iSEE Sustainability Calendar

View Full Calendar

Precious Stuff: The Discovery, Extraction, and Use of Valuable Minerals, From Gems to Smartphones

Event Type
Lecture
Sponsor
Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE)
Virtual
wifi event
Date
Oct 27, 2020   12:00 - 1:00 pm  
Speaker
Prof. Emeritus Stephen Marshak
Cost
Free
Registration
Join the Zoom lecture | Password: 293296
Contact
Jenna Kurtzweil
E-Mail
kurtzwe2@illinois.edu
Views
365

This event is part of iSEE's three-part fall lecture series: "Where Stuff Comes From: Earth's Resources & Sustainability," presented by Prof. Emeritus Stephen Marshak.

Event summary: Over the course of the past few millennia, people have developed methods to extract metals and other substances from rocks and sediments. The copper in pots, for example, comes from copper ore. This lecture looks at several valuable materials and shows how our modern built environment relies on them, but that this reliance has consequences for our planet.

Series description: Society uses an immense variety of materials that come from the Earth itself. In this lecture series, we examine some of these materials: How did they come into existence in or on our planet? How are they found and extracted? How do people transform them into useable forms? What are the environmental sustainability issues associated with resource extraction and use?

Prof. Emeritus Stephen Marshak was on the faculty at the University of Illinois for 35 years. He has served as Geology Department Head and as School of Earth, Society & Environment Director. His research in structural geology and tectonics, and his interest in geologic photography, have taken him to all seven continents.

link for robots only