Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences
The Earth, Environmental and Resource Science EDGE – Your Path to a World of Careers
Just over 100 years old, the University of Texas at El Paso (³ÉÈËÍ·Ìõ) is a burgeoning national and international research university committed to access and excellence. A leader among minority-serving institutions, ³ÉÈËÍ·Ìõ enrolls over 25,000 students with a large bilingual population. ³ÉÈËÍ·Ìõ is designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as “Community Engaged,” and ³ÉÈËÍ·Ìõ faculty have been nationally recognized for their commitment to student success, teaching, research, and scholarship. As a center for intellectual capital, ³ÉÈËÍ·Ìõ has awarded more than 110,000 degrees since its founding in 1914 and is one of the major economic engines in the Paso Del Norte region.
El Paso and ³ÉÈËÍ·Ìõ lie within one of the most spectacular settings in North America that have something for everyone. The rugged landscapes of the southern Rio Grande rift range from semi-arid deserts to alpine tundra. Located in the southern end of the Rio Grande rift, active tectonism has exposed strata ranging from Proterozoic through the Quaternary. Intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks also range from the mantle peridotites of Kilbourne Hole to thrust involved andesite stocks. Pennsylvanian, and Early Tertiary deformation events are spaced by Mid-Cretaceous and Recent rifting, with all the structures beautifully exposed within 50 miles of El Paso. Classic geologic localities of Carlsbad Caverns, the Sacramento Escarpment, and the Guadalupe Reef are 100 miles from the University. From an environmental perspective, the 2.5 million people in the metropolitan areas of El Paso and Juarez Mexico have numerous needs and provide opportunities for outreach and research.
The Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences was the first at ³ÉÈËÍ·Ìõ to be given PhD granting status. The region’s long association with mining (We are the Miners!) and excellent geological location have ensured the department a high-profile position within the university since being founded as the Texas School of Mines, then as Texas Western College, until today as part of the University of Texas system. With a diverse faculty of 30, the department continues a tradition of strong fundamentals and field work combined with advanced analytical and computational methods. We thrive and excel at interdisciplinary research and education working with Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Health Sciences, Computer Sciences and other disciplines.
Our mission is to provide experiential education to our undergraduate and graduate students to propel them into diverse careers in industry, government, non-governmental organizations and academia. With majors in Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences, Geophysics and Environmental Science, a degree with us can lead to numerous career options. The Department of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences has instituted a program of team-oriented, project research starting with Physical Geology for majors. We have begun organizing peer-to-peer learning to facilitate interactions among all levels of students. In addition, ³ÉÈËÍ·Ìõ Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences is a national leader in transitioning community college and early college high school students into the B.S. degree. Our faculty incorporate undergraduates into our graduate student-centered research to make the most of the learning experience while producing world-class research publications.
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AY-PREP student research trip to central New Mexico Tent Rock monument.
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Freshman physical geology lab field trip collecting geophysical data near the Rio Grande River. |
Environmental Science students (from left to right: Nuria Andreu Garcia, Luis Del Val, Fabian Uribarri, Ashley Macfee) presented posters on their research projects at the Campus Office of Undergraduate Research Initiatives (COURI) symposium in 2016. |
Research and graduate education are organized into six themes: Entrepreneurial Geoscience, Earth System Geochemistry, Geospatial Research, Science Learning & Education, Solid Earth & Geophysics, and Tectonics & Sedimentation. Themes help ensure that we have strength and breadth in critical areas and create an integrated curriculum and research experience. The themes interact whenever possible with a collegial faculty that is always looking for opportunities to collaborate. In addition, we have started to grow in hydro(geo)logy with the addition of Dr. Hugo Gutierrez-Jurado who studies the relationship between groundwater and vegetation in arid regions. Dr. Gutierrez-Jurado’s work couples well with the plant ecology group in Biology at ³ÉÈËÍ·Ìõ. To complement this expertise in macro-biota, Dr. Jie Xu joined the faculty in 2016. Dr. Xu's research focuses on nanoparticles in the environment and how microbes form these highly reactive phases. Both of these research areas, hydrogeology and biogeochemistry, are set to become research theme areas in the near future. Dr. Julien Chaput joined the deparment in fall 2018 with a multifaceted background in projects both in and outside of Earth Sciences. Dr. Chaput's primary focus is in wavefield imaging and temporal monitoring of active volcanoes, Antarctic ice shelves, and continental scale structural imaging efforts in polar media (Greenland and Antarctica). Dr. Chaput's research typically cover aspects of Bayesian statistics, linear/nonlinear inverse theory, and components of machine learning. Our newest faculty member, Dr. Antonio Arriba,s will be joining the department in fall 2019. Dr. Arribas comes to El Paso from the mining industry with an emphasis in ore deposits, ore-forming processes, mineral exploration, history of mining, applied isotope geochemistry, geoscience teaching, and analytical techniques.
is a theme that the world needs now more than ever. In a time where demands on energy and mineral resources skyrocket, we investigate new avenues to anticipate these needs as well as preparing students with entrepreneurial skills to address the challenges of geologic discovery and economic development. The Center for Entrepreneurial Geosciences, led by Phil Goodell and assisted by Roshelly Paliza, is producing a new generation of entrepreneurial geoscientists. These individuals will become leaders because of their ability to connect geological and environmental science with skill to generate business opportunities. Combined with the new Fast Track to MBA through Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences, we ensure students have access to an education leading to successful business careers.
Society and the natural world are intertwined through the chemistry of the Earth system. The Earth System Geochemistry (ESG) theme uses science to learn how civilization and the natural environment can be sustainably managed. From rocks to humans, from dust to soil microbes, and from trace elements to regional water budgets, ESG spans a mind-boggling diversity and variety of processes that operate from picoseconds to eons. 
Image: High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) of biogenic metal sulfide nanocrystals (Image courtesy of Dr. Jie Xu).
Despite this range of spatial and temporal scales, all of these processes and their interrelationships must be understood in an integrated manner. Geochemistry is a key to finding common ground to address this grand challenge. We reiterate our strong collaborations with others, especially environmental scientists in biology, chemistry and the to further expand the number of approaches we can use to educate students and guide them through research.
One of the fastest growing job markets is in Geospatial Research. The founder of ³ÉÈËÍ·Ìõ’s (GIS) program, Dr. Deana Pennington with Drs. Tom Gill, Jose Hurtado, Richard (Rip) Langford, Nick Pingitore and Hugo Gutierrez-Jurado are working to shape changes in dealing with problems such as water management, spreading disease and dust storms. Field geology is being revolutionized by mobile computing technologies and ³ÉÈËÍ·Ìõ is in the forefront of this effort (e.g., Pavlis et al., 2010; Pavlis and Mason, 2017). We are honing our field data collection systems to include live, 3-D mapping through construction of 3-D surface models from LiDAR and photogrammetry. Drones are at the forefront of this research and are used to obtain rapid surveys to create high-resolution digital elevation maps (DEMs). This exciting and practical 21st century research also leads to potential entrepreneurship opportunities because the GIS approach is utilized in commercial endeavors at a rapidly growing rate. The U.S. Department of Labor identifies geospatial technology as a high-growth, high-demand, and economically vital sector of our economy. Our vision is to be the cutting edge in GIS while producing young professionals with a 21 century demographic.
Photo: Image taken from drone of field work by left to right: Dr. Laura Serpa, Kate Grisi, Jose Cervantes, Jose Garcia, Dr. Terry Pavlis.
³ÉÈËÍ·Ìõ Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences balances the demands of advanced research and educating students by merging the two efforts into one. The Science and Learning Education (SLE) theme works to ensure that we are constantly examining and improving our pedagogical methods. Research on how students learn science is improving our students’ preparation and professionalism and subsequently their career opportunities. Our research on science education is widely recognized for developing new and better ways to teach science concepts and skills so students learn more efficiently and deeply. Problem-based learning, collaborative and networked learning, and peer-to-peer team learning are approaches that have demonstrated efficacy in teaching science. We are involved in a variety of projects targeted toward challenges specific to groups currently under-represented in scientific fields. Our mission is to target key research areas that have been shown to improve student recruitment, retention and graduation rates. We develop research projects in these areas and test our findings in classes and outreach activities. These areas include K-16 pathways to success, minority education through travel, and collaborative and networked learning.
Solid Earth & Geophysics focuses on the Earth from crust to the core using techniques ranging from remote sensing to geophysical imaging. We specialize in active deformation determined from seismology (both controlled source and earthquakes), paleoseismology, potential field geophysics, and satellite-based measurements. Controlled source experiments are enabled by the National Seismic Source Facility housed within our department and run by Galen Kaip and Steve Harder. Specific research projects include earthquake hazards in our region, forearc deformation in Alaska, seismo-tectonic characterization of the Himalayan Fold-Thrust Belt, dynamic earthquake triggering, and development of 3-D models from multiple geophysics datasets. The last area in particular is an opportunity to collaborate with Computer Scientists through the CyberShare Center of Excellence and to connect the ESG group datasets to delineate complex aquifers. Future economic development in arid regions such as El Paso and Ciudad Juarez depends on the ability to manage water supplies as efficiently as possible, so knowledge of water sources and potential recharge areas is critical to our economic future.
Tectonics and Sedimentation are at the heart of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences. Scientists decipher the feedbacks among tectonics, erosion and sedimentation to gain a quantitative understanding of deformation, erosion and sediment dynamics that write the story of Earth’s history and lead to the state of the planet’s surface we now live on. To address the important questions in the field, we develop hypotheses from observations that are shared with all team members who cover a broad range of expertise. This allows us to find new, creative and efficient methods to test and refine hypotheses and move forward the cutting edge of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences. Projects include unraveling the mixing of mélange, inverted basins and out-of-sequence thrusts, syntectonic rift sedimentation, and salt-sediment interactions. The last of these coalesces through the Institute of Tectonic Studies directed by Dr. Katherine Giles which includes a highly successful academic-industry consortium.
In summary, ³ÉÈËÍ·Ìõ Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences is a department designed to maximize collaborations both internally and externally. We are addressing regional problems related to the availability of water and the effects on soils and plants, as well as global problems in earthquake hazards, petroulem resources, to computer science. From freshman year to Ph.D. graduate, we seek to provide an interdisciplinary education for our students based in field and hands-on research experience. Our faculty work with other departments from across campus to provide the most flexible and comprehensive curriculum possible.
GO MINERS!
