UW’s Frost Named Principal Editor of Elements Magazine

Chalk up another honor for longtime University of Wyoming Department of Geology and Geophysics faculty member Carol Frost.

Frost, now a professor emerita, has been named the new principal editor of Elements magazine, a bimonthly journal sponsored by 18 mineralogy, petrology and geochemistry professional societies.

Frost was guest editor of the June 2024 issue of Elements, which featured a cover photo of Wyoming's southern Wind River Mountains and the theme of "Cratons to Continents."

"This is another huge honor for Dr. Frost and our department," says Professor Mark Clementz, head of the Department of Geology and Geophysics.

Elements, which presents well-illustrated articles aimed at the general geoscientist, is commonly used as text for upper undergraduate or graduate seminars.

Frost recently was selected to co-chair a consensus study -- led by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine -- titled "Optimizing the U.S. Geological Survey's Mineral Resources Program Science Portfolio." She also has served as president of the Mineralogical Society of America and as science editor of the journal Geosphere. Frost is currently a nonexecutive director of the British Geological Survey.

Frost earned her A.B. (1979) from Dartmouth College and her Ph.D. (1984) from the University of Cambridge, both in earth sciences. She joined the UW Department of Geology and Geophysics in 1983 and served in various administrative roles, including as associate provost, associate vice president for research and vice president for special projects. From 2014-18, she served as director of the National Science Foundation's Division of Earth Sciences.

Frost's research focuses on the origin and evolution of the continental crust; the classification and petrogenesis of granites and related rocks; and the application of environmental isotopes to problems related to energy and the environment.