James S. Reichard


Jim Reichard in British Columbia, Canada

James (Jim) Reichard was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1958. He received a B.S. in Geology (1981) and a M.S. in Geology (1984) from the University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio and a Ph.D. in Hydrogeology (1995) from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. Before returning to graduate school for the Ph.D., he worked in industry as a Photogeologist (1984-87) with IntraSearch Inc. in Denver, Colorado and as an environmental consultant (1987-90) with Esstek Inc. in Cleveland, Ohio. He began teaching at Georgia Southern University in 1996.


Teaching

Reichard came to Georgia Southern in 1996 largely because the faculty position emphasized teaching and also offered the opportunity to develop a research program. His primary teaching responsibilities at GSU includes the Environmental Geology, Hydrogeology, and Advanced Hydrogeology courses. In the classroom he tries to create a learning environment that is interesting and easy to follow. He also emphasizes that science is not just a bunch a facts, but rather a way of thinking that allows us to understand the complex world around us. As such, an important part of his teaching style is to have students understand concepts and processes as opposed to memorizing trivia and jargon.


Research

Reichard maintains a dual research program, with tracks in pedagogy and hydrology. In pedagogy, his main interest is developing means of teaching abstract concepts and processes in a manner that students can easily understand. An outcome of this has been the development of a computer-based lecture style that relies heavily on visual examples. Reichard has shared this, and other methods, by means of journal publications and presentations at professional meetings. He also co-authored, with Kelly Vance, the Environmental Geology Laboratory Manual, used by approximately 800 GSU students a year. This custom manual was designed to expose students to important environmental issues through the use of hands-on exercises. The manual also makes use of a network of campus monitoring wells to educate students about groundwater resources, a topic of increasing importance in coastal Georgia.

In the area of hydrology, Reichard has published his research results on the effects of pore pressure on aquifers and in the area of computing applications for aquifer tests. More recently, he has developed an applied hydrogeologic research program on the coastal plain of Georgia to investigate the relationship between groundwater and the water quality of surface streams. Early results from this new program have been presented at professional meetings; manuscripts are currently being written for journal publication. To help support this program, an ion chromatograph has recently been acquired. This instrument will greatly enhance his ability to use geochemical data to examine the interaction between ground and surface water in coastal Georgia.


Service

In addition to committee assignments within the university, Reichard serves as coordinator for the Department's electronic teaching equipment and network of campus monitoring wells. He is also the coordinator for the environmental lab course and editor of the Department's Environmental Geology Lab Manual. Outside of the university Reichard provides service to the region by giving lectures on groundwater resources in coastal Georgia and by participating with various groups on water-related policy and science considerations.


Recent Publications

Reichard, J.S., 2002, A Computer Program for use with Pace and Compass Exercises: Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 50, n. 5, p. 544-548.

Reichard, J.S; 1999. Switching from a Traditional to a Computer-Based Format for Introductory Geoscience Lectures, Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 47, n 4, pp.325-330.

Reichard, J.S., and Leap, D.I.; 1998. The Effects of Pore Pressure on the Conductivity of Fractured Aquifers, Ground Water, v. 36, n. 3, pp. 450-456.

Pittenger, R., and Reichard, J.S.; 1997. Computer Determination of Aquifer Parameters using Slope-Matching, Ground Water, v. 35, n.3, pp. 546-550.

Reichard, J.S.; 1996. Teaching Stereo Viewing in the Classroom, Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 44, n 2, pp.129-133.


Conference Presentations

Reichard, J.S. 2003, Investigating the Relationship of Critical Sturgeon Habitat to Groundwater Springs in the Coastal Plain of Southeast Georgia. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, National Meeting.

Reichard, J.S. and Brown, C., 2002, Use of Water-Quality Data to Evaluate Stream-Aquifer Interactions in the Canoochee River. Georgia Ground Water Conference, Jekyll Island, Georgia.

Reichard, J.S. and Brown, C., 2001, Relative Importance of Surface and Subsurface Nitrogen Inputs to the Water Quality of a River in Coastal Georgia. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, National Meeting, v. 33, n. 6, p 134.

Reichard, J.S. and Gonzales, A.J., 2001, Vertical-Flow Rates Through Miocene Sediments in South-Central Georgia: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Southeastern Section Meeting, v. 33, n. 2, p. 18

Reichard, J.S., 1999, Setting Up a Smart Classroom for Introductory Geoscience Courses: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, National Meeting, v. 31, n. 7.

Reichard, J.S. and Leap, D.I., 1995, Coupling Groundwater Flow and Solute Transport Models to Climate Models: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, National Meeting, v. 27, n. 6.

Reichard, J.S. and Leap, D.I., 1995, A Model for Estimating Water-Level-Induced Changes in Pore Pressure and Effective Stress and their Effects on Hydraulic Conductivity: American Geophysical Union EOS Transactions, v. 76, n. 46, p. 197.


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