News & Events
News
Rockfall Gives UT Geology Class Something to Talk About
First-year students studying geology in the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences (EEPS) this fall will get a first-hand look at a geological event that took Knoxville by surprise this spring.
Geology Club Witnesses Totality
From Saturday, April 6 to Monday, April 8, the UT Geology Club, the student association of the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, traveled to East Prairie, Missouri, to observe the totality of the 2024 total solar eclipse.
Environmental Core Reflected In Departmental Name Change
As tectonic plates shift over time, so does scientific focus evolve for researchers chronicling the forces that shape the Earth and other planets.
Faculty Recognized for Excellence in Advising, Research, and Teaching
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
During the 2023 UT College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Convocation, EEPS faculty received awards for excellence in advising, research, and teaching.
McCanta Explores Volcanic History with an Eye to the Future
Volcanoes seem to make frequent headlines in recent years. Hunga-Tonga Hunga Ha’apai, in Tonga, erupted in a massive explosion in 2022. Hawaii’s Kilauea sent rivers of lava flowing multiple times throughout 2023. This year, the southern Icelandic town of Grindavik is under threat from an ongoing series of eruptions.
Huang & Wang Published in ‘The Conversation’
For many years, scientists have predicted that many of the elements that are crucial ingredients for life, like sulfur and nitrogen, first came to Earth when asteroid-type objects carrying them crashed into our planet’s surface.
Paque (’79) honored with Philanthropy Award by the college
September 28, 2023
Julie Paque has had an accomplished record as a research scientist at Caltech and elsewhere. Recently, the college recognized her long-term supporter of EPS.
Abigail Harmon Receives Cave Conservancy Foundation Undergraduate Fellowship Award
Abigail Harmon receives Cave Conservancy Foundation Undergraduate Fellowship Award.
Widow of UT geology professor, Jimmy Walls, make major gift to UT
Nancy Walls, widow of UT geology Professor, Jimmy Walls, has made another major gift to UT.
Otto Kopp Summer Research Scholars (Summer 2020)
Otto Kopp Research Awards honor the memory of former EPS professor Otto Kopp and his dedication to undergraduate research.
Engel Coauthors Study on Healthy Coastal Ecosystems
Annette Engel coauthored a study published in the American Society for Microbiology’s journal mSystems.
Alexander receives Houston Geological Society scholarship
Jake Alexander, a graduate student in EPS, received the Warren L. and Florence W. Calvert Memorial Scholarship from the Houston Geological Society.
The Universe of Clay
An exhibit will explore geological processes involved in the formation of clay minerals on Earth and Mars.
Chaotic Early Solar System Collisions Resembled ‘Asteroids’ Arcade Game
One Friday evening in 1992, a meteorite ended a more than 150-million mile journey by smashing into the trunk of a red Chevrolet Malibu in Peekskill, New York. The car’s owner reported that the 30-pound remnant of the earliest days of our solar system was still warm and smelled of sulfur.
Hap McSween Named to National Academy of Sciences
April 28, 2021
Harry Y. “Hap” McSween Jr., has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
Engel Part of NSF Grant to Study Lava Tube Biodiversity on Hawai’i Island
Annette Engel, professor in the UT Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences is part of team studying lava tube biodiversity on Hawai’I Island.
Doctoral Student Joins Prestigious Research Expedition
Doctoral student Jesse Scholpp embarked on a prestigious research expedition on the JOIDES Resolution (JR) vessel in Expedition 391.
Modeling Methane
Methane – the main component of natural gas – is the latest greenhouse gas targeted by climate science researchers.
Dinosaur Mummy Provides New Insight into Soft Tissue Fossilization
In 2008, an Edmontosaurus “mummy” arrived at the North Dakota Geological Survey where lab technicians began the process of removing sediment and preparing the specimen for paleontologists to investigate.
Hatcher Honored by AAPG
Robert Hatcher, distinguished professor emeritus in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, was honored with the 2023 Honorary Member Award from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG).
Shichun Wang in ‘The Conversation’: Will the Earth Last Forever?
Everything that has a beginning has an end. But the Earth will last for a very long time, and its end will come billions of years after anyone who is alive here now is gone.
Shichun Wang in ‘The Conversation’: How has the inside of the Earth stayed as hot as the Sun’s surface for billions of years?
Our Earth is structured sort of like an onion – it’s one layer after another.
Starting from the top down, there’s the crust, which includes the surface you walk on; then farther down, the mantle, mostly solid rock; then even deeper, the outer core, made of liquid iron; and finally, the inner core, made of solid iron, and with a radius that’s 70% the size of the Moon’s. The deeper you dive, the hotter it gets – parts of the core are as hot as the surface of the Sun.
EPS Advisory Board Fall 2020 Meeting
November 6, 2020
Members of the EPS Advisory Board (AB) met via Zoom on Friday November 6, 2020.
G. Shanmugan Honored
October 28, 2020
On October 28, 2020, Springer Journal of Palaeogeography (JoP) has announced the top journalism award to G. Shanmugam (’78).
Drumheller Publishes Research on Cannibalism in Dinosaurs
March 27, 2020
Big theropod dinosaurs such as Allosaurus and Ceratosaurus ate pretty much everything – including each other, according to a new study.
Engel Receives Academic Outreach Award for Research
December 5, 2019
Professor Annette Engel received the Academic Outreach Award for Research and Creative Activity.
Two Professors Named AAAS Fellows
November 26, 2019
Annette Summers Engel and Christopher M. Fedo named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Post-Doctoral Teaching Associate in Environmental Hydrogeology
August 1, 2019
The Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences invites applications for a full-time, Post-doc TA position in Environmental Hydrogeology.
Professor to Unseal Sample of Moon Rocks from Apollo 17
April 23, 2019
Researchers from all over the country will soon be studying moon rocks that NASA has never opened before, and some of the samples will be analyzed at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Study: Infamous ‘Death Roll’ Almost Universal Among Crocodile Species
April 18, 2019
The iconic “death roll” may be more common among species than previously believed, according to a new study published in Ethology, Ecology & Evolution and coauthored by Stephanie Drumheller-Horton.
Faculty Position in Isotope Geochemistry and Geochemistry
January 7, 2019
We invite applications for a 9-month, tenure-line position in Isotope Geochemistry and Geochemistry to be hired at the rank of Associate Professor.
SIS Student Rose Borden Selected as ESIP Community Fellow
November 2, 2018
Rose Borden has been selected as an Earth Science Information Partners Community Fellow.
Emeritus Professor Don Byerly passes away
April 25, 2018
Emeritus Professor Don Byerly passed away last week. He was an alumnus (MS 1957, PhD 1966) and a faculty member, who did a lot for our department, retiring in 2000 after a long career.
Faculty Friday Feature
April 6, 2018
This week we talk to Dr. Drew Steen, an Assistant Professor in EPS.
GSA Dedicates Book in Hatcher’s Honor
The Geological Society of America (GSA) dedicated Memoir 213 to Robert Hatcher, distinguished professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, in honor of his career studying the geology of the Southern Appalachians.
Bill Ross Receives Alumni Appreciation Award
December 12, 2017
Professor Larry McKay presented Ross with a special Alumni Appreciation Award.
Study: Moon’s Crust Underwent Resurfacing After Forming from Magma Ocean
November 22, 2017
The Earth’s Moon had a rough start in life. Formed from a chunk of the Earth that was lopped off during a planetary collision, it spent its early years covered by a roiling global ocean of molten magma before cooling and forming the serene surface we know today.
EPS Graduate Student and Recent Alumna Collaborate on Darwin Day Paper
February 12, 2017
Charles Darwin is best known for his contributions to the science of evolution.
Postdoc Leads New Phase of NASA’s Pluto, Spitzer Telescope Observations
July 24, 2015
NASA scientists will get a deeper look at Pluto thanks to a new round of observations being led by a UT postdoctoral student.
