Research

The UTA Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences features a robust research profile with faculty and students conducting cutting-edge research in a wide array of areas. Our faculty members’ research programs are funded by grants from state, national, and international sources including the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, National Institutes of Health, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, ConTex, and many others. Our faculty provide excellent training for master’s and doctoral students as well as for undergraduate students, who are encouraged to become involved in research early in their college careers.

 

Much of the department’s research encompasses broad themes emphasized by UTA in its role as an R-1 Research Institution (Carnegie Foundation) and a Tier I Texas research institution. This includes conducting research in the following four areas and seeking solutions to the issues corresponding to each:

 

SUSTAINABILITY

- Energy Resources

- Earth and Materials

- Infrastructure

- Waste Reduction

- Green Technologies

 

CLIMATE CHANGE AND IMPACT

- Sea Level Rise

- Flooding and Droughts

- Heat Waves

- Severe Weather

 

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

- Exposure Risk

- Contaminant Transport

- Environmental Toxicology

- Vector Diseases

 

GEOHAZARDS

- Landslides/Rockfalls

- Debris Flows

- Earthquakes

- Volcanic Eruptions

- Tsunamis

 

 

Faculty Research Areas

 

Geochronology

Nathan Brown, assistant professor

 

Tectonics and Paleoclimate

Majie Fan, associate professor

 

Climate Change

Oceanography and Paleoclimate

Arne Winguth, professor

Cornelia Winguth, associate professor of instruction

 

Nano-Petrophysics

Qinhong “Max” Hu, professor

 

Environmental Geochemistry

Andrew Hunt, associate professor

 

Environmental Health

Hyeong-Moo Shin, assistant professor

 

Environmental Chemistry

Un-Jung Kim, assistant professor

 

Biostratigraphy

Merlynd Nestell, professor

Galina Nestell, adjunct research professor