Meet Geologist Dr. Stephen Pekar

Location:
Cape Town, South Africa
Latitude/Longitude:
-33.924868500000, 18.424055300000
Journal Entry:

Hi, my name is Steve Pekar and I am a geologist. I study climate changes that happened a long, long time ago—think roughly 34 to 51 million years ago! Being a scientist is the coolest job I can imagine. Every day I get to play detective, like a Sherlock Holmes or his cool sister, Enola Holmes. I look at tiny fossils through a microscope, collecting clues to search for answers about our planet’s past. I am about to embark on an expedition to examine rocks that lie far beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, and I am so excited that you are going to join me on this scientific adventure.

I was born and grew up in Far Rockaway, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. I attended Queens College, where I majored in music and learned how to compose music and play the piano. After that, I became a second-grade schoolteacher and then returned to college to study geology. It took me a long time to finally get all my degrees (Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree and Doctorate/Ph.D), and in the end I was able to get a job as a professor back at Queens College, where it all began. As a college professor, I teach students about geology and take them on field trips to look at very old rocks in and around the New York City area.

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