Joseph Rule is Emeritus Professor of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Old Dominion University. He served as associate dean of the College of Sciences from 1995 until 2008 except when twice serving as Interim Dean. He was chair of the Department of Geological sciences just prior to joining the Dean’s Office. Dr. Rule joined Old Dominion in 1976 as an assistant professor of geophysical sciences. In 1991, he was named a Fulbright scholar, lecturing in environmental sciences at Marie Curie Sklodowska University in Lublin, Poland. In 1993, he compiled his Fulbright lecture notes into a book, “Topics in Environmental Sciences,” which was published in a bilingual version in Poland. Dr. Rule teaches upper division and graduate level courses in soils and environmental geochemistry as well as directs graduate student thesis research in addition to his associate dean responsibilities.

He has been especially prolific in activities related to the graduate programs at the college and university level where he helped shape a policy for International graduate students seeking to be teaching assistants (GTAs) and who marginally fail the SPEAK Test. Dr. Rule actively pushed the revision of the university’s Tuition Exemption Policy and acceptance of that policy by ODURF to allow payment of tuition from research grants. His accomplishments and contributions to the college include oversight of the college’s web pages, the publication of the college’s graduate program director’s handbook, leading the annual orientation for incoming College of Science graduate students and annual Thesis & Dissertation and New Faculty Workshops.

Dr. Rule earned his B.S. and M.S. from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He held a Post-Doctoral position with the Environmental Trace Substances Research Center at the University of Missouri and served as a visiting Assistant Professor in Geological Sciences at the University of Tennessee prior to coming to Old Dominion University. He held the position of adjunct Professor of Horticulture at the Virginia Tech Agricultural Experimental Station in Virginia Beach from 2000-2005.

Web Sites of Interest:

WebElements Periodic Table Of The Elements:
http://www.webelements.com/webelements/scholar/index.html
Geoscience Jobs:
http://www.earthscienceworld.org/careers/
USA Federal Job Site:
http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/
EPA Job Site:
http://www.epa.gov/epahrist/opm.htm
Oceanography Jobs:
http://www.phys.ocean.dal.ca/hotlists/jobs.html
Urban Geochemistry:
Acid Fill Sand and Storm Drain Corrosion