Inspired by ‘rock stars’

Published on November 11, 2015

As a master’s student in geological sciences at Carolina in the early 1980s, Elijah White (M.S. ’84) studied under UNC geology faculty legends John Dennison, Roy Ingram and Walter Wheeler. White, now the geoscience vice president in the ExxonMobil Production Company, says that his experiences with these esteemed faculty members represent some of his best memories of UNC and helped inspire him to give back to the geology department.

He established the Elijah White Jr. Faculty Excellence Fund in Geological Sciences to provide faculty support for research materials, equipment purchases, research leaves and participation in professional conferences. The fund enabled its first beneficiary, Assistant Professor Tamlin Pavelsky, to purchase equipment to survey the depths of large rivers in Alaska.

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