Physics and Earth Sciences

Return to: Colleges & Departments

Degrees:

At the present time, graduate degrees in Earth Sciences and Physics are not offered. The department is a participant in the Master of Natural Sciences (M.N.S.) degree and provides supporting courses to graduate students in other programs.

Courses Available to Graduate Students:

Earth Science
Meteorology
Oceanography
Physics

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

Program Description

There are significant research facilities available to students, particularly Earth Science students, who take course work in this department. Supporting course work for graduate students encompasses the subject areas of Earth Science, Oceanography, and Physics. The Department of Earth Sciences & Physics and the South Dakota Geological Survey occupy adjacent quarters in the Akeley-Lawrence Science Center on The University 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 diffract meter, an atomic absorption spectrometer and a water quality laboratory are operated by the State Geological Survey.

Earth Sciences 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

Physics Graduate Faculty

Christina Keller, Associate Professor and Program Director of Physics, Ph.D., North Dakota State University. Specialization: Condensed Matter Physics and Physics Education.

Dongming Mei, Assistant Professor, University of Alabama, Specialization: Neutrino Physics, Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics.

Yongchen Sun, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., Montana State University-Bozeman. Specialization: Laser Spectroscopy, Condensed Matter Physics

For Additional Information

The University of South Dakota
Physics & Earth Sciences
Akeley–Lawrence Science Center, Room 201
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, S.D. 57069
Phone: 605-677-5649
http://ww.usd.edu/physics (Physics)
http://www.usd.edu/earthsciences  (Earth Sciences)

Return to: Colleges & Departments