After 23 years of exceptional departmental and research program service, research analyst Peter Cattaneo stepped away from work at Syracuse University this year. Peter has been an in-house geoscience IT specialist, systems manager, field support technician, and the go-to department staff person for a variety of technical support services. From maintaining the computer teaching lab, to setting up individual computers, instrument troubleshooting and supporting the seismic analysis laboratory, Pete has always been there to assist on a moment’s notice.

Pete graduated from the University of Kansas with a B.S in Geology, and as many are aware, is a diehard Jayhawks fan. And some will remember that it was Kansas that lost to Syracuse in the basketball national title game in 2003. It just so happened that a department research team was working in western Uganda on the shores of the Lake Albert rift basin that March and April, which made for an especially dramatic early morning celebration for the SU faithful. Following his time in Kansas, Pete worked for the USGS Coastal and Marine Science Center in Woods Hole, before moving on to stints at Duke University and the University of Miami prior to coming to Syracuse. It was in Miami that he met his wife and life partner Samantha, convincing her to try out upstate NY as an alternative to South Florida’s sunshine and recurring hurricanes.

During his time at SU Pete was central to the success of numerous international field projects. Some of these were in far-flung places in Africa, including Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, as well as projects around New York State and in the western USA. Generations of graduate students working on these projects and on others across the department have come to know Pete as a tremendous resource, a wealth of knowledge and a great friend. Pete, your shoes will be hard to fill, and we wish you and Sam both the very best!