Welcome to the gateway to your future, where teaching, research, and service are our top priority. Here you will find people that care about giving you a well-rounded geoscience education that will set you up for whatever you choose to do in the future.
The Department of Geological Sciences at The University of Alabama invites applications for a three-year, non-tenure track visiting faculty position in geophysics beginning August 2013. For more information about this position click here.
Students and Faculty in the News
April, 2013 – Hillary Sletten ……….. PhD student Hillary Sletten was recently awarded a Smithsonian Institute Graduate Fellowship to conduct her dissertation fieldwork in Fall 2013 in Panama at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). During her 10-week stay, Sletten will collect coralline algae from Panama’s Pacific gulfs to test if their elemental content can be used as an indicator for ocean acidification. With the aid of Hector Guzman, staff scientist at the STRI, Sletten will setup in-situ monitoring and laboratory aquaria experiments to observe how coralline algae will respond to acidified ocean conditions. For more information about Smithsonian Institute fellowship opportunities please visit: http://www.si.edu/ofg/.
April 9, 2013 – Yuehan Lu ……….. One of the most recent Dr. Yuehan Lu’s publications “Lu et al., Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences, doi: doi:10.1002/jgrg.20048, 2013″ was selected by AGU journal editors to be included in AGU journal highlights and appear on EOS. The study shows that agricultural and urban organic runoff may break down slower than forest runoff, potentially contribution to an observed long-term increase in river organic compound concentrations in Europe and North America and decreasing water quality in downstream environments. (read more)
February 1, 2013 – Lance Wilson ……….. Gradaute student in Geology, wins the University of Alabama Outstanding Thesis Award for his work intitled, “The Origin and Development of the Tampa Embayment: Implications for the Tectonic Evolution of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.” (read more)
August 25, 2012 – Dr. Ryan Ewing ………. Ewing, now an assistant professor in the University of Alabama’s Department of Geological Sciences, is collaborating with a University of Texas researcher who is a participating scientist with the Mars mission. The team will analyze rock outcrops, the part of a rock formation that appears above the surface, and assess whether the rocks are derived from wind-blown sediments. (read more)
July 5, 2012 – Dr. Samantha Hansen ………. was awarded a $715,000 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation to study a new approach to investigating the seismic velocity structure beneath Antarctica. These awards are NSF’s most prestigious recognition of top-performing young scientists beginning their careers. (read more)
July 11, 2011 – Dr. Paul Aharon, Dr. Joe Lambert, and Hillary Sletten ………. a group of UA scientists spent July 8th – August 5th on the island Niue (pronounced new-ay). (read more)
February 3, 2011 – Jonathan Stone ………. On weekends, University of Alabama graduate student Jonathan Stone is the lead guitarist for the rock band Lunar Rain, but Monday through Friday he can be found in a lab conducting scientific research that has the potential to one day save lives. Stone’s work at UA is focused on predicting the timing and scale of a volcanic eruption. (read more)
July 23, 2010 – Dr. Andrew Goodliffe …………”This is an unparalleled opportunity to get a really high-resolution image of exactly what’s going on beneath our feet,” said Andrew Goodliffe, a geology professor at the University of Alabama. “It’s going to be a massive leap forward in our knowledge of the geological history of Alabama.” (read more)
April 15, 2010 – Dr. Fred Andrus ………… “Shells from mollusks presented to the dead during ancient funeral ceremonies are keys to helping a University of Alabama geologist gauge ocean movements near the Peruvian coast from as much as 13,000 years ago.” (read more)
Mission Statement: The Department of Geological Sciences is committed to providing strong educational and research programs that benefit students, the science, society, and the state of Alabama. Our mission is to:
- Maintain quality educational programs that provide basic geologic instruction to non-majors.
- Maintain quality undergraduate programs that prepare students for graduate education or careers in the geological sciences.
- Maintain a quality graduate program that provides M.S. and Ph.D. students with the skills necessary to carry out independent research and obtain employment in a specialized area of the geological sciences.
- Develop and maintain research programs that contribute new knowledge to the geological sciences. Provide service to the scientific community and the public. Assist in the sound and sustainable economic development of the region, state, and nation.