Current & Past Events
Fall 2025 Seminar Schedule
Seminar is held Thursdays from 4:00pm-4:50pm in the Merion Science Center room 112. All are welcome.
A panel of alumni speak to current students about their career paths in industry, education, and graduate school.
Students work on their resumes and interview skills.
Schedule
| Date | Speaker | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 8/28/2025 |
Dr. Marc Gagne |
Earth and Space Sciences Department Faculty Introduction |
| 9/04/2025 |
Dr. Howell Bosbyshell Dr. Daria Nikitina |
Opportunties and Advising |
| 9/11/2025 |
Dr. Marc Gagne |
|
| 9/18/2025 |
ESS Students |
ESS Student Internship Presentations |
| 9/25/2025 | ESS Students | ESS Student Internship and Research Presentations, Department Photo |
| 10/02/2025 |
Susan Brantley (Penn State) |
Natural and Human-Induced Reactions Among Water, Rock, Gas, Biota, and Soil |
| 10/09/2025 |
Dr. Daria Nikitina Dr. Martin Helmke |
|
| 10/16/2025 |
Weronika Tomczyk (Dartmouth) |
Zooarchaeology, Paleontology, and the Pleistocene Overkill Theory |
| 10/23/2025 |
Lynne Elkins (WCU) |
|
| 10/30/2025 |
Reto Gieré (MSA/ Penn) |
Rock Fulgurites: A Record of Lightning Effects on Granite |
|
11/06/2025 |
Vincent Carbone Greg Rosenzweig |
PCPG Licensure |
| 11/13/2025 |
Adam Maloof (Princeton) |
Stratigraphy of Ancient Sedimentary and Volcanic Rocks and the Coevolution of Life and Climate |
| 11/20/2025 |
WCU Alumni |
Alumni Panel and Open House |
| 11/27/2025 |
Thanksgiving Break |
None |
| 12/04/2025 | Peter Berg (AGU/Virginia) | Carbon Cycling and Oxygen Dynamics at the Seafloor |
Course Field Trips and Pics
Special Courses
International Field Trips (ESS 348/548)
The Department offers field courses to study and explore geology in regions outside the United States. The field study is conducted under the supervision of West Chester faculty and graduate students, during which students learn to apply geology field methods to study geomorphology and morphotectonics. Here is a summary International trips in the past:
- 2025 - Iceland
- 2018 - Iceland
- 2017 - Jamaica
- 2015 - Costa Rica
- 2013 - Russia
In conjunction with Moscow State University, several students studied the most preserved geologic regions of all Europe; the Khibiny Mountains and Lovozero Tundra, the Baltic Shield.
2011 - Costa Rica
2009 - Peru
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our students! For more information, please contact
Dr. Daria Nikitina
Geology of the National Parks (ESS 394/594 and 395/595)
Every two years in late summer, the Department offers a course studying field geology in the Western U.S., alternating between the NW Parks (in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana) and SW Parks (in Arizona and New Mexico). In this multi-week experience, students conduct geologic mapping exercises and investigating stratigraphy, tectonic history, structural geology, igneous petrology, geomorphology, hydrogeology, soils, natural hazards, and economic resources of the national parks.
For more information, please contact
Dr. Martin HelmkePhoto Gallery
Student Research
2014 Northeastern Section Conference of GSA
WCU Geology majors presented their research posters at the 2014 Northeastern Section Conference of the Geological Society of America. A total of seven WCU students presented research posters that week - a record for the Department, and one of the larger University groups at the meeting.
Field Trips
Petrology Field Trips
Sedimentology & Stratigraphy Field Trips
Structural Geology Field Trips
Summer Southwestern Parks Field Trip
Service Learning Projects
Earth Day Fair - 2014
To benefit local land preservation and ecosystem restoration programs.
Annual Garlic Mustard Pull
Students harvesting this non-native plant in the Gordon Natural Area.
Annual Clean-Up of Goose Creek in West Chester
Geoscience students participate in the Chester Ridley Crum Watershed Association's annual clean-up of Goose Creek.
Tree Planting Along the Brandywine
Students planting trees along the Brandywine Creek to benefit local land preservation and ecosystem restoration programs.
Drone Research
MS Geoscience graduate students Juliana Hartlove and Mariah Bowie conduct drone research using a new first-person view (FPV) camera system. Drones are just one of the many ways WCU ESS students apply cutting-edge tools to solve geologic problems.
Native Plant Gardening
Students gardening native plants at Hildacy Preserve, Natural Lands Trust
Brandywine Polar Plunge 2014
Students took the plunge for this fundraising event to keep the Brandywine and Red
Clay Watersheds
clean and healthy, and to support environmental education at the Myrick Center.
