Adventure in Iceland

Allen Glazner is a geologist, educator and author with expertise in volcanoes, tectonics, geochemistry, and mountain building. He believes strongly that understanding how geology shapes the planet greatly enhances one’s enjoyment of the landscape and everything that lives on it. A native Southern Californian, Allen earned geology degrees from Pomona College and UCLA before embarking on a 38-year career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is Distinguished Professor Emeritus.

Field studies have taken Allen to geologic sites all over the world, including Iceland, Alaska, Japan, the Caribbean, South Africa, Mexico, the Canadian Rockies, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Sicily, Scotland, Switzerland, Patagonia, and the high Andes. An award-winning teacher, he has led dozens of field trips for groups ranging from the general public to academic specialists, and has trained astronauts and national park personnel in the field and classroom. In addition to over 150 academic papers and the 2025 textbook Petrology and Plate Tectonics, he has coauthored several books for the public including Geology Underfoot books on Death Valley, Yosemite National Park, and Southern California. 

Allen was a runner and now is an avid cyclist and hiker. He enjoys photography, especially landscape, aerial, and 3D-reconstructive. Reading, especially fiction, is one of his sedentary pursuits. See landscape photos and more at allenglazner.com.

Carola Stearns is a field geologist and geophysicist with more than 40 years of experience enthusiastically sharing her fascination with the Earth and how it works. She earned a PhD at the University of Michigan, has worked in exploration for major oil companies, taught at universities, and maintains a research affiliation with the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan. Carola has worked with archaeologists on both prehistoric and classical sites around the Mediterranean and in the southwestern U.S. Her diverse research interests include tectonics as well as climatic geomorphology, especially as it relates to human history. She has lectured as a park ranger at the Grand Canyon, on trips for the UM Alumni Association, and in Ann Arbor training docents for the botanical gardens, arboretum and the public school’s environmental education program. Currently she works part-time as an interpretive guide in Santa Fe. 

Peter Bobrowsky is an archaeologist and engineering geologist with a 40-year career working as a scholar, teacher, researcher, and consultant across the globe. His academic achievements include almost 500 publications, including 20 technical books such as the Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards; Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology; and The Landslide Handbook, which was  translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, and Japanese. He is an international fellow of the Explorers Club of New York and a fellow of the Geological Society of America, and has received numerous awards—most notably the Edward B. Burwell Jr. Award for Engineering Geology, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and the James Harrison Outstanding Achievement Award.

Among his many prominent international positions, Peter served as secretary general of the International Union of Geological Sciences, an NGO representing some 1 million earth scientists around the world; president of the Canadian Quaternary Association; president of the Geological Association of Canada; and president of the International Consortium on Landslides.

His multi-disciplinary background and extensive travel to more than 120 countries have made Peter a popular lecturer for the Smithsonian since 2004. A born extrovert with an easy-going manner, he strives to understand and explain the crucial links between a diverse and dynamic Earth and the evolution of changing societies through history.

He divides his time between travel adventures and home life on Vancouver Island.

Dr. Michelle Thaller is an astrophysicist with over two decades of science communication experience. Her research involves the lifecycles of stars, and she has worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Goddard Space Flight Center. She has appeared in many television science programs, including How the Universe Works and Space’s Deepest Secrets. Michelle has done two TEDx talks about astronomy and has hosted the podcast Orbital Path on public radio.

Dr. Steven H. Williams is a planetary geologist and an expert in solar system science. He has conducted fieldwork in numerous locations from the American Southwest to Antarctica, and has considerable experience in Mars analog laboratory work. During his 15 years at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM), Steven held a number of posts, including Chair of the Education department. He created, managed, and delivered a wide variety of programs, hosted live Planetarium shows, helped create several award-winning educational videos, and contributed significantly to the design and content of museum’s new Exploring the Planets gallery. Steven is particularly skilled in designing and delivering educational programs that make complex scientific topics understandable to any audience. 

While at NASM, Steven was recruited by NASA to serve a two-year detail assignment at NASA Headquarters, where he created and delivered a number of outreach programs and products for launches, landings, science conferences, and other events.  He created the database for NASA’s SPACE365 app, which links space exploration milestones with their historical setting, as well as the definitive Mars exploration “batting average” spreadsheet, which showcases just how difficult Mars exploration has been. 

Shanaka (Shan) de Silva is a geologist whose 35-year career brings together research, teaching, and public outreach in volcanic and planetary analog studies. Born in Sri Lanka and educated in the United Kingdom, he is now a professor emeritus of geology and geophysics at Oregon State University. He is honored to be a fellow of the Geological Society of America and a Humboldt Foundation Research Fellow.

Shan is best known for decades of field-based research in the high Andes of Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina unraveling the volcanic and tectonic history of this geological wonderland. He has also conducted expeditions in Japan, Indonesia, China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and across Europe. He uses this experience to convey how landscapes can be connected to the forces that shape our planet and inform processes on other planets like Mars, the Moon, and Venus.

Now mostly a spectator, Shan retains a deep love of sport—especially cricket, football (the original), and tennis. He is an enthusiastic cook who enjoys exploring cuisines inspired by his travels, capturing landscapes through photography, and exploring the night sky. Rarely without a soundtrack, Shan is an avid fan of classic rock.

Maya Wei-Haas is an award-winning science reporter who writes about all things science with a particular affection for rocks and reactions. She works as a freelancer for a range of outlets, but before setting off on her own she was a staff writer for National Geographic for nearly five years and an assistant editor at Smithsonian digital news for nearly three years. 

Maya holds a BA in geology from Smith College and a PhD in Earth science from The Ohio State University. She has traveled the world in the name of science, scooping ice melt from the top of Antarctic glaciers, hauling up sediments from Svalbard lakes, and monitoring water chemistry in Alaskan rivers. This journey helped her realize that the part of science she loves most is communication. She made the jump to journalism as a fellow for the AAAS Mass Media program. Now she's working to bring these types of adventures and the science that surrounds us to the general public.

Her work was awarded American Geophysical Union’s David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism (2020) and the American Society of Civil Engineers Excellence in Journalism Award (2021). In addition to science news and features, she authored the solar system section of the National Geographic Stargazer’s Atlas. She also published her first children’s book, What a Rock Can Reveal, which guides young readers through the exciting stories hidden in stone. She is currently writing a book for National Geographic about gems, minerals, and rocks around the world.