Alternative Rock

The head of JMU's Mineral Museum and a contributor to the first-ever International Encyclopedia of Mineralogy, Lance Kearns is always ready to talk minerals. "That's a work of love - anything to do with minerals."
In a plain wooden box, kept among a shelf of boxes and bottles and shelves, sits the beginning of Kearns' career. The five rocks in the box became Kearns' first mineral specimens when he was only 5. He keeps them in his Miller Hall office, which is filled with books, an "I Dig Crystals" bumper sticker and a stack of files for the encyclopedia.

Kearns recently described 66 mineral specimens for the encyclopedia. The book, which is scheduled to go to print at the end of 2002, includes descriptions of 3,844 known mineral species (as of January 2001).

"It will have some of the most up-to-date data on minerals in the world," he says.

Kearns is among about 50 mineralogists in 18 countries involved in the project being edited by Joe Mandarino in Toronto, Canada. Mandarino and Kearns met at a mineralogical symposium, and in 1999 he asked Kearns to describe 55 minerals for the book. Kearns chose 55 carbonates, but would later be asked to write about an additional 11 species.

Kearns spent months gathering data on his species, some of which are "incredibly rare." Some minerals may have less than 20 specimens in the world.

"I'm familiar with the group [carbonates], but when I first started there were many I had never heard of," he says.

Using articles from around the world, Kearns gathered data and began writing. He has submitted all of his articles and is now receiving responses from the editor. Each entry describes characteristics such as the mineral's crystallography, appearance, physical properties, optical properties, occurrence and relationships to other species.

"We weren't allowed to just go by the literature," Kearns says. "We had to calculate data using the same [computer] program."

Kearns says it has been an interesting supplement to his work at JMU, where he curates the ever-growing Mineral Museum. The museum houses 500 beautiful and rare specimens in five displays: the Systematic Collection; Minerals of Virginia and the Sphere Display; minerals from Amelia, Va., and Elmwood, Tenn., Collections; and the Richard S. Mitchell Memorial Collection. There is also a Fluorescent Display available upon request.

Twelve cases house minerals from around the world - some are rare, others are from "classic locations," others are simply beautiful. Purple charoite from Siberia is housed among minerals from Peru, Morocco, China, Mexico, Spain, Germany and other international locations.
"It's a great representation for students to study," Kearns says.

Begun in 1976 under the curation of Kearns, the museum received its initial support from the University of Delaware Mineral Museum and the Bryn Mawr College Mineral Museum. In 1989, Richard S. Mitchell from the University of Virginia bequeathed a substantial gift to the museum. The donations of money and minerals from JMU friends and alumni continue to come in, Kearns says.

Today, hundreds of school- children visit JMU and are given guided tours by the Geology Club.

"This gives the students some teaching experience," Kearns says. "A lot of our students may be earth science teachers one day."

Kearns also adds to the collection by continuing to do field research. With the help of a scanning electron microscope, which was obtained through a National Science Foundation grant, he and other researchers can gather specimens and bring them back to JMU for analysis. On a bulletin board near his office, Kearns points out new mineral specimens discovered in Augusta County using the microscope. The specimens, too tiny for the human eye to identify, come to life in brilliant colors and shapes through the microscope's eye.

Though he has been at JMU for 26 years and a mineralogist since age 5, Kearns says he never tires of his life's passion.

"It's like a treasure hunt," he says. "It's always fun."

Story by Donna Dunn ('94)