Earth Sciences Program

Department of Earth Sciences and Physics Chairperson: Timothy H. Heaton, Ph.D.

Earth Sciences Program
Akeley-Lawrence Science Center, Room 201
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069
Phone: 605-677-5649
earthsciences@usd.edu
www.usd.edu/earthsciences

FACULTY

Professor:

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

Associate Professors:

Brennan Jordan, Ph.D., Oregon State University. Specialization: Petrology
Mark Sweeney, Ph.D., Washington State University, Specialization: Sedimentology

DEGREE

Earth Sciences courses support many graduate programs.

Courses Available to Graduate Students:

Earth Sciences
Meteorology
Oceanography

Program Description

Supporting coursework for graduate students encompasses the subject areas of Earth Science and Oceanography with cross-listings in Biology. There are significant research facilities available to students who take coursework in Earth Sciences. 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 South Dakota Geological Survey.