Earth Sciences in the News

The Department of Earth Sciences stands at the forefront of pressing global issues, such as climate change, resource management and environmental protection. Learn more about how our expert faculty and fearless students conduct research that impacts the world around us. 

  • GLY is evolving to ERT
    3/3/25
    With the exciting news of the Department of Geology evolving to the Department of Earth Sciences, there will also be a change in course prefixes. Starting in spring 2025, courses previously identified with the GLY prefix will now use the ERT prefix.
  • UB Department of Geology is now the Department of Earth Sciences
    3/3/25
    The University at Buffalo Department of Geology is about much more than rocks and minerals. Its faculty and students perform cutting-edge research on everything from how glaciers react to climate change, to how molten lava behaves during volcanic eruptions. A few of them even helped NASA photograph last year’s total solar eclipse. To better reflect this, the department will now be known as the Department of Earth Sciences.
  • UB alum maps minerals for USGS
    2/6/25
    Bernard Hubbard, PhD '01, didn’t set out to map minerals. As a geology PhD student at UB, he used satellite and airborne instruments to study volcanoes from above. Later, as a research geologist with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), he began using this same remote-sensing technology to find mineral deposits, which can contain the critical elements desperately needed for electronics, defense and renewable energy.
  • UB student makes rare fossil discovery
    2/6/25
    UB Geology student James Hanna discovered a rare fossil while digging at Penn Dixie Fossil Park and Nature Reserve in Hamburg, where he is a staff educator. Another Penn Dixie staffer and UB Geology student, Jonathan Hoag, found a similar fossil a few days later.
  • Nowicki recognized with Richardson Medal
    2/6/25
    Sophie Nowicki and the ISMIP6 team she leads were recognized with the Richardson Medal by the International Glaciological Union for their academic and leadership activities in the design and production of future sea-level projections.
See All Geology News

Short News Stories

Mr. Jason Hanania (BS, 2023, expected) won First Place in the undergraduate poster competition for the Hydrology Division of the Geological Society of America (October 9 – 12, Denver, Colorado). Jason presented at this national conference that he conducted with Prof. Chris Lowry. Jason and Chris investigate infiltration and the storage of water in rain gardens on the west side of Buffalo. These rain gardens are one method that Buffalo uses to reduce combined sewer overflows. Jason was able to identify relationships between wetting and drying cycles based on the soil-moisture data he collected. He quantified the conditions where plants within the rain garden were able to maximize root water uptake, thus reducing flows into the stormwater system. Using a variably saturated flow model, he identified optimal soil types to maximize water storage. Congratulations, Jason! 

Zoom image: Jason Hanania next to his prize-winning poster at the Hydrology Division of the Geological Society of America (October 9 – 12, Denver, Colorado).   Jason Hanania next to his prize-winning poster.

Jason Hanania next to his prize-winning poster at the Hydrology Division of the Geological Society of America (October 9 – 12, Denver, Colorado).  

More Earth Sciences News: Buffalo and Beyond

NASA climate scientist joins UB faculty
Volcanic eruption minus the volcano