{"id":4613,"date":"2011-12-15T14:59:55","date_gmt":"2011-12-15T20:59:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/?p=4613"},"modified":"2011-12-15T14:59:55","modified_gmt":"2011-12-15T20:59:55","slug":"peak-profile-ken-sims-86","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/2011\/12\/peak-profile-ken-sims-86\/","title":{"rendered":"Peak Profile: Ken Sims \u201986"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ken<\/a>

Preparing to descend into the smoking crater of the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua is Ken Sims \u201986. This trip in 2006 to gather critical rock and gas samples was just one of many missions Sims has taken worldwide in his quest to help better understand volcanic processes. Photo courtesy of John Catto, Alpenglow Pictures, Inc; www.alpen-glow.com<\/p><\/div>\n

He\u2019s been called the man who collects molten lava, was recently featured in National Geographic magazine, and is widely respected as one of the world\u2019s top isotope geochemists.<\/p>\n

Ken Sims \u201986<\/strong> is associate professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, recruited back to the West from a tenured position as a scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts. He has studied geologic features up close, deep on the ocean floor, and inside smoldering volcanoes from Antarctica and South America to Africa and Asia.<\/p>\n

His claim to fame, now documented in numerous national and international articles and videos, is rappelling into smoking volcanic craters to get the exact gas and rock samples he wants from perilous positions. But Sims insists his work is about much more than volcanoes and adventure. In general, he gathers and analyzes radiogenic isotopes as\u00a0part of his studies to better understand some of the earth\u2019s fundamental processes.<\/p>\n

\"Ken<\/a>

Ken Sims \u201986 and John Catto \u201982 stand near the mouth of Africa\u2019s most active volcano, Mt. Nyiragongo, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in July 2010. A preeminent geochemist, Sims gathered samples from within the volcano as part of work to help determine when it may erupt again. Catto, a professional filmmaker and photographer, was filming Sims\u2019 work for a National Geographic Channel program: Man vs. Volcano. Climbing buddies while they were at CC, Catto and Sims have worked together for many years on such dangerous expeditions. Photo courtesy of John Catto, Alpenglow Pictures, Inc; www.alpen-glow.com<\/p><\/div>\n

According to documents related to his tenure promotion at WHOI, Sims is a \u201cworld-class researcher\u201d recognized \u201cas working on, and making significant contributions to, some of the most important and challenging problems in earth science.\u201d He\u2019s known for work in understanding the genesis and evolution of volcanoes, ocean ridge formation, and the dating of oceanic crusts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt all comes together for me in the natural world, both the physical and intellectual challenges,\u201d says Sims. He admits having a \u201cfascination with totally powerful things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s phenomenal,\u201d says Sims reflecting on last year\u2019s visit to the largest lava lake in the world. But more than the chance to see such wonders himself, Sims says it is the purpose behind these trips that keeps him going.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can make a difference in Goma trying to prevent a crisis for people in a war-torn region,\u201d he says of work to help determine when the volcano Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo may next erupt and endanger nearly one million people. He believes he and his colleagues are getting much better at short-term predictions of when a volcano might \u201cgo,\u201d and that such predictions can have enormous impact.<\/p>\n

Recognizing how his career has developed, Sims quickly gives credit to Colorado College. From the climbing community and the much-needed financial aid, to the geology department from which he graduated with honors, Sims says, \u201cI really owe CC everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to describe the influence the professors there had over me. I received a brilliant education, and was so well-prepared,\u201d he says. After CC, Sims earned a master\u2019s at the University of New Mexico and a Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley.<\/p>\n

A Colorado Springs native, Sims still has relatives in the area and stays in touch at CC, serving on the Ritt Kellogg Memorial Fund Advisory Committee. He has also taught some geology classes at CC.<\/p>\n

In Wyoming now, when he\u2019s not researching a problem or teaching, he enjoys getting out in the mountains and spending time with his wife and two young children.<\/p>\n

For more information: http:\/\/geology.uwyo.edu\/kenwwsims<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He\u2019s been called the man who collects molten lava, was recently featured in National Geographic magazine, and is widely respected as one of the world\u2019s top isotope geochemists. Ken Sims \u201986 is associate professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, recruited back to the West from a tenured position as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-4613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-december-2011","tag-alumni-profiles"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4613\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}