Interdisciplinary and International
Appalachian Earth and Environmental Science faculty and students work on local to global scales, from microscopic particles up through large mountain chains, glaciers, and watersheds.
Our research can be found literally out of the back door of our department (in Boone Creek) to the other side of the earth. We have been to every continent (including Antarctica) and have worked from the tops of mountains to the bottom of the ocean (literally)!
Not all of our work is in the field; we also have strong laboratory and computational components to our research programs.
Student Opportunities for International Fieldwork
Our students are lucky to have many international (in addition to local) fieldwork opportunities:
Research and Fieldwork in the Blue Ridge
We also involve our students in our research within the Appalachians and Blue Ridge Mountains.
Where we work
Dr. William Anderson (Hydrogeology) - North Carolina, England
Dr. Billy Armstrong (Glaciology) - Canada, Alaska
Dr. Sarah Carmichael (Fluid-Rock Geochemistry, Biomineralogy, Geochemistry) - Mongolia, southern Appalachians, China, Germany, Belgium, Tanzania, 9N East Pacific Rise, Italy
Dr. Gabriele Casale (Structural Geology) - Italy, the Balkan Peninsula, southern Appalachians
Dr. Ellen Cowan (Sedimentary Record of Climate Change, Geoarchaeology, Geomorphology) - Alaska, Antarctica, North Carolina
Dr Cole Edwards (Carbonate Sedimentology) - Nevada
Dr. Sarah Evans (Hydrogeology) - Alaska, North Carolina
Dr. Steve Hageman (Invertebrate Paleontology, Paleoecology) - Australia, Scotland, the Adriatic Seaway, southern Appalachians
Dr. Andrew Heckert (Vertebrate Paleontology, Dinosaurs) - American Southwest, North Carolina, Argentina
Dr. Jamie Levine (Tectonics, Metamorphic Petrology, Structural Geology) - Colorado, Australia, North Carolina
Dr. Cynthia Liutkus-Pierce (Sedimentology, Paleoecology) - Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia, Nevada, Virginia
Dr. Scott Marshall (Geophysics and Structural Geology) - California, Nevada
Dr. Hannah Riegel (Structural Geology) - Italy
Brian Zimmer (Volcanology) - Mexico, Japan, East Africa