Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences

The research interests of our faculty and staff are diverse, ranging from diamondiferous eclogites to edrioasteroids fossils to Martian meteorites to contaminant transport to Appalachian orogen and more. Recent field work occurred in such exotic locations as the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, the Adar Mountain of Mauritania, the Atacama Desert in Chile, and Gusev Crater on Mars via the "Spirit" MER rover.

We are also partnered with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which offers unique research opportunities. We offer B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in geology, and our graduates go on to distinguish themselves in academia, industry, and government. We currently have over 100 students, both graduate and undergraduate, and are always on the look out for more. East Tennessee is beautiful and the cost of living is low, making Knoxville a most attractive location to reside.