Richard Tollo is mineralogist/petrologist with nearly 20 years of research experience working on geologic problems in the Appalachian orogen. He has taught courses and advised students at GWU since 1983. His primary research interests include the petrogenesis of granitic magmatic systems and the relation of igneous and metamorphic petrogenetic processes to tectonics. He also is involved in multidisciplinary courses and research concerned with understanding the ecological relationships between geological and botanical processes in natural environments.

EDUCATION
Ph.D., Geology, 1983 University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Ph.D. dissertation: Petrography and mineral chemistry of ultramafic and related inclusions from the Orapa A/K-1 kimberlite pipe, Botswana.
M.S., Geology, 1976 University of New Hampshire, Durham
B.A., Geology, 1972 Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
1983 - present: Assistant and Associate Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, D.C. 20052, Teach a full spectrum of courses to both undergraduate and graduate students and engage in geologic research.

1994 - 1997: Associate Dean of Undergraduate Affairs, Columbian School of Arts and Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, D.C. 20052. Supervised and implemented administration of undergraduate curriculum matters, student services and policies.

1994 - 1996: Educational Consultant, Douglas Gallagher Design, Inc., Washington, D.C. 20052. Responsible for development and testing of educational poster and curricula materials for earth science education project sponsored by U.S. Geological Survey for middle school students.

1994 - 1996: Educational Consultant, Project Alliance, George Mason University, Fairfax Virginia, 22030. Developed and taught two-week curriculum in environmental earth science for middle-school teachers from the middle Atlantic states.

1993: Geologic Consultant, Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy,
Created and taught multi-day classroom and field course entitled "Granite Petrology" for professional geologists and staff.

1992 - 1993: Scientific Consultant, Time-Life, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia and Hong Kong,
Served as consultant on scientific content for earth science books intended for children.

1987 - 1988: Geochemical Consultant, U.S. Geological Survey,
Employed in USGS project concerning the geologic evolution of the early Mesozoic basins of eastern North America; responsibilities included generation and interpretation of bulk rock major and trace element geochemical data.

RESEARCH INTERESTS
My primary research interests include the petrogenesis of granitic rock systems and application of granite petrogenesis to tectonic modelling of ancient orogenic belts. My studies always involve students (both undergraduate and graduate) and make use of an integrated program of field mapping, petrography, geochemistry, and isotopic investigations. The recently completed project on the Robertson River batholith in the Blue Ridge province of Virginia is a good example of the type of work I enjoy.
Recent research interests have focussed on the petrogenesis of A-type granitic rocks of Late Neoproterozoic age in the Blue Ridge province of Virginia. My students and I recently completed the most detailed field and petrologic study of such rocks published to date in the Appalachian orogen (see papers regarding the Robertson River batholith). Similar studies are underway on more than twenty comparable plutons dispersed throughout the Blue Ridge province of Virginia and North Carolina. These rocks preserve important evidence of crustal processes associated with an early pulse of encratonic extension that ultimately resulted in rifting of Rodinia. These plutons collectively constitute one of the most significant concentrations of A-type granites in the world and figure prominently in reconstructions of Late Neoproterozoioc paleogeography.
Since 1995, I have been involved in an exciting research project involving Mesoproterozoic igneous and metamorphic rocks in the vicinity of Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia. This work involves integrated field, petrologic, and geochemical studies of variably deformed charnockites and granitoids constituting the local Blue Ridge basement and is an attempt to elucidate heretofore unknown, detailed petrologic and temporal relations of igneous and metamorphic processes associated with the Grenville orogeny in the central Appalachians. Detailed field mapping, petrologic, and geochemical analyses, considered in the context of new U-Pb isotopic data from zircons, have begun to construct a firm foundation for establishing a detailed chronology of petrogenesis and tectonics associated with Grenville-age orogenesis. These studies mark the beginning of a long-term project designed to investigate regional effects of Grenville-age tectonics throughout the Blue Ridge province of northern and central Virginia.
In recent years, I have become involved in a collaborative project with Dr. Elizabeth Wells of the GWU Department of Biological Sciences in course development and field research concerned with understanding relationships between geological and botanical processes in natural environments within the central Appalachian mountains. Our new field-based course in Geobotanical Ecology is a product of this work that we hope will both introduce and inspire students to this new line of scientific investigation. We are presently engaged in research projects concerned with investigating the following field-based topics:
(1) The nature of remnant herbaceous plant communities developed at high altitudes in the central Appalachians: This project involves herbaceous plants that were formerly widespread during cooler Pleistocene climates and that remain today only at high elevations. We are using detailed mapping of plant distribution and documentation of geologic and environmental characteristics affecting plant growth to establish an environmental baseline for evaluating the significance of observed changes.
(2) The sequence of plant succession developed in areas affected by recent, catastrophic slope failures associated with landslides in the Virginia Blue Ridge: This project involves detailed documentation of the sequence of plant colonization in areas affected by debris slides in 1995. The project is particularly concerned with investigating the affect of alien plant species in reforestation of the denuded environments resulting from the landslides.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Tollo, R.P., Pogue, E., and Hackley, P.C., in press, Geologic Map of the Thornton Gap 7.5-minute Quadrangle, Rappahannock, Page, and Madison Counties Counties, Virginia: Virginia Division of Minerals Resources, scale 1:24,000.

Hackley, P.C., and Tollo, R.P., in press, Geologic Map of the Old Rag Mountain 7.5-minute Quadrangle, Rappahannock, Page, and Madison Counties, Virginia: Virginia Division of Mineral Resources; scale 1:24,000.

Bailey, C.M., and Tollo, R.P., 1998, Late Neoproterozoic extension-related magma emplacement in the central Appalachians: an example from the Polly Wright Cove pluton: Journal of Geology; v. 106, p. 347-359.

Tollo, R.P., and Aleinikoff, J.N., 1996, Petrology and U-Pb geochronology of the Robertson River Igneous Suite, Blue Ridge province, Virginia: evidence for multistage magmatism associated with an early episode of Laurentian rifting: American Journal of Science, v. 296, p. 1045-1090.

Tollo, R.P., and Hutson, F.E., 1996, 700 Ma age for the Mechum River Formation, Blue Ridge province, Virginia: a unique time constraint on pre-Iapetan rifting of Laurentia: Geology, v. 24, p. 59-62.

Tollo, R.P., 1994, Definition and nomenclature of the Robertson River Igneous Suite, Blue Ridge Province, Virginia, in Stratigraphic Notes, 1992, U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2060.

Beard, J.S., Lofgren, G.E., Sinha, A.K., and Tollo, R.P., 1994, Partial melting of apatite-bearing charnockite, granulite, and diorite: melt compositions, restite mineralogy, and petrologic implications: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 99, p. 21591-21603.

Tollo, R.P., 1994, Robertson River Suite: A Story of Rifting, Granites, and Volcanism from 700 Million Years Ago: Virginia Explorer, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Spring 1994, p. 10-15.

RECENT ABSTRACTS
Tollo, R.P., Hackley, P.C., and Aleinikoff, J.N., 2000, Petrologic evolution of Grenville-age basement, central Blue Ridge, Virginia: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 32, no. 1, p. 79.

Hackley, P.C., and Tollo, R.P., 2000, Petrology of a Mesoproterozoic granite suite in the Virginia Blue Ridge: evidence for cyclic magmatism during assembly of Rodinia: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 32, no. 1, p. 22.

Hackley, P.C., and Tollo, R.P., 1999, Field relations, petrology, and geochemistry of the Old Rag magmatic suite, Blue Ridge province, Virginia: perspectives on crustal melting and magma evolution during latter stages of the Grenville orogeny, central Appalachians, USA in B. Barbarin (ed.), The Origin of Granite and Related Rocks: Fourth Hutton Symposium Abstracts, p. 150.

Tollo, R.P., and Hutson, F.E., 1998, Petrology and geochemistry of a late Proterozoic anorogenic supersuite, Laurentian Appalachians, Virginia and North Carolina: implications for magma-generation associated with cratonic extension, in J.P. Hogan and M.C. Gilbert (eds.), Basement Tectonics 12, Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Publishers, p. 299-300.

Hutson, F.E., and Tollo, R.P., 1998, Integrated petrologic and sedimentologic studies of a late Neoproterozoic rift basin within the Grenvillian basement of Virginia, in J.P. Hogan and M.C. Gilbert (eds.), Basement Tectonics 12, Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Publishers, p. 257-258.

Abbey, W.J., Tollo, R.P., and Aleinikoff, J.N., 1998, Petrology and tectonic significance of the Polly Wright Cove pluton, Blue Ridge province, Virginia: an extension-related, multiply-intrusive magmatic system of anorogenic origin, in J.P. Hogan and M.C. Gilbert (eds.), Basement Tectonics 12, Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Publishers, p. 209.

COURSES
Physical Geology
Honors Geology (part of the University Honors Program)
Mineralogy
Optical Mineralogy
Advanced Mineralogy
Regional Geology
Geobotanical Ecology of the Central Appalachians (with Professor E.F. Wells)

ACADEMIC HONORS
2000 Received (with co-author Elizabeth Wells from Biological Sciences) a PRIDE (Pedagogical Research and Innovative Developments in Education) from the University Teaching Center for the project entitled "Design of field-based curriculum for new course entitled "Geobotanical Ecology of the Central Appalachians"
1999 Nominated for the Oscar and Anna Trachtenberg Award from the Office of the President of George Washington University for excellence in teaching.
Nominated for the Columbian School of Arts and Sciences Award for Excellence in Academic Advising for work with freshman.
1997 Received the Oscar and Anna Trachtenberg Award from the Office of the President of George Washington University for excellence in teaching.
1997 Recognized by the George Washington University Student Association and Disability Support Services for contributions to the education of students with disabilities.

Last modified 10/13/00