Earth Sciences in the News

The UB Department of Earth Sciences (formerly known as the Department of Geology) 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.

UB alum maps minerals for USGS
1/31/25
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 Department of Geology is now the Department of Earth Sciences
1/27/25
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 student makes rare fossil discovery
1/21/25
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
1/21/25
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.
An earthquake in WNY?
1/21/25
Did you feel the earthquake? That was the hot topic of conversation on Monday, as many of us awoke to a natural phenomenon that is common in California, but not here on the shores of Lake Erie. UBNow caught up with Tracy Gregg, professor and director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Geology, College of Arts and Sciences, to get her insights on earthquakes in general and on Monday’s event that had its epicenter in West Seneca — a little more than 16 miles from the UB North Campus.

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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!

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