research projects geology

18 new projects to join the International Geoscience Programme in 2021

Eighteen new projects have just been approved by The International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) Council that gathered online this week. These projects increased the IGCP family which is now formed by a total of 57 active projects. Out of these, 50 projects will receive a total funding of $335k from IGCP in 2021.

This year, the Council meeting was held online through teleconferencing on the 8th and 10th of March In this meeting, the progress of the 5 ongoing projects was assessed and 24 new proposals - submitted as of 15th October 2020 according to the guidelines of the Council – were reviewed. The agreed to proceed with 57 projects by allocating funding for 50 projects and decided to close 5 projects.

Please find here the details of every IGCP project  and UNESCO Secretariat 2020 IGCP annual report .

These are the projects that joined IGCP in 2021:

• IGCP 722 : Stone for Development Work-integrated learning and action research program, Raijeli Taga  from Fiji with scientists from Australia, Cameroon, Ghana, Philippines, Zimbabwe
• IGCP 735 : Rocks and the Rise of Ordovician Life (Rocks n' ROL), Bertrand Lefebvre  from France with scientists from Argentina, China, Estonia, Iran, Morocco, Russia, UK, 
• IGCP 732 : "LANGUAGE of the Anthropocene (Acronym: LANGUAGE - Lessons in anthropogenic impact: a knowledge network of geological signals to unite and assess global evidence of the Anthropocene)", Michael Wagreich  from Austria with scientists from , China, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Pakistan, Poland, UK,
• IGCP  719 : Building Research Capacity for Coastal Resilience in West Africa, Mallé Gueye (Senegal) and scientists from Ghana and USA
• IGCP  739 : The Mesozoic-Palaeogene hyperthermal events, Xiumian Hu  from China with  scientists from  India, Ireland, Turkey, USA
• IGCP 730 : Hydrogeological Significance of Mediterranean Geoparks, Marwan Ghanem  from Palestine with scientists from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Spain, Tunisia
• IGCP 740 : West Makran Paleo-tsunami Investigation, Mohammad Mokhtari  from Iran with scientists from India, Oman, Pakistan
• IGCP 715 : A new karst modelling approach along different tectonic contacts, Daniel Moraetis  from United Arab Emirates with scientists from  China, Greece Norway, Oman, 
• IGCP 718 : Bringing geology and geoheritage to life, Sherene James-Williamson  from Jamaica with scientists from Colombia, France, Trinidad And Tobago, USA
• IGCP  716 : Asian Coastal Resilience Network (ACoRN)  Sonia Binte Murshed  from Bangladesh with scientists from UK and Vietnam
• IGCP 725 : Forecasting coastal change, Jessica Pilarczyk  from Canada with scientists from Australia, Philippines, South Africa, UK, USA
• IGCP 734 : REFRA-SOS (Realtime Flood Risk Assessment in developing countries using Social media, Optical and SAR satellite data)), Muhire Desire  from Morocco with scientists from Cameroon and UK
• IGCP 727 : Geological heritage - sustainable management of geological hazards and water resources in transboundary region of Kyrgyzstan Aleksei Dudashvili  from Kyrgyzstan with scientists from Tajikistan and Turkey
• IGCP 731 : IUGS Geological Heritage sites, Asier Hilario Orús  from Spain  with scientists from Brazil, Colombia, Greece
• IGCP 714 : 3GEO – Geoclimbing & Geotrekking in Geoparks, Irene Maria Bollati  from Italy with scientists from Greece, Oman, Portugal, South Africa
• IGCP 736 : SEDSNet - Science and Education for Sustainable Development Networks in UGGp), Hugo Filipe Teixeira Gomes  from  Portugal with scientists from Brazil, Mexico
• IGCP 737 : SMART Geology for better Community, Ljerka Marjanac  from Croatia with scientists from Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia And Herzegovina,  Greece, Serbia, Turkey
• IGCP 726 : GEOfood for sustainable development in UNESCO Global Geoparks, Sara Gentilini  from Norway with scientists from Portugal, Romania), Uruguay

Congratulations to IGCP 726 “GEOfood for sustainable development in UNESCO Global Geoparks” project which received IGCP’s Council "Special Award”.

Thank you to the IGCP community for their effort and contributions and a very warm welcome to the 18 new projects! 

• © GEOfood from Rokua Geopark
• Banner © IGCP 689

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WiscAr Geochronology Labs Department of Geoscience

WiscAr Geochronology Lab Department of Geoscience University of Wisconsin-Madison 1215 West Dayton Street Madison, WI 53706

Brad Singer , Professor of Geology bsinger@geology.wisc.edu (608) 265-8650

Brian Jicha , Manager of the WiscAr Lab bjicha@geology.wisc.edu (608) 265-1862

Current Research Projects

The WiscAr Laboratory collaborates with researchers and institutions from around the world. While we work on numerous small research projects, the lab also focuses on large scale innovative studies that use geochronology, geochemistry, and petrology to better understand Earth’s history.

Here are some of the major research projects the WiscAr team are currently working on:

Ice forcing in arc magmatic plumbing systems (IF-AMPS)

From left to right: Brad, Pablo, and Brent Alloway (senior volcanologist) conducting fieldwork on Osorno volcano

A question at the frontier of Earth science is: how do changes in the climate system on our planet’s surface interact with magma reservoirs housed within its interior? We will conduct a novel blend of field observations, lab measurements, and numerical model simulations in an integrated study of links between changes in glaciers and topography, and the behavior of several active volcanoes in Chile during the last 50,000 years. These volcanoes were partly covered by the 3,000 foot thick Patagonian ice sheet until it melted rapidly beginning 18,000 years ago. This natural laboratory offers unparalleled means to investigate how the rapid loss of ice impacted the composition and rates of eruptions from these volcanoes. This project will provide career-building experience for several PhD students. A volcano & ice Summer program will engage technical school students from underrepresented groups in the US and Chile in field- and lab-based experiences, including training in drone technology for data collection and geologic mapping. Our collaborations with Chilean scientists and educators aim to: (1) enhance knowledge of the growth rates and eruptive histories of several of the most dangerous volcanoes in South America, thereby improving hazard assessment, (2) generate new climate proxy data critical to calibrating our numerical model of ice sheet retreat, and (3) train students from the communities living near these volcanoes.

Brad conducting fieldwork around Mocho-Choshuenco volcano. Riñihue lake can be seen in the back

Utilizing new and existing geochronologic, geochemical, glacial and erosion/deposition observations within the Andean Southern Volcanic Zone, we aim to couple a suite of numerical models to test and refine three hypotheses: (1) Over short timescales (<100,000 year), the composition, volume, and timing of eruptions are strongly influenced by climate-driven changes in surface loading. These short-term responses modulate the long-term (>100,000 year) average eruptive characteristics, which are governed by mantle melt flux, (2) Crustal stress changes associated with the local onset of rapid deglaciation and erosion at 18,000 years ago promoted eruptions by enhancing volatile exsolution that in turn pressurized stored magma and propelled dike propagation to the surface, and (3) Responses to rapid unloading will vary among volcanoes, reflecting contrasts in the composition, volatile contents, and compressibility of stored magma, as well as the rate at which crustal reservoirs are recharged from depth. This variability can be exploited to reveal fundamental controls on the sensitivity of glaciated arcs to the climate system. To investigate these hypotheses, we will pursue four objectives: (1) Generate high-resolution records of cone growth, eruptive behavior, and geochemical evolution of six volcanoes during the last ~50,000 years spanning 250 km along the subduction zone, (2) Build new records of ice retreat, and landscape evolution owing to the erosion, transport, and deposition of sediment adjacent to the six volcanoes, (3) Use the observed chemical and physical patterns in the volcanic, climatic, and topographic records to constrain crustal loading through time, and explore the effects of this forcing in numerical models, and (4) Integrate findings to contextualize processes in continental settings, and provide a framework for examining the sensitivity of arc volcanism to external forcing elsewhere and across a spectrum of climate states throughout Earth history.

Columnar basalts at the route around Osorno volcano. These lava flows are around 170±50 ka

Pablo collecting samples from the 1835 eruption at Osorno volcano. This eruption was glimpsed by Charles Darwin during his second voyage on the Beagle

NSFGEO-NERC: Foundation for the next generation of paleoceanographic and biogeochemical studies: Developing a new Lower Cretaceous time scale

The Cretaceous was a time of global warming during which atmospheric carbon dioxide levels surpassed 800 ppm, similar to that predicted for 2100 by “business-as-usual” emission scenarios. Cretaceous rocks record high sea levels, high biological productivity, massive volcanism, and major perturbations of the carbon cycle during several ocean anoxic events (OAEs). Understanding these phenomena can provide deep-time analogs for future greenhouse scenarios. Marine sediments that record these crises are globally widespread, but weaving these records into a common temporal framework is essential if they are to reveal the drivers.  This project aims to generate a new temporal framework spanning 125 to 93 million years ago during which several major OAEs occurred. This will permit examination of repeated deteriorations of marine ecosystems across the Pacific, Atlantic, and Mediterranean oceans. Novel outreach, international collaboration, and training of future earth science leaders feature prominently. We will bring deep-time science to the public via presence at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

The favored hypothesis for OAEs involves volcanic initiation leading to a cascade of processes amplifying global marine production; key factors are the nature of volcanism and the source of increased nutrients. Yet geographic differences in proxy records (C and Os isotopes) indicate additional complexities, such as sea level and ocean circulation. Our goals are to establish: (1) A new time scale for global geochemical and paleobiologic datasets; (2) Chemostratigraphic correlation of the new time scale to European sections using C and Os isotope stratigraphy, and (3) A new global time scale for improved understanding of major biogeochemical perturbations. We will: (i) Determine radioisotopic ages of rhyolitic tuffs in sediments of Japan, (ii) Integrate these new ages with new Os-, and C-isotope chemostratigraphy in Europe, (iii) Compile global geochemical proxy data for OAE1a within a common temporal and stratigraphic framework, and analyze trends and patterns from the Pacific to Europe, (iv) Evaluate the volcanic versus climatic/orbital hypotheses for OAE initiation, and (v) Explore the significance of geography in the timing and magnitude of geochemical signals.

Green River Early Eocene Climate Observatory (GREECO)

Deep-time geologic records of unusually warm climate are vital for ascertaining how the Earth system will respond to rising temperatures in the future. Recent studies have shown that the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO), between ~50-53 Ma, may be particularly instructive because it embodied a number of relatively abrupt warming episodes. Two factors currently impede our understanding of these hyperthermal events however. First, the early Eocene timescale is only sparsely populated by radioisotopic dates and therefore subject to relatively large uncertainties. Second, the elevated pCO2 levels associated with hyperthermals caused oceanic pH to decrease and the carbonate compensation depth (CCD) to rise. Oceanic records of hyperthermal events are therefore typically condensed and associated with evidence for carbonate dissolution. Alkaline lake strata offer an alternative class of climate archives, that are not subject to the same limitations. The lacustrine Green River Formation and equivalent alluvial deposits offer an especially important opportunity to complement the marine record of the EECO. These nonmarine strata contain a uniquely rich, expanded stratigraphic record of climate change, as well as numerous tephras. In addition to advancing our understanding of EECO climate, these deposits offer a rare opportunity to intercalibrate early Eocene radioisotopic, magnetostratigraphic, and astrochronological timescales.

We are addressing three critical questions regarding Eocene climate through an integrated, multidisciplinary investigation that focuses on one of the world’s richest and best studied systems of ancient lake strata — the Eocene Green River Formation (GRF) in the western U.S. Our team will investigate key interrelated hypotheses: 1. How did the timing of terrestrial warming compare to that inferred from the marine record, and to predicted patterns of astronomical forcing? Recent advances in radioisotopic dating can be used to directly test the relationship of warming events to orbital forcing, calibrate dynamic gravitational models of the solar system back to ~50 Ma (Laskar, 2011), and improve the accuracy of the early Eocene timescale. 2. How did temperatures, seasonality, hydrologic cycling, and weathering on land evolve during the EECO? We hypothesize that warming was amplified on continents relative to the oceans and was accompanied by decreased seasonality, while precipitation seasonality and rainfall intensity increased. Precession-scale variability of the hydrologic cycle was generally linked to wintertime Pacific storms, while eccentricity-paced hyperthermal events were expressed as episodic increases in summer precipitation from the North American monsoon. 3. How did the complex tectonic and magmatic evolution of western North America impact the preservation of EECO climate signals?

We are testing the hypothesis that repeated, stepwise drainage reorganizations within the Laramide foreland modified the hydrologic balance and sedimentary facies of Eocene Lake Gosiute and its response to orbital forcing.

EarthCube Integration: Geochronology Frontier at the Laboratory-Cyberinformatics Interface

This grant will support a partnership between geochronologists who have built and run laboratory facilities that are designed to measure the ages of rocks using radioisotopic and astronomical methods, geoscientists who are building synthetic databases that depend critically on accurate and precise ages of rocks in order to test hypotheses in the Earth and life sciences, and computer scientists who are building infrastructure components that are now being used broadly in education and research. The aim is to address a ‘grand challenge’ in the Earth sciences: to develop a fully integrated four-dimensional digital Earth so that we may fully understand dynamic Earth system evolution through time. To meet this goal we plan to develop: (1) a robust cyberinfrastructure to manage and expose data produced by multiple distributed geochronology laboratory facilities around the USA, (2) a digital mechanism to enable scientists of all types to readily discover and use geochronologic data, while at the same time keeping age estimates closely connected to geochronology lab expertise and underlying, laboratory-specific data, (3) protocols and workflows that pass geochronological data and metadata from labs to synthetic geological and paleobiological databases and data repositories, and (4) software that can harness this new geochronological infrastructure and leverage it in order to generate age models for broad swaths of rocks and thereby enable the correlation of Earth system records across a range of nested spatial and temporal scales. Institutions formally collaborating in these efforts include: University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Arizona, Boise State University, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and University of Minnesota.

Geochronological data are central to our understanding of Earth’s past and future. This collaboration between geo- and computer scientists will: (1) create cyberinfrastructure that better leverages existing and new laboratory-generated geochronologic data, and (2) integrate this infrastructure with with synthetic databases including: Paleo Biology Data Base ( https://paleobiodb.org ), Neotoma Data Base ( https://www.neotomadb.org ), Macrostrat ( https://macrostrat.org ), as well as the Integrated Earth Data Alliance (IEDA) Geochron ( https://www.geochron.org/ ) data repository using a standard that can be widely applied by others. Our approach is unique in that it involves the parallel efforts of both the producers and consumers of geochronologic data as well as technical staff who have a working knowledge of geologic and biologic databases. Our team is also well positioned to broadly serve geochronology because it engages three different geochemical/radioisotopic systems that address different geological problems and time scales. One of the overarching science goals of EarthCube is to characterize the key processes, interactions and feedbacks operating at and across different temporal and spatial scales and biological, chemical, mechanical, and physical domains. These modest, but concrete, steps will allow us to develop templates for distributed, laboratory cyberinfrastructure and geochronologically grounded models that can be adapted and used across Earth science communities. The aim is to share best practices and move Earth scientists towards an open, frictionless transfer of data and knowledge. The impacts of this project extend beyond our laboratories and collaborations and include: (1) Three young geoscientists (1 PhD student and 2 Postdoctoral scholars) will emerge with the cyberinformatics experience to become next generation faculty/research leaders, (2) a set of standards for distributed laboratory server operations will be created and implemented, forming the foundation for establishing a global network of lab-derived geochronological data, and (3) the GeochronAPI deployed across this network will provide a mechanism by which to integrate and synthesize geochronological data into independently developed applications, including geodiscovery-oriented Flyover Country ( https://fc.umn.edu ). Through workshops we will engage a wide spectrum of geochronologists to converge on an open standard for the GeochronAPI system, and our work with the synthetic databases highlighted above will allow us to engage a large community spanning bio- and geoscience. All of our software, both lab-centric and external facing, will be made accessible in public GitHub repos and we will encourage open, creative development.

The Geology faculty at UC Davis seeks to understand and unravel the history of planet Earth through a highly integrative approach. The geology research program represents an array of strengths including in stratigraphy, structure, tectonics, petrology, and geomorphology, linked by the common threads of geologic processes in space and time that have shaped the modern Earth. Current research areas include active tectonics and earthquake geology, deformation within continental plate-boundaries, dynamics of magmatic systems, crustal evolution, sedimentary records of physio-chemical variations on land and in paleo-oceans, river dynamics, and flood hazards. Research approaches combine field data with analytical and experimental data. Cutting edge laboratories such as the experimental petrology laboratory, sedimentary geochemistry laboratory, several isotope geochemistry laboratories, and the electron microprobe laboratory support the research program in geology.

Eliot Atekwana | Professor [email protected] | 530-752-3690

Eliot Atekwana is a stable isotope geochemist who addresses basic questions in hydrology, carbon cycling, and environmental change, and with teaching interests in environmental geochemistry, isotope geochemistry, and incorporating experiential learning in courses.

Kari Cooper | Professor [email protected] | 530-754-8826

Isotope and trace-element geochemistry of volcanic rocks; timescales of magma residence and differentiation; origin and distribution of geochemical heterogeneities within the mantle; timing and geochemical record of hydrothermal alteration of oceanic crust.

Eric Cowgill | Professor [email protected] | 530-754-6574

Structural geology and tectonics; primarily interested in understanding regional deformation within active continental collision zones. Emphasis on the evolution of orogen-scale fault systems and their interactions. Current projects include determining the regional kinematics of active deformation within the Arabia-Eurasia collision zone and the tectonic evolution of the northern Tibetan Plateau.

Isabel Montañez | Distinguished Professor [email protected] | 530-754-7823

Research interests are in the sedimentary and geochemical record of variability in paleo-ocean and global atmospheric compositions, global biogeochemical cycling in marine and terrestrial records, and reconstructing paleo-Earth system processes through  field studies,  geochemical analyses, and numerical and climate modeling. Research in the laboratory broadly focuses on development, evaluation, and application of quantitative paleoclimate proxies and and proxy-model integration with their application to intervals of time characterized by major and/or abrupt climate change and ecosystem disruption.

Michael Oskin | Professor [email protected] | 530-752-3993

As a structural geologist and geomorphologist, Oskin specialize in active crustal deformation and its relationships to surface processes and topography. His research program addresses three themes: 1. Deformation rates and their relationship to earthquakes; 2. Constraining the forces and processes that govern continental deformation; 3. Predicting topographic responses to the growth of geologic structures.

David Osleger | Professor of Teaching [email protected] | 530-754-7824

Stratigraphy and sedimentology applied to paleoenvironments, paleoceanography and paleolimnology. Research interests include orbital stratigraphy, sea-level history, carbonate platform evolution, petrophysical heterogeneity of hydrocarbon reservoirs, lacustrine sedimentation and paleoclimatology. Current projects include the relationship between Sr isotopic content of the oceans and sea-level chronology, the global climatic significance of episodes of oceanic anoxia recorded in Cretaceous carbonates of northeastern Mexico, and the paleoclimate history of the High Sierra as deduced from Lake Tahoe sediment cores.

Nicholas Pinter | Professor [email protected] | 530-754-1041

Pinter's research focuses on earth-surface processes (geomorphology) applied to a broad range of problems. Much recent work involves rivers, fluvial geomorphology, flood hydrology, floodplains, and watersheds. His research group applies fluvial geomorphology, hydrologic and statistical tools, hydraulic modeling, and other approaches to assess river dynamics and flood hazards. Although much current research focuses on rivers, he continues to work on a broad range of processes that shape the earth surface and operate, in particular, over anthropogenic time scales.

Barbara Ratschbacher | Assistant Professor [email protected]

Dr. Ratschbacher’s research focuses on continental crust formation in subduction zones. In particular, she focuses on depth-dependent changes of temporal, chemical and structural crust forming processes operating throughout the arc crust.

Dawn Sumner | Professor [email protected] | 530-752-5353

Dr. Sumner reconstructs ancient environments across Earth history and on Mars.  Her lab group uses stratigraphic, sedimentological, and petrographic studies of carbonate sequences to reconstruct ancient environments and ocean chemistry to better understand microbial life on Earth.  They use the Mars Science Laboratory to develop environmental and stratigraphic models for strata in Gale Crater, Mars, to understand its past habitability.  In addition, the group applies diverse techniques to understand the effects of recent climate change on photosynthetic microbial communities growing in ice-covered Antarctic lakes.

Cathy J. Busby | Professor Emerita [email protected]

Busby's current research is on late Cenozoic transtensional rift tectonics and volcanology of the Sierra Nevada/Walker Lane and the Gulf of California, as well as an accreted oceanic arc terrane in Baja California, with comparisons to modern oceanic arcs. Cathy’s research is based on detailed geologic mapping of volcanic terranes, supported by petrographic, geochemical, geochronological, paleomagnetic and mineral chemistry data.

Graham Fogg | Professor Emeritus [email protected] | 530-752-6810

Groundwater contaminant transport; groundwater basin characterization and management; geologic/geostatistical characterization of subsurface heterogeneity for improved pollutant transport modeling; numerical modeling of groundwater flow and contaminant transport; role of molecular diffusion in contaminant transport and remediation; long-term sustainability of regional groundwater quality; vulnerability of aquifers to non-point-source groundwater.

Charles Lesher | Professor Emeritus [email protected] | 530-752-9779

Experimental igneous petrology and geochemistry; phase equilibria and kinetics of silicate systems at elevated pressure and temperature; mantle and crustal properties. Recent projects include (a) Laboratory: low to high pressure phase equilibria studies of basaltic systems; trace element partitioning; chemical and self diffusion studies of silicate melts; solution properties of silicate liquids from thermal diffusion. (b) Field: magmatic evolution of the North Atlantic Ocean basin and the evolution of the Iceland hot spot; petrologic studies of early Tertiary volcanic and plutonic rocks of East Greenland.

Alexandra Navrotsky | Professor Emerita [email protected] | 530-752-3292

Research relates microscopic features of structure and bonding to macroscopic thermodynamic behavior in minerals, ceramics, and other complex materials. She has published over 500 scientific papers.

 Sarah M. Roeske | Research Geologist Emerita [email protected] | 530-752-4933

Structural geology and metamorphic petrology. Combine detailed macrostructural analysis in the field with microstructural studies, metamorphic petrology, and geochronology, in order to solve tectonic problems. Current research topics include the tectonic evolution of convergent margins in Alaska and Argentina, with a focus on determining type, age and relative significance of different periods of fault movements. Related problems include uplift of high P/low T metamorphic rocks and role of strike-slip faults at convergent margins.

Kenneth L. Verosub | Professor Emeritus [email protected] | 530-752-6911

For much of his career, Ken Verosub has used the magnetic properties of rocks, sediments and soils to determine the behavior of the Earth's magnetic field, the ages of sedimentary sequences, the motions of tectonic plates, and the history of the Earth's climate during the past 40 million years. In addition to on-going paleomagnetic and environmental magnetic studies, he is working on volcanic eruptions that have caused global cooling, seismic risk and subsidence problems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the identification of deep groundwater aquifers and the determination of river flows directly from geospatial imagery.

 Robert A. Zierenberg | Professor Emeritus [email protected] | 530-752-1863

Aqueous geochemistry; stable isotope geochemistry; economic geology. Research has focused on water/rock interaction in active and ancient hydrothermal systems, including the "black smokers" on the mid-ocean ridges. Research topics include the geology and geochemistry of sulfide deposits and hydrothermal alteration in seafloor hydrothermal systems and on-land analogs.

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Projects by Region

Each region of the country contains its own unique ecosystems, communities, and cultural values. Regional CASCs work with partners to develop products that address specific climate adaptation needs of wildlife, ecosystems, and people in the states within their footprints. Browse our projects by region below or use our Project Explorer database to explore our science.

A Climate Risk Management Screening and Assessment Review for Madagascar’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy

A Climate-Informed Adaptation and Post-Fire Strategy for the Southwestern Region

A Climate-Informed Conservation Strategy for Southern California’s Montane Forests

A Novel Monitoring Framework to Assess Intertidal Biodiversity in Mixed Coarse Substrate Habitats Across the Boston Harbor Islands

Adapting to Climate Change: Trends and Severe Storm Responses by Migratory Landbirds and Their Habitats

An Assessment of Invasive Species Range Shifts in the Southeastern U.S. and Actions to Manage Them

Assessing the Vulnerability of Native Trout in the Northern Rockies: Linking Science and Management for Climate Adaptation

Building Tools to Assess Future Climate Impacts on Water Resources of the Canadian River Basin

Can Climate Change Mitigation Through Forest Management Save the Moose in Minnesota?

Can Management Actions Support Forest Regeneration Across the Diverse Landscapes and Climate Change Futures of the Southwestern U.S.?

Climate Vulnerability of Aquatic Species to Changing Stream Temperatures and Wildfire Across the Yukon and Kuskokwim River Basins, Alaska

Climate- and Land-Cover-Induced Shifts in the Distribution and Abundance of Invasive Fish and Their Impacts on Native Fish Communities in the Tennessee and Cumberland River Basins

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School of Earth Sciences

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Discovering Earth and beyond through time

UWA’s School of Earth Sciences is a group of internationally recognised educators and researchers who are excited by the diverse and complex ancient geological and modern environments of Earth and other planets in our solar system. Western Australia has a geological record of ancient processes and environments over the last 4.5 billion years including the record of early life evolution and major mineral, petroleum and groundwater resources. Our coastline is a natural laboratory to resolve important questions related to complex coastal systems including carbonate reefs, and the record of recent climate change in these systems.

We integrate data from these fields to solve geoscience problems as we seek to advance our fundamental understanding of Earth processes through time. Many interesting problems relate to the formation of important natural resources for society’s use and using our scientific understanding for predicting future change.

The School occupies one of the oldest iconic buildings on campus, but within its walls our geoscientists use the latest instruments and digital technology in their projects. We provide a vibrant environment for research and high-quality training for our students, and have a long history of successful industry and government geoscience collaboration.

Our research programs focus on providing practical experience, including field-based work and problem-solving skills at undergraduate, honours and postgraduate levels. Students also have access to sophisticated instruments, industry-standard software, as well as the opportunity to learn from, and network with, industry professionals.

We work on a range of fundamental and applied research and teaching in the School of Earth Sciences, providing an impressive array of opportunities for staff and students.

Geochemistry and geochronology

Research using geochemical and geochronological techniques is continually providing new insights into how our planet works.

Coral reef studies and coastal marine systems

Coral reef studies and coastal marine systems research investigates the effect of climate change on our coastal reefs and marine systems.

Early life and biotic evolution

The fossil record provides the basis for our understanding of Earth’s biotic evolution. Our most ancient terranes present glimpses of life on the Early Earth.

Mineral geoscience

Western Australia’s diverse mineral resources provide wide-ranging opportunities for mineral systems research.

Hydrogeology

Researchers in hydrogeology investigate the integrity and sustainability of groundwater systems and their interaction with surface environments.

Energy geoscience

Sedimentary basins are important records of Earth’s history and may host significant resources including petroleum, minerals and groundwater.

Higher Degree by Research opportunities and projects

Students who are interested in research projects should visit the Higher Degree by Research Application Portal  and browse the Project Opportunities section.

All current projects and their supervisors are available in this Portal. This includes PhD and Master by research projects and scholarships. You can search by research areas or a specific school, see available scholarships and contact prospective supervisors. You can also directly contact a potential supervisor using the discipline links (above). 

Our courses

Our strong and diverse research culture and dedication to learning supports students to develop their knowledge, technical and research skills in undergraduate majors and postgraduate courses for professional employment.

Science graduates are in demand worldwide with job opportunities across a range of sectors. We offer majors in the comprehensive bachelor’s degrees that provide flexibility and the opportunity to undertake two majors. These majors focus on core competencies and industry-relevant skill development.

• Marine and Coastal Processes

Pursuing an extended major in the specialised Bachelor of Earth Sciences  will also provide you with a strong grounding in core competencies and industry-relevant skills. The extended majors have a carefully designed study plan to provide depth and breadth to meet career aspirations.

• Geochemistry (Extended Major)
• Integrated Earth and Marine Sciences (Extended Major)

The Bachelor of Science Honours year is a great opportunity to develop more advanced technical skills and research skills (e.g. critical thinking, data analysis and writing) via a supervised project of your choice. Both sets of skills enhance employability in geoscience as well as providing a pathway to higher study and research career opportunities.

The Combined Bachelor's and Master's (CBM) is a four-year accelerated program for high-performing students. Over your first three years, you'll complete an extended major and a semester of more advanced study, followed by a final year of postgraduate study. On completion, you'll be awarded both a full bachelor's and a full master's degree in four years (2.5 + 1.5 years).

• Bachelor of Earth Sciences & Master of Geoscience (CBM)
• Bachelor of Earth Sciences & Master of Oceanography (CBM)
• Bachelor of Marine Science & Master of Oceanography (CBM)

A master’s degree enables you to develop specialist skills and advanced knowledge in your field of choice. A master’s qualification can help you stand out from the crowd in a competitive job market. We offer an extensive range of master’s degrees in a number of related areas of study (1.5–2 years). You may also undertake a research project focusing on a topic that you choose.

• Master of Energy Geoscience
• Master of Geoscience
• Master of Hydrogeology
• Master of Oceanography
• Master of Ore Deposit Geology

More advanced study with a major research component provides an important opportunity to gain strong research skills to enhance employment opportunities, e.g. in industry or government, or create new opportunities to pursue a research career in government agencies and universities. The Master of Science is a one-year course that is ideal for students who want to advance their skills within a short timeframe, and also opens the pathway to PhD.

• Master of Science (by thesis and coursework)
• Master of Philosophy (MPhil)
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

For honours and master’s research projects download the full lists below:

School of Earth Sciences Honours and Master’s Research Projects  [PDF 803KB]

School of Earth Sciences Honours and Master’s Research Projects  [Docx 404KB]

Our micro-credentials focus on skills that are in high demand by employers and industry – they are short and affordable so you can easily fit them into your lifestyle, with the flexibility to pick and choose what works for you. During the year, micro-credentials are offered in teaching earth sciences, hydrogeology, structural geology (including a 1-week fieldtrip) and geophysical exploration.

Update, upskill or reskill; complete a one-off micro-credential or stack them up and convert into credit towards an undergraduate or postgraduate course – the choice is yours.  

Find out more about the micro-credentials offered in Earth Sciences at UWA Plus .

A range of scholarships are available to UWA students. Information for undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students and postgraduate research students is available here .

Specifically for geoscience, these scholarships are offered on an annual basis:

• Margaret McPhee Honours Scholarship in Geology for Women
• Margaret McPhee Masters Scholarship in Geology for Women
• Buru Energy Scholarship for Women in Petroleum Geoscience
• Richard G Barnes Bursary in Hydrogeology
• Kevin and Pat Morgan Travel Award
• The P and S Woods Family Scholarship

From mantle to crust: solving a green metal mystery

Mon, 24 Jun 2024

Researchers from The University of Western Australia have created an experiment to explain the volcanic processes needed to transport green metals from the Earth’s interior to its surface.

The big dry: forests and shrublands are dying in parched Western Australia

Mon, 15 Apr 2024

Perth has just had its driest six months on record, while Western Australia sweltered through its hottest summer on record.

Awards and achievements

Tue, 5 Mar 2024

The University of Western Australia has a continual roll call of awards, scholarships and prizes presented to staff and students.

See more School of Earth Sciences news

Edward de Courcy Clarke Earth Science Museum

This interactive museum allows visitors of all ages to discover and explore earth sciences. Several thousand visitors come to the Museum each year to learn about past environments, plants and animals, examine beautiful crystals, and enjoy rare experiences such as touching a meteorite, and handling some of Western Australia’s unusual minerals. The interactive sandbox is a great way to learn about Earth’s surface processes.

Find out more

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Contact the School of Earth Sciences

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Send an enquiry

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EMRI program 2023-2026 mapping UP-Four quadrangles using USGS Geophysical data

Sponsor: Western Michigan University

Center/Institute: Earth Planetary and Space Sciences Institute (EPSSI)

Research Focus: Energy & Sustainability

CAREER: Deciphering Cavitation in Fluid-Filled Cracks and its Induced Seismicity through Integrated Physical Modeling

Sponsor: National Science Foundation

Center/Institute: Research and Innovation in Stem Education Institute (RISE)

Research Focus: Atmospheric & Space Sciences

EAGER: Development of Remote Sensing of Seismological Signals via the Enhanced Moire Technique

Research Focus: Atmospheric & Space Sciences, Computation Data Electronics & Sensing

Enhanced DSCOVR/EPIC SO2 and ash products for volcano science applications

Sponsor: National Aeronautics & Space Administration

Mesoscale Al-based root-zone soil moisture monitoring for efficient farm irrigation

Sponsor: Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Research Focus: Ecology Ecosystems & Environmental Policy

An Integrated and Automated Decision Support System for Ground Hazard Risk Mitigation for Railroad using Remote Sensing and Traditional Condition Monitoring Data

Sponsor: US Dept of Transportation

Center/Institute: Michigan Tech Transportation Institute (MTTI)

Research Focus: Computation Data Electronics & Sensing, Ecology Ecosystems & Environmental Policy

Collaborative Research: Lahar Dynamics and Monitoring: A Multiparametric Approach Grounded in Infrasound

Research Focus: Macro Micro and Nano Sciences

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Delivering Legacy from the Pevensey Bay Coastal Defence Scheme

Epsrc core equipment award 2022/23, from ridge to trench, mohole to bend-faults, gloss: global suspended sediment: identifying the quantities, drivers and trajectories of fluvial sediment loads, nsfgeo-nerc: quantifying evolution of magmatism and serpentinisation during the onset of seafloor spreading, coastal hazards at uk nuclear sites, across - h2020 - erc -2017 stg, an integrated geophysical and geological study of the porcupine basin, arctic hydrate dissociation as a result of climate change: determining the vulnerable methane reservoir and gas escape mechanisms.

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• A missing link between continental shelves and the deep sea: Have we underestimated the importance of land-detached canyons?
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• Against Climate Change (DACC): improving the estimates of forest fire smoke emissions
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• An electromagnetic study of the continent-ocean transition southwest of the UK
• An investigation of the relationship between health, home and law in the context of poor and precarious housing, and complex and advanced illness
• Antibiotic resistance genes in chalk streams
• Being autistic in care: Understanding differences in care experiences including breakdowns in placements for autistic and non-autistic children
• Biogeochemical cycling in the critical coastal zone: Developing novel methods to make reliable measurements of geochemical fluxes in permeable sediments
• Bloom and bust: seasonal cycles of phytoplankton and carbon flux
• British Black Lives Matter: The emergence of a modern civil rights movement
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• Defining the Marine Fisheries-Energy-Environment Nexus: Learning from shocks to enhance natural resource resilience
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• Engagement with nature among children from minority ethnic backgrounds
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• Evolution of symbiosis in a warmer world
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• Hydrant dynamics for acoustic leak detection in water pipes
• If ‘Black Lives Matter’, do ‘Asian Lives Matter’ too? Impact trajectories of organisation activism on wellbeing of ethnic minority communities
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Applications submitted for the 2024 REU Program are being reviewed!

THE KECK GEOLOGY CONSORTIUM

Advancing diversity in the geosciences.

Investigate the earth Expand knowledge and skills Explore your future

Welcome to the Keck Geology Consortium

The Keck Geology Consortium consists of thirteen  liberal arts colleges focused on enriching undergraduate education through the development of high-quality research experiences. Each summer, with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Consortium offers a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program to engage undergraduate students in four- to five-week field and laboratory research projects in the earth sciences. Advanced students continue their summer research projects during the following academic year using cutting-edge laboratory techniques. All students are encouraged to participate in a professional conference. The Keck Geology Consortium is currently administered through Macalester College .

Funding for this REU site is provided by the National Science Foundation’s Division of Earth Sciences, located in Alexandria, VA, to the Keck Geology Consortium (NSF-REU Award No. 1659322 and 2050697 ).

Important Info

2024 keck projects flyer, appl. for 2024 programs - closed.

15 Feb :  Applications due

15 Mar :  Acceptance letters sent

Keck Program Blog

The goals of this blog are (1) to raise the visibility of Keck Geology Consortium programs, (2) to provide Keck research projects with a venue for communicating the process and results of science, and (3) to foster student learning about communicating science to the general public.  We invite contributions to the blog from project students, faculty and staff.  Submissions will undergo brief review before posting.

Oreos, Taylor Swift, and spectacular geology!

Jul 24, 2023 | Utah - Sevier Fault

As the summer research season comes to a close and the new academic year looms, I thought I’d share bits and pieces of our Keck Geology Consortium Advanced Project with family, friends, faculty, and geosociences afficionados.

Geologizing in the time of COVID

Aug 12, 2022 | 2022-2023 Projects , Utah - Sevier Fault

What a summer! As the summer research season ends and the new school year begins, I thought I’d catch everyone up on the exciting (but not-so-smooth) arc of our Keck Geology Consortium Advanced Project.

A Whole New World

Jan 21, 2020 | Belize 2019 Gateway , Blog

For someone who’s deathly afraid of drowning, scuba diving was NOT on my bucket list of things to do. But I always had a fascination for the ocean sciences

Can’t Blow Us Out!

Jan 15, 2020 | Belize 2019 Gateway , Blog

Storms come up fast on you in Ambergris Caye. One moment you can be engulfed by sun, surrounded by crystal clear, turquoise waters, and the next you can be thrown into a violent thunderstorm that beats the water unmercifully with torrents of rain.

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Keck at GSA 2021

Presentations by Keck Geology Consortium Participants at Geological Society of America 2021 Annual Meeting

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Geology Research Projects 2023

Wynn bryant, morgan hanson-rosenberg, samantha lyster, adalia rodriguez, advisor: don barber, comparing stable carbon isotope values between underlying mangrove sediments and overwash layers deposited by hurricane ian in southwest florida.

Hurricane Ian was a Category 5 tropical cyclone that struck the west coast of Florida in 2022. Its peak winds of up to 160 mph caused considerable damage to Florida infrastructure, economy, and coastal environments. The hurricane also generated intense flooding that deposited allochthonous sediments along the west coast of Florida. My lab is interested in identifying properties of Ian’s overwash deposits that can be used to distinguish them from the underlying non-storm sediments. My project specifically compares bulk stable carbon isotopic composition for this purpose.

Overwash deposits from Hurricane Ian and associated underlying sediment samples were collected along the southwest coast of Florida for examination. My research aims to determine if there is a difference in stable carbon isotope signatures between overwash deposits and underlying mangrove sediments. If there is a clear contrast in stable carbon isotopes, then carbon isotope values can function as a proxy for identifying past storm events buried in the geological record. The sediment samples will be freeze-dried, milled, weighed, and sealed in tin capsules prior to being analyzed in an elemental combustion and cavity ring-down spectroscopy system to measure the stable carbon isotope ratios. I hypothesize that the stable isotopic composition of the  overwash deposits and underlying sediment will differ because the allochthonous storm deposits are likely to include carbon that is isotopically distinct from that of the mangrove sediments.

My results will be combined with other sedimentary, micropaleontological and biogeochemical data to provide a full characterization of Hurricane Ian’s overwash deposit. Evaluating proxies to identify storm deposits is valuable because it allows researchers to reconstruct historical storm surge events in the geologic record, and compare their magnitude and frequency with recent storm records. Ultimately, this leads to a better understanding of the impact of current climate change on storms so coastal advisors can make educated decisions on coastal resiliency and adaptation. 

Advisor: Selby Hearth

Interpreting the history of metamorphism in the wissahickon formation using mineralogy and mapping.

This summer I am working with the mineralogy of the Wissahickon formation, trying to expose some of the metamorphic history. The Wissahickon formation is a bedrock unit that underlies much of Philadelphia and is defined mineralogically by abundant mica and garnet. The sequence of metamorphic and orogenic events that produced the underlying rocks of the Philadelphia area are strikingly complex and an ongoing area of debate for geologists.

In order to interpret the metamorphic history, I am using existing data on index minerals in the Wissahickon and strategically mapping where certain minerals have been observed in the Philadelphia area. I will also be reconciling thin section mineral analyses with geologic units and outcrops from Southeastern Pennsylvania and Northern Delaware and using QGIS to map thin section mineral data.

My hope is that this project will deepen my understanding of the history of these rocks and result in an interpretation of the sequence of metamorphic events that created the highly divisive Philadelphia area geology.

Advisor: Arlo Weil

Investigating laramide orogeny-associated shortening across the colorado plateau.

The Laramide orogeny was a period of mountain-building on what is now North America, which began in the Late Cretaceous and ended in the Paleogene period. During this period, an oceanic plate subducted under the western edge of North America at a notably shallow angle, an occurrence known as flat-slab subduction. The general understanding is that deformation caused by this event migrated northeast-ward; for example, activity started in the southern Colorado Plateau around 80 million years ago, but in northern Wyoming around 60 millions years ago. This summer, we will be traveling to the Colorado Plateau to collect rock samples to gain a better understanding of strain and stress orientation at various locations associated with the Laramide orogeny. This research helps us learn how continents are deformed by tectonic processes and develops a model for flat-slab subduction.

            In order to quantify shortening directions, we will measure populations of minor faults, both out in the field and from the existing literature. In the lab, we will conduct magnetic susceptibility analyses on the collected rock samples to estimate shortening directions from microscale internal fabrics. We will also use paleomagnetic analysis to quantify any rotation the rock has undergone in order to test whether our measured shortening directions need to be corrected for any post- or syn-tectonic rotations. By investigating stress orientation and shortening directions at many individual localities, we will gain further insight into the big picture of how and when this orogeny occurred.

Distributions of modern salt-marsh foraminifera in southern New Jersey and their viability for sea-level studies

Currently the United States eastern seaboard is experiencing sea-level rise at a faster rate than the global average. In order to understand the magnitude of local sea-level change and how it may affect coastal habitats and communities in the future, we must look in the past to determine how and why sea level has changed through time . Salt marsh environments, which are prevalent on the US East Coast, can be used to reconstruct past sea level. Although salt marshes often appear flat, there are subtle topographic differences which experience different tidal flooding frequencies. Furthermore, salt-marsh foraminifera species are sensitive to the tidal flooding frequencies, and thus inhabit specific elevation zones within the marsh. Therefore, distinct foraminifera assemblages can be associated with tidal flooding frequency and, hence marsh surface elevation. Characterization of the modern foraminifera assemblages provides a key to interpreting paleo marsh elevation from core samples extracted from older and deeper sediments.

This project will be characterizing the modern salt marsh foraminifera assemblages along two elevation transects across a salt marsh in Dennis Creek, New Jersey. The modern assemblages describe the relative abundances of foraminifera species as a function of marsh surface elevation relative to modern local sea level. In order to analyze foraminiferal assemblages, live and dead foraminifera are counted at each sample site across two transects. The modern foraminifera samples were stained with rose Bengal immediately after collection to differentiate dead and live foraminifera, but ultimately, only dead foraminifera are to be used in analysis. Samples were stored in a buffered ethanol solution and refrigerated prior to analysis. Each sample is wet sieved to isolate the 63-500 µm size fraction, split into eight equal aliquots, and then counted under a microscope in distilled water. In each sample, a minimum of 100 dead foraminifera tests will be counted and identified to species level to observe changes in assemblages across the transects. Ultimately, this data will be used as a modern training set to produce a new sea-level record from Dennis Creek to constrain sea-level variability over time and space. An improved understanding of local sea-level variability is essential for future predictions of coastal inundation by rising seas due to climate change.

Constructing a History of Laramide-era Tectonism and Deformation in the Colorado Plateau

The Laramide Orogeny is a major deformational, mountain-building event that impacted western North America approximately 80 million years ago due to the low-angle subduction of an oceanic plate under the North American plate. The deformational history of this event, particularly with respect to rigid-body-rotations, translations, and internal strain, is recorded within the remnant paleomagnetism and meso- and micro-scopic structures and fabrics in rocks from the Colorado Plateau, located in the Four Corners area of the United States. Studying this region is of particular interest, as it holds a record of transitioning tectonic environments and mountain-building, spanning before, during, and after the Laramide itself. For my summer research, I am looking to uncover aspects of that history, by quantifying rotations and applying time constraints to the region’s development.  This will be done by conducting paleomagnetic and fabric analyses of samples collected from the Colorado Plateau. In particular, I will be measuring anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) to infer Laramide shortening directions based on fabrics of deformed rocks, and studying remnant magnetization to determine the orientation of North America at the time of rock formation.

These analyses will be conducted on samples previously collected by Dr. Weil, as well as on samples our team collects this summer. This summer’s research will include a two-week trip to the Colorado Plateau, beginning in Utah and travelling to New Mexico, to visit several Laramide age field sites, collect more samples for analyses, and record observations about mesoscale deformational features, such as faults and fractures. This field data, in conjunction with laboratory analyses of samples, will help to create a fuller picture of the American southwest’s unique and storied geologic history. This, in turn, will ultimately lead to a better understanding of continental tectonism associated with and resulting from low-angle subduction.

Latest News

Watch: wfmz highlights muhlenberg research project.

 Monday, July 1, 2024 01:10 PM

WFMZ recently came to the Allentown Public Library to interview Sophia Framm ’24, Yuyang (Hector) Chen ’23 and Head of Special Collections & College Archives Susan Falciani Maldonado about a research project that examined fundraising efforts that paved the way for the Allentown Public Library. Framm, a mathematics and history double major, and Chen, a history major and studio art minor, served as research assistants; the project was co-helmed by Associate Professor of History Lynda Yankaskas.

The WFMZ story ( which can be seen here ) details the rediscovery and conservation of a special women’s edition of The Morning Call newspaper. Created by women employees of Hess's department store in 1908, the edition was meant to raise money for the library project. The work, which took place during the 2021-2022 academic year, was supported by a $10,000 Humanities Research for the Public Good grant from the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC).

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IGNIITE 2024 Selectees

ARPA-E announced approximately $11.5 million in funding through its new Inspiring Generations of New Innovators to Impact Technologies in Energy 2024 (IGNIITE 2024) program focused on early-career scientists and engineers converting disruptive ideas into impactful energy technologies. Each IGNIITE 2024 awardee will receive approximately $500,000 to advance research projects at universities, national laboratories, and in the private sector that will span the full spectrum of energy applications, including advanced energy storage systems, fusion reactor technology, carbon-negative concrete alternatives, power electronics for grid reliability, critical material recovery, energy-efficient water desalination, plastic depolymerization, and more. Read more in the press release here . 

The following individuals selected through IGNIITE 2024 are:

University of California, Berkeley – Berkeley, CA

Jessica Boles is an assistant professor in electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and co-director of the recently launched Berkeley Power and Energy Center. Boles will explore a new class of power electronics based on modular piezoelectric components, which are capable of enabling order-of-magnitude scale miniaturization and significant gains in efficiency for power electronics in a wide variety of applications.

Project: High-Performance, Modular Piezoelectric Components for Miniaturized Power Conversion – Award Amount: $500,000    

Syracuse University – Syracuse, NY

Craig Cahillane is an assistant professor at Syracuse University with a background in gravitational wave detection. In this project, Cahillane will build a novel prototype for neutral beam injection in fusion reactors. The work will support the development of electricity generation and storage for enabling fusion power generation and new advancements in lasers and materials technologies.

Project: Ultra-High Power Photoneutralization Cavity for Neutral Beam Injection in Fusion Reactors – Award Amount: $500,000 

Duke University – Durham, NC

Liang Feng is an assistant professor at Duke University in mechanical engineering and materials science. Feng is developing a process to convert plastic waste, such as plastic bottles and bags, into adsorbents to capture carbon dioxide. The approach seeks to take advantage of the tough and long-lasting nature of plastics to create carbon-dioxide sponges with high porosity and durability.  

Project: Upgrading Plastic Waste into Low-Cost Porous Adsorbents for Direct Air Capture – Award Amount: $500,000 

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – Troy, NY

Fudong Han currently holds the Priti and Mukesh Chatter ’82 Career Development Chair Assistant Professorship at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Han aims to develop a low-cost solid-state battery that enables cleaner, safer, and more efficient electric aircraft. This project leverages Han’s recent discovery utilizing halide-based solid electrolytes.

Project: Critical Metal-Free, Conversion-Type Solid-State Batteries for Advanced Air Mobility – Award Amount: $500,000   

National Renewable Energy Laboratory – Golden, CO

Nelson James is a researcher in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s advanced building equipment research group. James will develop a proof-of-concept prototype of a multifunctional heat pump to reduce building heating and cooling emissions and improve building energy resilience. This will be accomplished through new compression approaches and system designs.

Project: Electrochemically Looping Adsorptive Heat Pumps for Next-Generation Building Decarbonization – Award Amount: $499,922

Katrina (Kat) Knauer is a researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the CTO of the BOTTLE Consortium, and an assistant adjoint professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Knauer will focus on a new process for mixed, variable bio-based polyester waste streams based on a volatile amine catalyzed methanolysis process. This technology will reduce reliance on both fossil fuels and agricultural feedstocks.

Project: Mixed Polyester Deconstruction & Monomer Recovery to Enable a Circular Bioeconomy – Award Amount: $499,999

University of Wisconsin–Madison – Madison, WI

Sebastian Kube is an assistant professor in materials science and engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The objective of Kube’s project is to build an autonomous laboratory platform, “AlloyBot,” which will develop new structural alloys for energy and propulsion technologies. AlloyBot will synthesize and test 100 new alloy compositions per week with minimal human assistance.

Project: AlloyBot: Autonomous Platform to Develop Alloys for Energy and Propulsion Technologies 100x Faster – Award Amount: $500,000 

Michigan State University – East Lansing, MI

Woongkul Lee is an assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering at Michigan State University. The objective of Lee’s research is to develop an optically powered ultra-high-speed wound-field synchronous generator for uncrewed aircraft. The generator will be integrated with an optical encoder for position estimation to maximize its power density, reliability, and power handling capability.

Project: Optically Powered Ultra-high-Speed (OPUS) Wound-Field Synchronous Generators – Award Amount: $500,000 

Jinxing Li is an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering at Michigan State University. In this project, Li aims to reduce carbon emissions associated with both building materials and construction methods through 3D robotic bioprinting of biogenic concrete structures to create next-generation sustainable and intelligent buildings.

Project: Robotic 3D Bioprinting of Entire Building Structures Using Biogenic Concrete – Award Amount: $500,000 

Peregrine Hydrogen – Santa Cruz, CA

Rain (Ruperto) Mariano is Director of Cell Development at Peregrine Hydrogen, focused on delivering green hydrogen without the premium. Mariano’s objective is to develop an electrolysis technology to provide affordable hydrogen by cutting the energy intensity of water electrolysis in half. If successful, the technology has the potential to decarbonize highly polluting hydrogen used in industry today by providing a cost-competitive alternative.

Project: Advanced Electrolysis Architectures for Low-Cost Green Hydrogen – Award Amount: $500,000  

Luca Mastropasqua is an assistant professor in mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mastropasqua seeks to transform the waste plastic upcycling process by studying, developing, and characterizing an innovative solid-state electrochemical membrane reactor and its thermal integration. This will be achieved through high-temperature electrochemical hydrogenative depolymerization of long amorphous and semi-crystalline polymers.

Project: Direct High-Temperature Electrochemical Hydrogenative Depolymerization for Waste Plastic Upcycling – Award Amount: $500,000 

Paul Meyer is a researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. In this project, Meyer seeks to develop a lignin-based concrete alternative for buildings and construction to address major challenges facing this industrial sector. The project will explore different types of lignin, the effects on chemical reactions and drying times, and pathways to large-scale commercialization.

Project: BUILD’EM: Chemistry, Performance, and Path to Market of a Cement-less Construction Material – Award Amount: $499,989   

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory – Berkeley, CA

Justin Panich leads a research group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and is a deputy director at the Joint BioEnergy Institute. In this project, Panich will develop a bioelectrocatalytic cell that converts renewable energy, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen gas into ammonia. The team will maximize microbes for ammonia production through bioengineering strategies and integrate the microbes into an electrolysis-coupled growth chamber.

Project: Carbon-Negative and Ambient Production of Fertilizer Precursor – Award Amount: $497,151 

Lydia Rachbauer is a scientist in biological systems and engineering at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Rachbauer aims to develop a scalable and sustainable carbon conversion process to minimize greenhouse gas emissions in the aviation sector. The approach leverages the microbial conversion of waste-derived syngas into the C6-carboxylic acid caproate as a precursor for sustainable aviation fuels.

Project: C1 Bioconversion Platform: Integrating Acetogenic Consortia for Circular Economy Solutions in Sustainable Fuel Production, Industrial Efficiency, and Decarbonization – Award Amount: $499,501

University of Washington – Seattle, WA

Julie Rorrer is an assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Washington. In this project, Rorrer will harness plastic waste to produce liquid organic hydrogen carriers, addressing plastic pollution and hydrogen storage needs simultaneously. The process uses an adaptive catalytic reactor that converts various plastic wastes using different modes depending on the availability of hydrogen.

Project: Development of an Adaptive Catalytic Reactor to Store Intermittent Green Hydrogen Using Plastic Waste – Award Amount: $500,000

ChemFinity Technologies – Brooklyn, NY

Adam Uliana is the co-founder and CEO of ChemFinity Technologies, a cleantech startup in Brooklyn, NY, that spun out of University of California, Berkeley in 2022. Uliana is developing new processes to recycle critical minerals by leveraging ChemFinity’s porous sorbent material technology. The approach selectively recovers many critical minerals from wastes, including e-waste, spent catalytic converters, and other sources.

Project: Tunable Porous Polymer Networks with Unprecedented Efficiency in Recovering Critical Metals – Award Amount: $500,000

University of Alabama – Tuscaloosa, AL

Zhongyang Wang is an assistant professor in chemical and biological engineering at the University of Alabama. Wang will use sodium borohydride as a liquid fuel for a direct borohydride fuel cell to empower marine vessels. Sodium borohydride is readily transportable using existing infrastructure, and no greenhouse gases would be generated during the operation of the liquid-liquid fuel cell.

Project: Tailoring Bipolar Membrane Interfaces to Boost Direct Borohydride Fuel Cell Performance for Marine Transportation Applications – Award Amount: $499,803 

University of California-Irvine – Irvine, CA

Xizheng (Zoe) Wang is an assistant professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California, Irvine. Wang will investigate a better method to produce multi-elemental nanodisks to enable scalable clean hydrogen production. The electrified vapor deposition method will produce nanodisks that can reduce or eliminate the usage of precious metals for a more robust and sustainable supply chain.

Project: High-Entropy Nanodisks by Ultrafast Electrified Vapor Deposition for Hydrogen Production – Award Amount: $500,000 

University of Nebraska-Lincoln – Lincoln, NE

Jun Wang is an assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Wang is developing solutions to enhance power grid resilience through a first-of-its-kind 10-kilovolt high-frequency press-pack silicon-carbide MOSFET module. The module will have 30 times faster switching frequency and 5 times higher power density than the state of the art.

Project: Multicell Electrical-Transient-Accelerated Press-Pack Modules (METAPAK) – Award Amount: $500,000 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory – Oak Ridge, TN

Andrew Westover is a staff scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory with a focus on solid-state batteries. Westover’s project will develop bulk ionic glasses (BIG) using traditional glass processing that captures the desirable ductility of LiPON glass. The ultimate project goal is demonstrating lithium-metal anode charging/discharging using a BIG electrolyte separator, a traditional cathode, and a Li metal anode.

Project: Ductile Bulk Ionic Glasses for Electric Vehicle Batteries (BIGBATT) – Award Amount: $500,000 

Battelle Energy Alliance (Idaho National Laboratory) – Idaho Falls, ID

Michael Woods is a research scientist at Idaho National Laboratory with over ten years of experience in molten salt experimentation. Woods’ project will investigate the use of brazing for joining salt-facing materials for molten salt energy technologies, including nuclear molten salt reactors and thermal energy storage systems.

Project: Performance of Brazed Materials for Molten Salt Energy Technologies – Award Amount: $500,000 

Guang Yang is a member of the energy storage and conversion group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Yang is working to revolutionize energy storage by creating a groundbreaking battery that uses low-cost materials like sodium and carbon dioxide. The battery could be up to 40 times more powerful and 90% cheaper than current technologies.

Project: Supercritical Carbon Dioxide-Leveraged Redox Flow Batteries (SUPERCOOL-RFB) – Award Amount: $500,000 

University of California, Santa Barbara – Santa Barbara, CA

Yangying Zhu is an assistant professor in mechanical engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Zhu will develop a desalination system using solar thermal energy and multi-stage distillation. The work will enhance thermal transport processes to utilize energy more efficiently, which can significantly reduce energy consumption compared to existing industrial desalination processes.

Project: Solar Thermal Membrane Desalination via Thin-film Phase Change – Award Amount: $500,000 

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Here are the results from Columbus council's yearlong immigration research with Ohio State

Making new places feel like home is the ultimate goal for immigrant communities. Although this is often done by prioritizing opportunities for integration, new research says fostering a sense of belonging may be more important.

Results from a yearlong research project by the Columbus City Council and Ohio State College of Social Work revealed Tuesday in a community briefing that successful integration and perceived quality of life for new American communities highly depends on their sense of belonging.

Arati Maleku, lead researcher and associate professor at the Ohio State College of Social Work, asked policymakers to use this data to better cater to Columbus' growing immigrant population.

"The sense of belonging, as well as the challenges to the sense of belonging, have been a very understated study," Maleku said. "So, when successful immigrant integration is a goal for many municipalities, the degree to which immigrants have the sense of belonging is becoming a major policy issue."

Columbus is  Ohio’s fastest-growing metro area . As The Dispatch previously reported , international immigrants accounted for more than half of the population growth between 2020 and 2023,  according to the U.S. Census Bureau , with about 10% of the population being foreign-born.

City Council member Lourdes Barroso de Padilla said the research points to a need to better facilitate a sense of belonging for new immigrant populations — who bring with them a diverse set of skills — to better access opportunities to enhance society.

Here's what researchers said are barriers to immigrant's sense of belonging:

• Language and cultural interpretation
• Invalidation of foreign credentials
• Discrimination
• Navigating the legal system
• Lack of transportation options
• Limited access to green spaces
• Issues accessing the labor market