Academic expertise. Research prowess. Student success.
There’s a whole world of discovery in the ground beneath your feet. From the shifting of tectonic plates to the eruption of volcanoes, learn about the Earth and all of the natural processes that have shaped it over time.
Department faculty, researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students pursue field, laboratory, experimental, and modeling studies of geological and environmental problems around the world. The department's excellent facilities and technical personnel support a range of methods and the department's ideal location also provides ready access to the many natural laboratories of Nevada, California and the western United States. Research specialties include Earth and planetary surface processes, geodynamics, volcanology, geochemistry, petrology, earthquakes and seismology, mineral and energy resources, hydrology and hydrogeology.
Recent news from the Department
Scientists unearth clues to understand what made the 2011 tsunami in Japan so massive
Geologists studied drill cores from a fault zone off the coast of Japan
Scientists capture elusive imagery of volcano’s inner workings
Researchers suggest new volcanic formation processes and publish images of the volcano in Nature
Professor named Fellow of the Geological Society of America
Stacia Gordon is relatively early in her career yet has made significant contributions to the field