Karen Hoffmann – Science and Health Writing


Swanson School of Engineering Distinguished Alumnus Mahmoud Dabbous: “My Real Life Started Here”
September 9, 2008, 10:05 am
Filed under: Culture, Education, Geology, Pitt, Pitt Engineer, Profiles, Technology

Oil erupts from the ground with a whoosh! Dirt-poor Jett Rink (James Dean, in Giant, his last film role) staggers backward, arms outstretched, letting the “black gold” rain down on him.

Watching this movie as a child in Cairo, Egypt, Mahmoud Dabbous was enamored not only with the excitement of striking oil but also with the American geography and way of life it depicted.

He went on to found the Improved Petroleum Recovery (IPR) Group of Companies, of which he is president and chief executive officer. More (Large PDF) >



Pitt Researcher to Study Lava on Mars
February 14, 2005, 4:31 pm
Filed under: Geology, Pitt Chronicle, Space

A Pitt professor has received a three-year grant from NASA to study lava flow surfaces on Mars and Earth. The goal of the study is to better interpret information on new volcanic surfaces in Hawaii and then to apply that knowledge to older geologic surfaces on Mars. More >



Pitt Undergraduate Discovers New Genus, Species of Ancient, Meat-eating Amphibian
November 15, 2004, 4:32 pm
Filed under: Biology, Geology, Pitt Chronicle

While on a geology class trip, a Pitt undergraduate came across a previously unknown genus and species of a 300-million-year-old amphibian. More >