Message From the Department Head
Message From the Department Head
It’s a pleasure to share some of the incredible achievements of the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences here at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, over the past year with you.
We are building on a strong foundation with a new name that more fully reflects the geoscience we do today, including addressing environmental challenges. Our name reflects our position as a department on the rise and is accompanied by positive momentum on multiple fronts, including an expanding faculty and facilities.
Since January 2024, the department installed new analytical equipment, including an electron microprobe, desktop scanning electron microscope, and laser ablation and ICP-MS systems.
We were thrilled to welcome two new tenure-line faculty, a hydrogeologist and a structural geologist, and we are recruiting faculty members in energy transition geoscience and critical minerals geology. These new faculty will allow our department to even more deeply engage with issues of societal importance and resource utilization.
Connecting research and teaching to areas that make life and lives better for Tennesseans, the country, and the world is a core mission of the UT, and one in which geoscience is central. Over the past year, our faculty expanded their impact as leaders of cross-disciplinary research centers housed within the College of Arts and Sciences, including the Institute for Climate and Community Resilience, the Collaborative for Animal Behavior, and the Center for Planetary Science and Exploration. The latter is a successor to the Planetary Geoscience Institute, but with a broader mission to build interdisciplinary collaborations in pursuit of proposing large projects as well as the robust outreach program of the Tennessee Space Grant Consortium. These centers are catalysts to develop innovative, dynamic teams to explore some of the most important issues facing society.
Our students also are engaging in transformative opportunities and making incredible contributions, including starting a new Society of Economic Geologists chapter. A high percentage of our undergraduates engage in research and present at meetings such as Tennessee Academy of Science, Geological Society of America (GSA), Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC), and Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.
Spring 2024 marked the return of a departmental field geology course, where 17 students engaged on a transect across the Appalachian Basin from distal sedimentary units in Kentucky through the Piedmont of Virginia. This year’s class will explore the geology of Arizona. We are continuously working to provide high quality programs that engage students and prepare them for productive careers.
The EEPS Alumni Advisory Board includes incredibly dedicated and supportive individuals. Over the past year, we hosted alumni receptions at GSA and LPSC, visited with alumni in Houston, and welcomed our board members to campus for meetings and Geoscience Career Day. I hope that you will join us for a future event at a conference, on campus, or near your home. Check our website for information about events such as this spring’s Klepser Lecture Series.
The continued support of our alumni and friends is critical to ensuring the success of our students and faculty. We are grateful for you.
Please email me or your favorite faculty member so we can share your updates, and visit Strong Hall when you are in Knoxville.
GO VOLS!
Alycia Stigall, Department Head
