Jonathan H. Berg

This endowment is established by an anonymous graduate student alumna who has had a very successful career in the oil and gas industry and wishes to recognize Dr. Jonathan Berg’s influence. After receiving a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota – Duluth, a M.S. from Franklin and Marshal College, and a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Dr. Berg began his career at Northern Illinois University in January 1977. Early in his career (1983-84), he served as Acting Chair of the Department of Geology. He was promoted to Full Professor in 1988 and was a Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia in 1990. In 1991, Dr. Berg was one of the youngest to ever receive the award of Presidential Research Professor at NIU. He was appointed Chair of the Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences in 1994 and served in that capacity until his retirement in 2008. Dr. Berg’s early research focused on the mineralogy and petrology of plutonic rocks in the subarctic of northern Labrador with particular emphasis on geothermometry and geobarometry of metamorphic rocks. He is known for discovering the mineral osumilite as a stable mineral in high-temperature metamorphic rocks of Labrador, and it has since been identified in similar rocks on virtually every other continent. His interests eventually shifted to volcanic rocks and their metamorphic inclusions, especially in Antarctic volcanic rocks. He spent five research seasons in the Antarctic and was Chief Scientist for the western Ross Sea and Cape Adare research cruise of the U.S.C.G.C. Polar Star in 1990. He also served as Co-Chief Scientist for the Southern Ocean and Western Ross Sea cruise of the U.S.C.G.C. Polar Sea in 1990-91 and was able to collect volcanic samples from the nearly inaccessible Balleny Islands. Dr. Berg also conducted a comprehensive research program on ancient volcanic rocks along the shores of lake Superior in Ontario, Canada that dramatically changed our understanding of the nature and origin of the magmas from which these lavas formed. Dr. berg’s instruction included courses in introductory geology, optical mineralogy, introductory petrology, and igneous and metamorphic petrology. He enjoyed having students participate in field work and research. He led many camping field trips to the Lake Superior region and one-day trips to the Starved Rock area on the Illinois River. He also taught at the department’s Summer Field Camp in the Black Hills and Bighorn Mountains, and he took many students on his summer research trips to Labrador, Ontario, and Antarctica. This endowment is an acknowledgment of the student involvement in field work and research. The anonymous donor who funded this endowment is a former student who recognized and appreciated his emphasis on problem solving through field work and rigorous research.