. Merritts

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Dorothy J. Merritts
Born1958 (age 65–66)
Pennsylvania, USA
Spouse(s)
Russell T. O'Connor
​
​
(m. 1981, divorced)​

Robert C. Walter
​
(m. 2004)​
AwardsKirk Bryan Award
Academic background
EducationBA, Geology, 1980, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
MSc, Engineering Geology, 1983, Stanford University
Ph.D., geomorphology, 1987, University of Arizona
ThesisGeomorphic response to late Quaternary tectonism, coastal northern California, Mendocino triple junction region (1987)
Academic work
InstitutionsFranklin & Marshall College
Case Western Reserve University

Dorothy Jane Merritts (born 1958) is an American geologist. She is the Harry W. & Mary B. Huffnagle Professor of Geosciences at Franklin & Marshall College. In 2022, Merritts was elected a Member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Early life and education

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Merritts was born in 1958[1] to parents George and Mary Ann.[2] She grew up in Pennsylvania where her grandfather was a conductor on the Pennsylvania Railroad.[3] Following high school, Merritts obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in geology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1980 and enrolled at Stanford University for her Master's degree in Engineering Geology.[4] She graduated magna cum laude from Stanford, while working at the US Geological Survey, then earned a doctorate degree in Geosciences, with foci in geomorphology, active tectonics, and soils, summa cum laude from the University of Arizona.[5] Merritts completed her PhD with a dissertation fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF) from 1983 to 1987.[6]

Career

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After earning her doctorate in geomorphology in 1987, Merritts joined the geosciences faculty at Franklin & Marshall College (F&M).[3] In this role, she conducted research with support from the United States Geological Survey on earthquake hazards in California and other parts of the Pacific Rim, and studied groundwater resources, streams, and soil processes.[7] She earned academic tenure in 1993[5] and then served on the National Research Council's Committee on Alluvial Fan Flooding.[7] As a fully tenured professor, Merritts received a grant to develop instructional materials for undergraduate geosciences teachers to help them incorporate "inquiry-based learning into their classrooms."[8] She was also part of a team of scholars who received a two-year NSF grant to develop a Web site that science faculty could use to help teach introductory courses.[9] As a result of her work in the geosciences, Merritts was chosen to work as a consultant for the South Korean government to assess the possibility of active faults in the vicinity of nuclear power plants.[10]

In 2003, Merritts and Robert C. Walter began studying streams in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and nearby areas to determine why some had such high rates of stream bank erosion. They determined that mill dams which once existed throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland, and other mid-Atlantic states, had formed slackwater ponds that trapped sediment over a period of centuries. The streams with high banks and rates of erosion were at sites of recently failed mill dams, and sediment eroding from the banks was actually millpond sediment.[11]

Between 2004 and 2005, Merritts served as the Flora Stone Mather Distinguished Professor at Case Western Reserve University.[6] Upon returning to F&M in 2006, Merritts received the Association for Women Geoscientists Foundation Outstanding Educator Award.[7] She continued to focus on the impacts of fault lines and earthquakes which led her to co-finding three new faultlines in San Francisco. Her research team named the new fault the Pacific Star Fault and the Pudding Creek Fault.[12] Merritts then Chaired a National Academy of Sciences committee in 2007 to assess "Challenges and Opportunities in Earth Surface Processes." The results of that report led to new research on "the critical zone of intense interaction between surface processes and the solid Earth." She was also elected a fellow of the Geological Society of America.[13] In 2008, Merritts and Walter co-published Natural Streams and the Legacy of Water-Powered Mills,[14] which earned them the 2011 Kirk Bryan Award.[11] Although the publication became quickly notable, it earned some critique for its generalizability. Some researchers critiqued the research for implying that their findings could be applied widely throughout the eastern United States.[3]

As a result of their collaborative efforts, Merritts and Walter helped establish the Chesapeake Watershed Initiative at F&M. The aim of the initiative was to achieve "significant, far-reaching outcomes for stewardship and restoration in the vast watershed, through applied research and knowledge generation, education, and outreach."[15] In 2022, Merritts was elected a Member of the National Academy of Sciences.[16]

Personal life

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Merritts obtained a marriage license with Robert C. Walter in 2004.[2] She had previously been married to Russell T. O'Connor from 1981 to 2003.[17]

Selected publications

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  • Environmental Geology: An Earth System Science Approach

References

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  1. ^ "Merritts, Dorothy J., 1958-". Library of Congress. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Marriage Licenses". Lancaster New Era. January 3, 2004. Retrieved May 3, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c Voosen, Paul (August 18, 2020). "A Muddy Legacy". Science. 369 (6506): 898–901. Bibcode:2020Sci...369..898V. doi:10.1126/science.369.6506.898. PMID 32820104. S2CID 221220841. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  4. ^ "Graduates". Tyrone Daily Herald. May 29, 1980. Retrieved May 3, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b "3 on F&M faculty granted tenure". Lancaster New Era. January 26, 1993. Retrieved May 3, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b "Dorothy J. Merritts". Franklin & Marshall College. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c "Faculty". Sunday News. November 19, 2006. Retrieved May 3, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "F&M professor receives NSF grant for video series". Lancaster New Era. December 29, 1999. Retrieved May 3, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "F&M professor gets grant for Web site plans". Lancaster New Era. February 10, 2003. Retrieved May 3, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "South Korea nuclear plants on fault lines, F&M professor says". Lancaster New Era. March 1, 2000. Retrieved May 3, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b "Peers Honor Merritts, Walter for Groundbreaking Research". Franklin & Marshall College. November 17, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  12. ^ Perlman, David (April 20, 2006). "New fault lines found along San Andreas' / Mendocino County discovery reported at centennial earthquake conference". SFGate. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  13. ^ "Merritts Receives Dewey Award". Franklin & Marshall College. May 20, 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  14. ^ Walter, Robert C.; Merritts, Dorothy J. (January 18, 2008). "Natural Streams and the Legacy of Water-Powered Mills". Science. 319 (5861): 299–304. Bibcode:2008Sci...319..299W. doi:10.1126/science.1151716. PMID 18202284. S2CID 206509868. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  15. ^ Durantine, Peter (November 19, 2021). "F&M Launches Chesapeake Watershed Initiative". Franklin & Marshall College. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  16. ^ "National Academy of Sciences Elects Members and International Members". National Academy of Sciences. May 3, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  17. ^ "Divorces". Lancaster New Era. April 8, 2003. Retrieved May 3, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
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