Scholarships

Veterans’ Memorial Scholarship For Any Veteran or Current Member of Any Branch of the United States Armed Forces

The Veterans’ Memorials Scholarship is awarded to a graduate student at any accredited college or university who is a veteran or who is currently serving in any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.  It seeks to reward excellence in geologic achievement and has few restrictions.  The Foundation welcomes applications in all earth science-related sub-disciplines, many of which are listed on the application page. This scholarship was created in memory of geologists who served in the Armed Forces and have sacrificed time and life to preserve freedom in our country.  It has been supported primarily by World War II veterans who are member of RMAG and their families.

The 2025 Veteran’s Memorial Scholarship was awarded to:

Andrew Oordt, PhD Candidate, University of Oklahoma

Andrew’s dissertation topic is “Late Paleozoic Loess in Southeastern Europe: A Widespread Equatorial Phenomenon?” He is studying Late Paleozoic redbeds from the Balkans hypothesized to represent paleo-loess deposits. The presence of paleo-loess in Southeastern Europe would reflect a geographic expansion of recognized equatorial loess along the Central Pangean Mountains. This recognition would refine the hypothesis that upland glaciation was present at equatorial latitudes during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age. Andrew plans to characterize Quaternary and Permian dust deposits from the Balkans and test whether a glacial or desert provenance can be determined by mineralogy, geochemistry, and particle size distribution (PSD). He will do this by characterizing Quaternary loess deposits with known glacial and desert origin found in Serbia and Croatia, respectively. The findings will be used as a proxy to interpret the origin of presumed loess from the Permian of Serbia. This is important as an empirically derived proxy for loess origin would be an advancement in the ability to interpret paleoclimate data from deep time loess deposits globally. Andrew will be assisted in the field by students from underserved populations with predominantly rural backgrounds.

Andrew is a United States Army veteran and completed his service with the rank of Captain. We thank him for his service.

Andew’s work is under the direction of Dr. Gerilyn Soreghan

Andrew has a MS in Geology from the University of Oklahoma and a BS in Geology from Texas A&M University.

Recent winners of the Veterans Memorial Scholarship:

2024 Elisa McGhee, Colorado State University

2023 Patricia Standring, University of Texas at Austin

2022 Wade Aubin, University of Texas at Austin