News

Current Ph.D. student, Venanzio Munyaka's, first dissertation chapter has been featured on the AGU EOS website as their research spotlight.  

In 1860, on the eve of the Civil War, approximately 46,200 plantations were using enslaved labor across the United States. At least 45% of plantations had twenty enslaved workers, and 5% had at least 100 (Vlach, 1993). With such widespread activity, what was the impact on Earth’s systems, and how do we measure it? These questions are at the center of my graduate research at Baylor University.

Baylor researchers have expertise in a wide variety of areas. Students at three area public schools got to learn that firsthand last week, when BU faculty and students visited with elementary, middle and high school-aged scientists to highlight National STEM Day through hands-on learning activities.

In recent years, Baylor has brought some of its outstanding faculty and their students to local schools for National STEM Day to make science come alive and encourage kids to think about college and careers in the STEM fields. It’s a mission that aligns with the day itself, which celebrates discovery and innovation that sparks interest in future science careers.

Baylor University on Monday formally transferred ownership of thousands of Columbian mammoth fossils and excavation photographs discovered near Waco more than 40 years ago to the National Park Service, a move that may streamline access for researchers.

Baylor President Linda Livingstone and National Park Service Acting Superintendent Christine Jacobs signed the agreement next to the bronze mammoth sculptures in front of the Mayborn Museum, 1300 S. University Parks Drive.

Discover the secrets of 20-million-year-old botanical fossils from the site of Koru in western Kenya with scientist Venanzio Munyaka! In this episode of Lunch Break Science, we explore what these fossils tell us about the climate, vegetation, and early ape evolution in this diverse Early Miocene ecosystem.

The Baylor Geosciences Department invites alumni and friends of the department to join us for our homecoming open house event on Friday, October 25th from 1:30 -3:00 pm.  We will be in the Baylor Sciences Building, E.401 Clock Tower (4th floor).  We look forward to seeing you!

Alyssa Mills, a Ph.D. candidate in geosciences at Baylor University and a graduate affiliate of NASA's Europa Clipper mission science team, is using machine learning to map the seafloor of Europa. 

Baylor Geosciences’ presence in Anaheim, California for the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America was impressive this year. The Baylor Geoscience Department sent a large contingent to attend and present research at the meeting, but the presence of our alumni was equally impressive. 

Through her research at Baylor University with Dr. Peter James, Allie North had the opportunity to present at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) in March 2024. Allie's poster presentation was about the work she has done over the Gruithuisen Domes, which are volcanic constructs on the moon. Allie was recently notified that she received the Stephen E. Dwornik Planetary Geosciences Best Undergraduate Poster Presentation Award. 

In the last year, multiple Baylor professors have earned NASA grants and/or partnered with the space agency on projects to help us better understand our universe.

Such efforts continue Baylor’s long history of NASA partnerships — a natural fit, considering Johnson Space Center is just a little over three hours away in southeast Houston.

Baylor University's Department of Geosciences invites applications for a tenure track faculty position at the Assistant Professor level in Earth Surface Processes, effective Fall 2025. We seek applicants who demonstrate a potential and commitment to develop an outstanding, externally funded research program.

In the world of sports cards, a “Future Star” or “Rated Rookie” means you’ve got a card of someone who merits paying attention to — someone whose career looks like it’s about to take off.

In the world of higher education, early career awards function in a very similar fashion — recognizing up-and-coming faculty who have already shown indications of excellent research and scholarship, with the potential to be future leaders in their fields.

Baylor University’s Department of Geosciences invites applications for a full-time position as a Solid Earth Geosciences Instrumentation Specialist effective immediately.

Baylor University planetary geophysicist Peter B. James, Ph.D., assistant professor and founder of the Planetary Research Group at Baylor, has been recognized by NASA with the 2023 Planetary Science Early Career Award (ECA). 

Ph.D. student, Jerrad Watts, received an award for best graduate student oral presentation at the 2024 North-Central & South-Central Section Meeting.

Graduate: Jerrad Watts, “Psycho” Echinoid Spines – Evolution through Spine Morphospace in Crown Group Cidaroid Echinoids

The Department of Geosciences presents an O.T. Hayward Distinguished lecture by Dr. Harrison "Jack" Schmitt on "Geologic insights on the Moon and from the Apollo 17 mission" at the Hurd Welcome Center on Monday, April 8th at 9:30 am. 

The Geosciences Department as part of the O.T. Hayward Distinguished Lecture Series is hosting a panel discussion on "The future of lunar exploration" at the Hurd Welcome Center on Monday, April 8th at 3:00 pm.

The Department of Geosciences presents an O.T. Hayward Distinguished lecture by Dr. Kerri Donaldson Hanna on "Robotically exploring silicic volcanoes from the surface of the Moon" at the Baylor Sciences Building, Room D.109 on Tuesday, April 9th at 11:15 am. 

Baylor Geosciences PhD student, Toluwaleke Ajayi, was conducting a dye trace in the Edwards Aquifer to better understand the flow in the downtown Salado Springs complex which is home to threatened salamanders while MS student, Elena Muir, was sampling springs below Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir to investigate impacts of reservoirs on groundwater. 

Congratulations to current PhD student, Jasmine Kidwell, who is a 2024 recipient of the SAA Douglas C. Kellogg Fellowship for Geoarchaeological Research from the Society for American Archaeology.  

This year’s Gulf Coast Water Conservation Symposium will have an incredible lineup of speakers and panel discussions, including a Climate Impacts Panel moderated by Dr. Matthew Berg.

Approximately 150 Mountain View Elementary students interacted with our popular rock and mineral activity at a school STEMFEST on January 25th, 2024.  Exposure to geoscience related experiences for K-12 students remains a priority for our department.  Graduate teaching assistant Katie Broad and Lab Coordinator Sharon Browning were on hand for this engagement.

 WACO, Texas (Jan. 23, 2024) – Baylor University today named Jay L. Banner, Ph.D., F. M. Bullard Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences in the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin, as the 2024 recipient of the Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching.

Learn more about the exciting research Dr. Dan Peppe and his students are doing in this episode of Research Roundup.  

The Baylor Geosciences Department is sad to report that alumni, Mr. William "Bill" Atlee, passed away on December 4th, 2023.  Bill will be remembered fondly for his contributions to the Geosciences Department as both a student and alumni.  Bill authored the spring, 1962 edition of the Baylor Geological Studies bulletin titled "The Lower Cretaceous Paluxy Sand in Central Texas" and is also credited for creating the Baylor University Geology seal that was used for many years on publications of the department.

Congratulations to Ph.D. candidate, Josh Ford, for being selected as a recipient of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers Outstanding TA Award. This award honors undergraduate and graduate students who have demonstrated excellence as Teaching Assistants.

WACO, Texas (December 12, 2023) – Lee Nordt, Ph.D., professor of geosciences and dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Baylor University, participated in a historic, comprehensive study on the relationship between climate and CO2, the results of which were published Dec. 7 in the journal Science.

Congratulations to Victoria Holman, a undergraduate Geosciences student, who was selected to participate in the Paleontological Society Student Ambassador Program.

Baylor University's Department of Geosciences invites applications for a tenure track faculty position at the Assistant Professor level in the area of Solid Earth Geosciences, effective Fall 2024.

When Hunter Harlow (BS ’10) graduated from Baylor with a degree in geosciences/geology, he didn’t imagine taking the road less traveled.

The Spring 2023 Dr. Steven G. Driese Outstanding Grant Proposal Award winner is Alyssa Mills from the Department of Geosciences for her GEO 5222 research proposal entitled "Piecing Together the Chaos Puzzle: An Evaluation of Seafloor Volcanism on Europa through Gravity Analyses" with mentor Dr. Peter James.

Dr. Joshua Brownlow, Baylor Geosciences PhD alumnus (2016) recently co-authored a publication demonstrating a method to treat produced water in an effort to reduce injected disposal volumes in the Permian Basin.

By Caitlyn Meisner -- After 10 years of research, collaboration and annual summer trips to East Africa, Dr. Daniel Peppe, associate professor of geosciences, and his team of global scholars — many who are Baylor graduates — published their scientific discovery that changed the understanding of East African evolution of the climate and apes.

Dr. Daniel Peppe, a Baylor geosciences professor, was part of an international team whose decade-long research has shifted Africa’s prehistoric timeline by 10 million years.
Peppe explains the team's work and findings — on the latest Baylor Connections.

How did a Baylor professor play a role in adjusting what scientists thought they knew about Africa’s historic timeline — by 10 million years?!?

Baylor Geosciences congratulates our recent graduates on their accomplishments.

Congratulations to Geosciences Ph.D. candidate, Toluwaleke Ajayi, who was presented “the most distinguished scholarship awarded by the AIPG in Texas”, the Shoemaker Scholarship. District representative, James Henderson, drove to Waco to personally present Toluwaleke with a check for $2,500.00, a plaque memorializing Mr. Ajayi’s award, and a book entitled “Shoemaker: The Man Who Made an Impact.”

Two teams of researchers, one led by a Baylor University geoscientist, working together in Kenya and Uganda for the past 10 years to study fossils of plants and animals, discovered a prehistoric Africa different than previously envisioned.

WACO, Texas (April 13, 2023) – Something as simple as a grass can fundamentally change the understanding of life in the prehistoric world. A pair of studies funded by the National Science Foundation and published in the journal Science document the earliest evidence for locally abundant C4 grasses in eastern Africa and how C4 grasses and open habitats influenced early ape evolution.

A 1-millimeter fish vertebra and a slightly longer, unidentified bone recently found at the Waco Mammoth National Monument will tell researchers more about the area’s ecosystem during the lives of the Columbian mammoths whose remains were found there.

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Baylor’s Planetary Research Group is starting off the semester with a $260,000 grant from NASA to assist in research about the light-colored volcanoes on the moon.

Ph.D. student, Nick Wagner, will be travelling to London to obverse and participate in a science team meeting for NASA's InSight mission. The program is called InSight Seers and its designed to allow early career researchers to observe and interact with mission scientists. Nick will be participating in science lectures and working group meetings within the science team meeting. Congratulations, Nick!

Congratulations to PhD student, Burke Leonce, the winner in the STEM category of the Graduate Student Association (GSA) Research Showcase. Burke's poster title was "Fire influences structure-reactivity mechanisms of organic matter phototransformation in aqueous environments".

October of 2022 saw the welcome return of many of our outreach events. Geoscience graduate students and staff participated in Sic ’Em Science Day at the Mayborn Museum on Saturday, October 15th, allowing students to study physical properties of rocks and minerals. Participants included graduate students Jasmine Kidwell, Alix Fournier, undergraduate Allie North, and lab coordinator Sharon Browning.

Degrees of Science, a series hosted by KWTX Channel 10 Chief Meteorologist, Brady Taylor, talks with Baylor Geologists Dr. Kenny Befus & Dr. James Thompson, who recently returned from studying the Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland. As part of their research they were using drones to measure lava temperatures, in order to help model the flow of the lava.

We met up with Nick Wagner, a fourth-year Ph.D. Candidate in Geosciences, to talk with him about his ongoing research—Mars research. That's right, Nick's geoscience research is quite literally out of this world. One of Nick's primary goals is to continue developing a field called comparative planetology. Nick is able to interact with and accomplish cutting-edge planetary science research because of his network and resources at Baylor.

The Baylor Geosciences Department invites alumni and friends of the department to join faculty, staff, and students for our annual Homecoming Open House event. Join us on Friday, October 21st from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm in the Baylor Sciences Building, 4th floor, Clock Tower - Room E.401. We look forward to seeing you!

Congratulations to Ph.D. student, Alyssa Mills, who was awarded the John Mathers Nobel Scholar Award for her internship at the Goddard Space Flight center. This is a prestigious award given to only 8 interns/early career scientists.

The Department of Geosciences at Baylor University invites applications for PhD and MS students starting in August 2023.

A day-long session of scientific talks and research posters will highlight the contributions of Steven G. Driese to (paleo)pedology, critical zone science, clastic sedimentology, paleoclimatology, micromorphology, geoarchaeology and geochemistry from across the geologic time scale.

Dr. Peter James had an unplanned Baylor contingent at the SEG/AAPG IMAGE ‘22 conference in Houston with alumni Elisabeth Rau and Marilyn Wisler Hockstra.

The Martian Boulder Automatic Recognition System, MBARS

Ms. Zhao Wang has published her first paper in the journal Organic Geochemistry, a new technique she developed at Baylor. The paper is titled, “A streamlined method for pressurized extraction and fractionation of leaf lipids". Congratulations Zhao on your accomplishment!

Anna Lesko – PhD student, Baylor Geosciences, received an Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award from the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) in June 2022. This award is based on performance in the classroom, student engagement and evaluation, collaboration with other graduate teaching assistants, and supervisor nomination.

Geosciences Ph.D. student, Nathan Wright, was awarded the Paleontological Research Institution’s (PRI) student travel award and the NSF/GSA Graduate Research Award to support his dissertation research.

Baylor University Ph.D. graduate student, Alix Fournier, received a GSA Graduate Student Research Grant to support her dissertation research. The goal of these grants is to support graduate students research projects in any field of the Geosciences.

Ben Sadler, Geosciences Ph.D. student, received a scholarship from the Fort Worth Geological Society in recognition of his research and scholastics.

Toluwaleke Ajayi, Geosciences Ph.D. student, was awarded the E. Russell Lloyd Memorial Scholarship from the West Texas Geological Society (WTGS) Scholarship Committee.

Des Thorn was awarded the Dallas Paleontological Society Frank Crane Memorial Scholarship for 2022 to support her MS thesis research, “Using Sycamore leaves to reconstruct ancient light environments”.

In 2017, Baylor parents James and Christina Price of Sarasota, Florida, established the Price Family Endowed Fund for Undergraduate Studies in Geology. As part of the Give Light campaign, the Prices’ gift creates a permanent and enduring source of support for undergraduate students in Baylor’s Department of Geosciences.

Approximately 90 teens ages 13-18 interacted with Baylor Geoscience personnel in our popular rock and mineral identification activity Saturday, April 9th from 6-9PM. Student groups were timed to allow for more personal interaction. Graduate student Jie Geng assisted lab coordinator Sharon Browning.

Congratulations to Dava Butler who submitted and was awarded a grant on the behalf of the Waco Mammoth National Monument for a 2022 National Park Foundation (NPF) Service Corps Grant for the project, Saving the Waco Mammoths from a Second Extinction: Protecting a Scientifically Invaluable Resource Through Erosion Mitigation.

Congratulations to Dr. Vince Cronin who has been selected as the 2022 Richard H. Jahns Distinguished Lecturer in Engineering Geology.

Congratulations to Debajeet Barman and Zhao Wang, recipients of the 2022 Summer Dissertation Fellowship.

Geology Sophomore Victoria Holman presenting her poster on fossil evidence of predation pressure on Eocene Mollusk communities from the Stone City Bluff Formation

Water Management Class participating in “Meet the Scientist” for World Water Day (for 2022 - Groundwater) at Mayborn Museum. Geosciences in action!

Dr. Bill Hockaday is a coauthor on a paper selected by the editors of PNAS as a finalist for the Cozarelli Prize recognizing science of the highest quality and originality published in PNAS. The paper is the runner up in Social and Behavioral Sciences (Class V).

Congratulations, Dr. Hockaday!
This position is the one that Dr. Steven Driese held before retiring. Dr. Driese was originally replaced by Dr. Sara Dolan but Dr. Dolan has moved to the Associate Dean for Professional Development replacing Beth Allison Barr who returned to the History Department as the James Vardaman Endowed Professor of History. Dr. Hockaday will now play an important role in graduate research for Baylor University.
Please congratulate Dr. Hockaday on his new appointment.
We are all proud of this reflection on the Geosciences!

Professor Vince Cronin has accepted an invitation to join the inaugural editorial board of the Journal of Geoethics and Social Geosciences (JGSG). JGSG is a new peer-reviewed open-access journal published in English online. According to the Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Silvia Peppoloni, JGSG will be "the first international journal fully dedicated to geoethics and the societal implications of geoscience knowledge, research, practice, education and communication."

In 2006, Dr. Steve Driese identified a need that prompted him to create the course GEO 5222 Grant Proposal Writing. In the years since, the course has provided students in Geoscience and other STEM disciplines with didactic and practical training in writing grant proposals. By the end of the class, students have drafted a research grant proposal, typically in NSF style, and the Geoscience Department began a tradition of awarding $500 to the student who produced the best proposal from each section of the course.

Alix Fournier, PhD Student, Geosciences, for her GEO 5222 research proposal entitled “Interrelation between late Quaternary geomorphic and hydrologic processes for the evolution of Monahans and Kermit dune fields, West Texas, USA," with Dr. Steve Forman in Geosciences as Ph.D. advisor.

In the Mayborn's new immersive exhibit, New Views of the Dust Bowl, you will experience what this historic time was like and learn why dust affects our food, our families, and our health.

Megan, a Baylor GEO and ENV alumnus, returned to Baylor on November 5, 2021, as Chief of Strategic Resources for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), Department of the Interior.

Congratulations to MS student Danielle Gygi for winning the paleontological Society student poster award at the Geological Society of America (GSA) annual meeting for her poster “Early Paleocene plant community and paleoclimate reconstruction of the Nacimiento Formation from the San Juan Basin, New Mexico”!

Brian R. Clark, Deputy Program Coordinator, Water Availability and Use Science Program - U.S.G.S.

Dr. Bill Hockaday recognized as one of AGU's outstanding reviewers of 2020.

Memorial Service Information for Dr. Scott James

It is with great sadness that the Department of Geosciences announces the death of Associate Professor Scott C. James, who died suddenly on May 2, 2021 while visiting family in California.

ON OCTOBER 8, 2020 O.B. SHELBURNE (BS, 1955) RELEASED HIS BOOK: FROM PRESIDIO TO THE PECOS RIVER: SURVEYING THE UNITED STATES–MEXICO BOUNDARY ALONG THE RIO GRANDE, 1852 AND 1853.

The Department of Geosciences at Baylor University invites applications for full-time PhD and MS students. Teaching & research assistantships available.

What do volcanoes, gemstones, butterflies and faith have in common?

Congratulations to Sam Barber, MS candidate in the Department of Geosciences, for being selected as a recipient of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award for summer 2020.

Have you ever wanted to learn more about geology, paleontology, geography, natural hazards, and the world around you? Now is your chance!

The Department of Geosciences at Baylor University invites applications for full-time PhD and MS students. Teaching and research assistantships available.

The Baylor University Department of Geosciences seeks a dynamic scholar in hydrology and surface processes beginning August 2020.

Congratulations to Wynne Casteel and Will Brewer who were awarded scholarships from Groundwater Foundation through the Len Assante Scholarship Program.

The Geosciences Department is sad to announce the passing of alumni, Duncan Brooks on June 12th. Our thoughts and prayers are with Duncan's family and friends during this difficult time.

The Geosciences Department extends thoughts a prayers to the family and friends of Benjamin R. Man who passed away on May 23rd.

Discovery may contain metal from asteroid crash, Baylor University researcher says.

The massive find promises to help scientists better understand how all rocky bodies—including our own planet—came to be.

On May 1, I had the privilege of helping recognize our 2019 Outstanding Graduate Students. Six students received Outstanding Graduate Instructor Awards and three students received Outstanding Dissertation Awards. I asked each of the students to speak about their graduate journey as well as a faculty member (either graduate program director or faculty mentor) to speak about the research and teaching success of each student.

Congratulations to Department of Geosciences PhD graduate Dr. Logan Wiest! He won the won the 2019 Baylor Graduate School Outstanding Dissertation Award in the Sciences for his dissertation “Taphonomic and Mass-Extinction Research from an Ichnological Perspective.

Millions of years before anyone lived here, nature conditioned Waco as a major crossroads. Dr. Joe Yelderman of Baylor’s Department of Geosciences tells us how geology and natural history played a role in shaping Waco.

We have two big TEAM accomplishments to report for our graduate and undergraduate programs.

Congratulations to Baylor University Department of Geosciences PhD student Dylan Jiang!