Department of Earth Sciences

From Kent State to Ground Zero
When the Sept. 11 attacks shook the nation, Kent State alumnus D. Mark Jones (M.S. '00), found himself called into an unfamiliar and deeply challenging role. At the time, Jones was working for Metcalf & Eddy (now AECOM), an environmental consulting company contracted by Federal Emergency Managemā¦
College of Arts & Sciences

Exploring the World, One Rock at a Time
When Emily Rider walked into her first in-person class after the COVID-19 shutdown ā āHow the Earth Worksā on the Āé¶¹¹ū¶³ at Stark campus ā she didnāt know it would set her on a path that would take her across the country, deep into fossil beds and high into the mountains. That fiā¦
College of Arts & Sciences

Peering into the Past with Billion-Year-Old Bacteria
Undergraduate geology student Bryce Stoltz is combining his passion for earth sciences, fieldwork and the physical nature of geology into hands-on research. What began as a spark in a high school environmental sciences class has led to Stoltz contributing to important environmental research. His worā¦
College of Arts & Sciences

Researchers Publish Groundbreaking Study on Environmental Impact of East Palestine Chemical Spill
Researchers from Āé¶¹¹ū¶³ and other institutions have published a study in the Royal Society of Chemistry's journal titled āEnvironmental Science: Processes & Impacts,ā detailing the environmental consequences of the chemical spill and burn following a Norfolk Southern train derailmā¦
College of Arts & Sciences

Daniel Holm
I'm immensely enjoying my return to full-time faculty this academic year (2024-25). I wrote a couple of long-neglected papers during my fall sabbatical and enjoyed a bit of traveling, first to the west to see the spectacular and misnamed Crater Lake and the fabulous Redwoods, then to the Sedona Red ā¦
College of Arts & Sciences

Tim Gallagher
"Over the past couple years, my students and I have been working across timescales trying to improve our understanding of how carbon is transformed, stored within, and lost from terrestrial environments. This work has kept us busy both in the lab on campus and sent us as far away as the Southeā¦
College of Arts & Sciences
David Hacker
"Greetings everyone. My biggest highlight recently was a research sabbatical in Fall 2024 where I spent time in the wilds of Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada. My primary goal was to focus on the structural similarities and differences between enigmatic mega-scale gravity slides and low-angle tectonicā¦
College of Arts & Sciences
Allyson Tessin
The last few years have been very productive and exciting for our research lab group! The team has spent a lot of time at sea. In winter 2022, I sailed off the coast of South Africa on International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 392: Agulhas Plateau Cretaceous Climate. Two PhD studā¦
College of Arts & Sciences
2024 Distinguished Alumni: Daniel Lux (B.S. 1974)
"My introduction to geology was from Jean Metzler and Dick Uthe at the Kent State Stark campus in the fall quarter of 1970. Soon I was on the Kent campus taking Mineralogy with X-Ray Ernie, aka Professor Carlson. The professors that influenced me the most were Dr Manus and Dr Heimlich. I had a work ā¦
College of Arts & Sciences
2022 Distinguished Alumni: Joseph Hannibal (M.S. 1980, Ph.D. 1990)
"I came to geology late, taking my first course at Cuyahoga Community College at night while employed as a librarian (having earned an Anthropology Degree and a Master of Library Science degree at KSU). The night course was an eye-opener, rekindling an interest I had in geology as a kid after ā¦
College of Arts & Sciences