Ruth Schulte

SUMMARY

·       Eight years of experience in project management conducting geological research involving meticulous attention to details, organizational, and problem solving skills

·       Proven ability in quality assurance and compliance with federal environmental safety regulations

·       Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines, learn difficult concepts quickly, realize assigned goals, supervise interns, and work with little to no supervision or in a team setting

·       Extensive experience conducting geologic fieldwork, performing a wide variety of geochemical laboratory duties, analyzing data, and providing technical writing and editing skills

 

EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, College Park, MD

M.S., Geology, 2007, Thesis title: Isotopic Systematics of the Taitao Ophiolite, Southern Chile. Graduate classes include: Isotope Geochemistry, Thermodynamics, Economic Geology, Global Climate Change, Mineralogy of Rock-Forming Silicates Analytical Chemistry, Geochemical Modeling, and Geophysics.

 

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, College Park, MD

B.S., Geology, 2003, Phi Beta Kappa Society ‘03. Golden Key Society ’02. Awarded  Branson Field Camp Scholarship June ’02. Nominated for NAGT/USGS Summer Internship Nov ’02. UMD Dean’s List ’00.

 

CERTIFICATIONS

University of Vermont, 2013, Principles and Strategies for Sustainability

 

EXPERIENCE

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, Reston, VA, 1/07-Present

     Geologist, 8/10-Present

     Research Associate I with ETI Professionals in a contract position at the United States Geological

Survey (USGS) in Reston, VA, 1/07 – 8/10

 

  • Publication of the stratiform chromite deposit model as part of the National Mineral Resource Assessment (http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2010/5070/e/)
    • Deposit model includes sections on mineralogy, petrology, stratigraphy, and geophysical (seismic data, magnetic anomalies, electrical conductivity) characteristics
  • Produce text, graphics, tables, and geographic information systems (GIS) on time and within budget to following:
    • Comprehensive reports addressing U.S. mineral commodities at risk, such as platinum group metals and mineral sources of gallium, germanium, and beryllium, including recent first-author publication on gallium resources for bauxite deposits (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2013/1272/)
    • Scientific investigative reports on the domestic rare earth element (REE) deposits in the United States (http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/sir20105220)
    • Copper porphyry and platinum group element deposits for the Global Mineral Resource Assessment Project
    • Collaborative projects on the concentrations of heavy metals in mine waste with the Environmental Protection Agency, such as the Callahan Mine Superfund Site in Maine
  • Sample characterization using electron microprobe (EMPA), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and x-ray diffraction (XRD)
  • Technical writer, peer reviewer and editor for scientific papers, abstracts, and posters prior to publication
  • Supervise and train interns and visiting scientists

 

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, College Park, MD

Graduate Research Assistant, 1/04 – 1/07

  • Analyzed the rhenium-osmium (Re-Os) chemistry of bulk ultramafic/mafic rocks and chromite separates from the Taitao Ophiolite in Southern Chile with the intent of better understanding the dynamics and processes of the convecting upper mantle, including potential economic geology applications of disseminate chromite
  • Responsible for preparation of bulk rock powders, distillation of acids, mixing relevant acidic solutions for subsequent chemical digestion in Pyrex carius tubes, and final isolation of Re-Os via chemical separation processes (i.e., chromatography)
  • Used the VG-Sector 54 and NBS Bobcat Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometers (TIMS) as well as the NuPlasma ICPMS for Re-Os analyses, and the electron microprobe for major and trace element compositions of olivine and chromite
  • Mineral separation of olivine and chromite obtained by crushing rocks, separating out magnetite using the Frantz magnetic separator, and then hand-picking suitable grains for analyses
  • Compliance with Clean 100 Lab protocol
  • Research presented at American Geological Union Convention in December 2004

 

COMPUTER SKILLS

 

Microsoft Office Suite with proficiency in Word, Excel (with IsoPlot macro), Power Point and Visio

Adobe Software: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign (CS5, CS6)

Plotting software: Sigma Plot 2001; IgPet 2005 and 2007

Data reduction and quantification software: GLITTER, an online interactive data reduction package for the LA-ICPMS; X’Pert HighScore Plus, a quantification program used with the X’Pert PANalytical XRD machine; and Edax Genesis, software for identifying minerals on the JEOL JSM 840 SEM

Microscope photography software: NIS-Elements

 

PUBLICATIONS (Select)

 

Schulte, R.F., and Foley, N.K., 2014, Compilation of gallium resource data for bauxite deposits: U.S.

Geological Survey Open-File Report 2013–1272, 14 p., 3 separate tables,

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20131272.

 

Schulte, R.F., Taylor, R.D., Piatak, N.M., and Seal, R.R., II, 2012, Stratiform chromite deposit

model, chap. E of Mineral deposit models for resource assessment: U.S. Geological Survey

Scientific Investigative Report 2010-5070-E, 131 p.

 

Schulte, R.F., Schilling, M., Horan, M.F., Anma, R., Komiya, T., Farquhar, J., Piccoli, P.M.,  

Pitcher, L., and Walker, R.J. (2009) Chemical and chronologic complexity in the convecting

upper mantle: evidence from the Taitao Ophiolite, southern Chile.  Geochimica et

Cosmochimia Acta 73, 5793-5819.