Earth Sciences

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Physics & Earth Sciences
Akeley–Lawrence Science Center, Room 201
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, S.D. 57069
Phone: 605-677-5649
http://www.usd.edu/earthsciences 

Degrees:

Earth Sciences courses support many majors.

Courses Available to Graduate Students:

Earth Science
Meteorology
Oceanography

Department Chairperson: Professor Timothy H. Heaton
Physics Program Director: Associate Professor Christina Keller

Graduate Faculty

Timothy H. Heaton, Professor and Department Chairperson, Ph.D., Harvard University. Specialization: Vertebrate Paleontology.

Brennan Jordan, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., Oregon State University. Specialization: Petrology

Mark Sweeney, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., Washington State University, Specialization: Sedimentology
 

Program Description

There are significant research facilities available to students who take course work in Earth Sciences. Supporting course work for graduate students encompasses the subject areas of Earth Science and Oceanography with cross-listings in Biology. The Earth Sciences Program and the South Dakota Geological Survey occupy adjacent quarters in the Akeley-Lawrence Science Center on The University of South Dakota campus. The close working relationship between these two organizations results in augmentation of the programs of each by means of sharing facilities, equipment, and personnel. Available to the students are the usual sample preparation, mineral separation, thin section, paleontology, and photographic laboratories, supplemented by binocular, computer controlled, and petrographic microscopes and accessories. An X-ray diffractometer, an atomic absorption spectrometer, and a water quality laboratory are operated by the State Geological Survey.

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