Biographical Text
Professor Emeritus of Geology John Edward Callahan (February 26, 1941-) was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Elizabeth Catherine Grimmer and Edward John Callahan. He has two siblings, Edward John Callahan and Elizabeth Callahan Anderson. Callahan received both a B.A. degree in geology (1963) and an M.Ed, degree in science education (1965) from the State University of New York at Buffalo. In 1968, he received a M.S. degree in geology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and in 1973 he received a Ph.D. degree in geology from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. While in graduate school at Chapel Hill and at Queen's University, Callahan was a geology teaching assistant. He began teaching in the Department of Geology at Appalachian State University in 1970. During summers, Dr. Callahan worked for various mining companies in the United States and Canada and for the United States Geological Survey in the Challis area of Idaho. He also conducted over sixty teacher workshops on various aspects of the earth sciences and received many grants to support these workshops. One of his passions was obtaining summer jobs with mining and environmental companies for his geology majors. Another was to provide teachers with teaching supplies for their elementary and high school students. Dr. Callahan received recognition for his work with teachers from the North Carolina Science Teachers Association when he received their 1997 award for distinguished service in science education in North Carolina. Callahan was involved in many environmental projects in Boone. He, along with other university faculty, was responsible for the following environmental projects: acquisition of the Howard's Knob park; the start of aluminum and newspaper recycling in Boone; and bikeways in Boone, as well as the old university gardens, located off of State Farm Road, and modeled after World War II Victory Gardens. His research on mercury pollution in old gold mining areas led to a ban on gold dredging in the national forests of the southeastern United States. Dr. Callahan continues to work with young children and teachers, and he particularly loves going out into the local school systems to talk about minerals and rocks and about his work on the Blackbeard shipwreck project, the Queen Anne's Revenge off Beaufort, North Carolina. He is actively involved with his colleagues Dr. William Miller at the University of North Carolina (Asheville) and Dr. James Craig of Emerald Isle, North Carolina, in trying to locate the source of the ballast stones found at the wreck site. During his career he has published almost twenty papers covering various aspects of mineral deposits and exploration for mineral deposits in the United States and Canada. He is the co-editor of a special volume of Southeastern Geology on the Blackbeard shipwreck that was published in February of 2001. It can also be found on the Queen Anne's Web Site. Dr. Callahan, who retired from Appalachian State University in 2002, continues to work in his garden and greenhouse. His special loves are hiking, biking, and corresponding with former majors. He continues to take Spanish classes and spends some winters in Mexico practicing the language. On many rainy days and snowy nights, he reads a wide variety of books and recommends that everyone consider reading Barbara Kingsolver's series of essays in a small publication entitled Small Wonder. Sources: Appalachian State University files, personal correspondence, and long association. -Dr. Kay R. Dickson
Comments