The real deal

They snorkeled in search of coral reef. They navigated through caves to study rock structures. And they learned about geology from the beaches of Puerto Rico. It’s all part of University of Michigan-Dearborn’s Geology 377: Field Methods course. Jacob Napieralski, associate professor of geology, traveled to Puerto Rico in August with his students to expose them to geology outside their normal environment. “They learn through textbooks, they learn in lab, but this is their one chance to go out in the field … and see geology from a geologist’s perspective,” Napieralski said. “No lab assignments, no textbooks, it’s doing the real deal.”