College of Science welcomes hundreds of alumni home for Homecoming

The College of Science welcomed hundreds of alumni to Tucson over Homecoming weekend, headlined by the annual College of Science Tailgate at Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium on October 19, 2024. 

Science alumni and their family and friends spent the pleasantly cool morning outside of Flandrau socializing and reminiscing with former classmates about their days at the University of Arizona. With thousands of College of Science alumni around the globe, Homecoming weekend represents an opportunity to come together and share the brilliant work and impact our alumni are making everywhere. 

The College of Science caught up with three alumni at Homecoming to hear their stories.

Alyssa Kirk, who obtained both her undergraduate and master's degrees at the university in hydrology and atmospheric sciences, was one of the many alumni to enjoy the festivities on Saturday. According to Kirk, her experiences during her time at the university, from studying abroad to participating in the Campus Rec Outdoor Program, were a fundamental part of her early adulthood development. 

“It was a really great experience,” Kirk said. “The hydrology department was really supportive and has a really great community. It’s always great to come back to campus.”  

Kirk currently works at Montgomery & Associates, a water resources consulting firm based in Tucson, with large scale projects in Argentina and Chile. The company offers services for mining, municipal, agricultural, industrial, tribal, and other clients in water resource planning, groundwater modeling, environmental hydrogeology, and more. She also serves on the College of Science Dean's Advisory Board as well as the Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences Advisory Board.  

Kirk said she loves being more involved and staying connected with the university as an alum. 

“I like falling more and more in love with Tucson all the time,” Kirk said. 

Dudley Emer was another of the alumni attendees at the tailgate. He graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in geophysics in 1975. 

During his years at the university, Emer said he had many areas of interest he explored. 

“I was in all kinds of schools. I did mining, excavation, geophysics, chemistry, physical chemistry, and played around in electronics,” Emer said. 

College, according to Emer, was very different back then. 

“I was in the science department, so that's pretty much what we focused on,” He said. “Some of the guys, the geologists and everything, we would go out on weekends, prospecting, collecting rocks. That was very refreshing, it was a learning experience.” 

After graduating, Emer worked for years as the Chief Geophysicist at Zonge, an international engineering research organization and mineral exploration company based in Tucson. 

Throughout his career, Emer traveled all over the world, including working for 26 years at the company’s Nevada test site. 

Now, Emer is retired, and said he attends university events when he can. Emer said he enjoys connecting with old alumni and meeting the new students who are the future of the college. 

“You get to meet a lot of different groups,” Emer said. 

Larry Archibald spent nearly 40 years of his career in the oil and gas industries. Now mostly retired, he enjoys being on campus for events and is the Chair of the Advisory Board for the Department of Geosciences, where he has served as a board member since 2016.  

Archibald received his master's in Geosciences from the University of Arizona and said his focus was on sedimentary geology and tectonics. He said he reconnected with the University of Arizona when his daughter attended for her undergrad degree.  

“East Arizona is a great place to do geology,” Arcibald said. “I really enjoyed a lot of the outdoor field trips, getting outdoors, and camping and seeing the sights.”