The UNB Geology project is a collaboration between the University of New Brunswick's Department of Earth Sciences and UNB Libraries. The goal of the project is to provide digital access to UNB's Earth Science Collections and to improve accuracy, traceability, searchability, and long-term preservation of the collections, as well as enhance global visibility of UNB's geological heritage.
The Earth Science Collections
The University of New Brunswick's history of curating geological heritage goes back as far as 1837 when James Robb, Professor for Chemistry and Natural Sciences (1837-1861), first created a space to house geological, mineral, and biological specimens at the University of New Brunswick. Lort Bailey continued and expanded the new museum, advocated to maintain its collections and to integrate them into research and teaching. Geology and Mineralogy emerges as a field of study in the 1930s, paving the way for the establishment of the Department of Geology and Mineralogy in 1941. Arnold McAllister, in his role as Professor and Department Head (1962-1971), started cataloguing geological specimens in the 1950s. During his time the curriculum grew to include to include Mineralogy, Palaeontology, Stratigraphy/Sedimentology, Petrology, Geochemistry, Tectonophysics. UNB launched its first Geological Engineering program in the 1980s.
In 2011 the Earth Science Centre officially opened, made possible by a $1,000,000 donation from Dr. Robert Quartermain. The Centre is located in the Forestry and Geology building on the University of New Brunswick's Fredericton campus. It is home to the Quartermain Museum and the Earth Science Collections. In 2014 Dr. Ann Timmermans became the museum's first curator.
Notable Contributors
Many individuals have contributed to grow the collections to include thousands of specimens, most notably:- Dr. David Lentz
- Dr. Ronald Pickerill
- Dr. Joseph White
- Dr. Adrian Park
- Dr. Wouter van de Poll
- Dr. James Noble
Curatorial Staff
Dr. Ann C. Timmermans is a geologist, Associate Teaching Professor, and curator of the Quartermain Museum. Originally from Ontario, she holds a BSc from the University of Waterloo as well as an MSc and PhD from Carleton University. As a geologist she gained extensive field experience in geophysical exploration across North America and Africa. Since joining UNB in 2014, she has focused on geoscience education, museum curation, and outreach guided by the UN Sustainability Goals. Committed to preserving geological heritage, she works with curators and scientists worldwide to advance responsible stewardship of natural history collections.
Technical Administration & Development
- Patrick Schilf, Web developer
- Jeremy McDermott, Web developer
- Jonny Wood, Graphic Designer