The Department of Geology, established in 1922, and the Department of Geophysics, established in 1966, merged in 1994 to form the Department of Geology and Geophysics. The merger has enhanced interaction of faculty and students in the two disciplines, promoted interdisciplinary research, and encouraged students to gain a broader-based geoscience education.
In the Fall of 2007, the Department has 157 undergraduate majors, 79 graduate students, and 37 faculty members. There are also several faculty emeriti and additional faculty members holding adjunct positions. The diverse research interests of the faculty include environmental geology and geophysics, engineering geology and geophysics, geochemistry, geodynamics, mineralogy and petrology, paleontology, seismology, sedimentary and petroleum geology, structural geology, and tectonophysics.
The Department of Geology and Geophysics is housed in the 76,000 square-foot M.T. Halbouty building complex. Numerous well-equipped laboratories and a host of field exploration equipment are available for performing analytical, experimental and field geological and geophysical research.
