Dear Colleagues (apologies for cross-posting), As we approach the abstract deadline for GSA Connects 2023, I wanted to re-advertise our session honoring Micah Jessup’s career and contributions to continental deformation and tectonics. The session is T170: Exploring Strain Partitioning and Kinematic Evolution of the Lithosphere: In Honor of Micah Jessup General Description: To honor Micah Jessup’s career and contributions to structural geology, tectonics, and mid-crustal flow, we seek contributions related to strain localization, kinematics, microstructural analysis, metamorphic petrology, and chronology of deformation and mountain building processes. Rationale: Over the course of his venerated career, Micah Jessup’s work has refined our understanding of mid-crustal deformation, strain localization, and spatiotemporal evolution of collisional orogens. Dr. Jessup has spent the past 20 years examining strain partitioning during the evolution of the Himalayan and Andean orogenies, as well as linking mid crustal processes observed in active orogens to Proterozoic shear zones and metamorphic suites in the southwestern USA. His work has refined our understanding of the Main Central Thrust, South Tibetan Detachment, and gneiss domes in the high Himalaya, orogen-parallel extension during continental collision, and trench-parallel extension in Cordilleran orogens. Beyond these regional and orogen- wide processes, Micah’s approach to detailed microstructural, kinematic, and geo/thermochronological investigations to full-thickness transects across multiple localities within single structures have provided key insights into the localization and distribution of strain within ductile shear zones. This work has underscored the importance of coupling rheology and kinematics with magmatic and metamorphic processes, including the role of fluids, at varying time scales in order to thoroughly characterize the evolution of crustal scale structures. As Dr. Jessup’s career winds down, we aim to reflect on his contributions and honor his dedication to tectonics across all temporal and spatial scales. Our aim is to draw former mentors, mentees, and those whose research and careers have been directly and/or tangentially affected by the interdisciplinary influence of Micah’s work, spanning from Paleoproterozoic contractional shear zones in Colorado, the Miocene evolution of Mt. Everest, and to Pliocene relief building in the Andes, together to honor our friend and colleague in lively discussions on the science that shaped his career. Feel free to reach out to Tyler Grambling (tgrambling@coloradocollege.edu<mailto:tgrambling@coloradocollege.edu>) or Dennis Newell (dennis.newell@usu.edu<mailto:dennis.newell@usu.edu>) with any questions! Cheers, Tyler and Dennis -- Dr. Tyler Grambling He/Him/His Visiting Assistant Professor Geology Department tgrambling@coloradocollege.edu<mailto:tgrambling@coloradocollege.edu> o (719) 389-6512 COLORADO COLLEGE 14 E. Cache La Poudre St. Colorado Springs, CO 80903 www.coloradocollege.edu<http://www.coloradocollege.edu/>