  
Graduate
Earth Sciences
REQUIREMENTS
| RESEARCH | FACULTY
Now
Available - Graduate Opportunity in Earth Science
Graduate
Program in Earth Sciences
Appalachian
Geology
Environmental Geology
Geochemistry
Geomorphology and Surficial Processes
Hydrogeology
Marine Geochemistry
Paleontology and Earth Systems History
Sedimentary Geology
THE
CAMPUS
North
Carolina State University, a Land-Grant University founded in 1887,
offers 90 undergraduate fields of study, 96 master's degrees, and
57 doctoral degree programs. Total enrollment is in the range of
28,000 students, of which about 23% are graduate students. The campus
is located in Raleigh, the state capital (population over 200,000)
and within commuting distance of Duke University, the University
of North Carolina, and the Research Triangle Park.
DEPARTMENT
BACKGROUND
A
degree program in geology was first offered in the late 1920's and
graduate work at the master's level was instituted in 1937. In 1967,
these programs were transferred from the School of Engineering to
form the Geosciences Department in the School of Physical and Mathematical
Sciences. In January, 1981, the degree programs in oceanography,
geology, and meteorology were integrated to form a Department of
Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. The department contains
32 permanent faculty positions, 10 of which are in the Earth Sciences;
the remaining are in Meteorology and in non-geological aspects of
Oceanography. During the 1998 - 1999 academic year, the department
had 194 undergraduate majors and 130 graduate students.
Applicants
are expected to have their degrees completed before entering the
graduate program. In most cases, an M.S. Degree is expected of applicants
to the Ph.D program. Most of the graduate students in the Geological
Sciences program have degrees in geological disciplines. The department,
however, also encourages applications from individuals with degrees
in related fields such as Biology, Chemistry, Soil Science and Civil
Engineering who can benefit from of the diversity of expertise both
within the department and across the campus.
STUDENT
BACKGROUND REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICANTS IN EARTH SCIENCE
Students
applying for admission to the M.S. program in the geological sciences
should have an adequate background in geology and/or in the appropriate
related sciences and mathematics. Students with a geology degree
should have had undergraduate courses that include crystallography
and mineralogy, optical mineralogy, igneous and metamorphic petrology,
sedimentary petrology, and structural geology, plus at least a year
each of chemistry, physics, and calculus. For a program in geochemistry,
students with an undergraduate geology degree may be required to
include additional chemistry as part of their M.S. programs. New
students will meet with a faculty committee during the first week
of classes in order to evaluate their academic backgrounds and determine
course work required to make up any deficiencies.
Incoming
graduate students with a bachelor's degree in geology/earth science
should have completed a suitable field camp program prior to coming
to NCSU. In the event that this is impossible, he or she will be
expected to attend the NCSU camp during the summer following their
first year in residence at NCSU.
^
TOP
RESEARCH
ACTIVITY
Independent
research is an integral part of a graduate program and should be
your major consideration in the selection of a graduate school.
An MS applicant should have determined a general area of research
interest within the broad area of geology; Ph.D. applicants should
be thinking in terms of a specific focus and individual faculty
with whom to conduct their research study. Material to consider
in comparison of departments includes the faculty research interests
(see representative publications),
graduate courses,
student research activities,
and facilities needed to support your research. As we realize this
is an important decision, you are urged to directly contact the
faculty member(s) whose professional interests are most closely
allied with your own.
Research
in the Earth Science program at N.C. State University tends to concentrate
in the following general areas at the present time:
1)
Tectonic research is focused on lithospheric plate margins and stresses
structures, metamorphic petrology and basalts produced in modern
and ancient orogenic belts. Studies usually combine field and analytical
work and often focus on the complex Piedmont Province rocks of the
southeastern United States.
2)
Outcrop and subsurface studies of ancient sedimentary strata tend
to focus on detrital-dominated stratigraphic intervals. Studies
usually combine various aspects of petrography, geochemistry, facies
architecture, reconstruction of depositional environments, seismic
stratigraphy and basin evolution.
3)
Research in recent sediments includes studies of fluvial and coastal
transport and depositional processes. Investigations of shelf sediment
distribution patterns may involve shipboard time. Other studies
focus on geochemical sedimentary problems, including diagenesis
of organic rich sediments.
4)
Sedimentary geochemistry, stable isotope geochemistry and radiochemistry
use well equipped laboratories to address problems in both modern
sediments and ancient strata. Areas include modern near-shore and
shelf environments, ocean paleoclimatology, and aqueous environmental
systems.
5)
) Paleontology and earth systems history research interests include:
Molecular paleontology, molecular diagenesis and taphonomy, evolution
of physiological and reproductive strategies in dinosaurs, and astrobiology.
Systematic paleontology and the study of morphological evolution
using discreet cladistic characters. Major taxonomic foci are extant
and extinct archosaurs and, specifically, dinosaurian interrelationships
and the origin of birds.
6)
Research in hydrogeology and hydrology focuses on groundwater flow,
groundwater exchange with surface water bodies (rivers, canals,
lakes), watershed hydrology, and the use of naturally occurring
chemical tracers in quantifying water flow and mixing. Recent projects
have involved studies in Florida, North Carolina, and Costa Rica.
Since
research is a major purpose of graduate study, students should attempt
to complete their required course work as early as possible in their
program. This will permit the final semester to be devoted to completion
of their research study. You will be strongly encouraged to present
your results at an appropriate professional meeting. Actual preparation
of your thesis or dissertation usually will follow a format adaptable
to publication in a professional journal.
^
TOP
STUDENT
ACTIVITIES
An
active undergraduate Geology Club is affiliated with the S.M.E.
and S.E.G. It provides an opportunity for faculty, graduate students,
and undergraduates to mingle in the context of monthly meetings
with guest speakers, field trips, and occasional social events.
An
active department chapter of the N.C.S.U. Graduate Student Association
has monthly noon-time meetings and also sponsors assorted social
activities. Funds usually are available through the association
to defray graduate student expenses to participate in professional
meetings and field trips. If you plan a visit to the department,
members of the Graduate Students Association are often able to provide
one or two nights' lodging. Contact the department for the name
of the Chapter President.
OTHER
INFORMATION
If
you decide to enter the program at NCSU, you should plan to arrive
a few days before the semester starts in order to become familiar
with the department, meet with your advisor, complete registration
if necessary, and determine your office assignment. Several required
meetings are associated with the start of classes, and you will
be informed of their specific dates by letter. These events include
the following.
1)
An orientation meeting is held for all new graduate students, usually
during the first week of classes. Office spaces and temporary advisors
listings will be available. The initial advisor assignment is for
the first semester only; during this first semester M.S. students
should select a graduate program advisor who most clearly parallels
their area of research interests.
2)
All students with geology Teaching Assistantship duties will meet
one or two days before the start of classes, bringing their class
schedules with them. At this time, laboratory and teaching assignments
for the semester will be distributed. As a general guideline in
the determination of T.A. assignments, one hour of preparation time
is allocated for each teaching contact hour in laboratory or class.
3)
Usually during the first week of classes (well before the end of
add/drop period), incoming M.S. students will meet with a faculty
committee to evaluate their academic background. A similar meeting
for new Ph.D. students is conducted by the student's advisor and
an ad-hoc research committee.
Soon
after your arrival, you should obtain a copy of the Graduate
School Catalog. It details the specific sequence and timetable
of steps to be met for both the M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs.
Ultimately, the student is responsible to ensure these steps have
been met.
DEPARTMENTAL
FACULTY IN GEOLOGY
N.
E. Blair, PhD, Stanford University, 1980. Biogeochemical
cycling of carbon in anoxic sediments, organic geochemistry,
stable isotope geochemistry of individual compounds. (neal_blair@ncsu.edu)
|
J.
Clarke, PhD, Yale University, 2002. Vertebrate paleontology:
dinosaur systematics and the origin of birds.
(julia_clarke@ncsu.edu)
|
| D.
J. DeMaster, PhD, Yale University, 1979. Marine geochemistry
and radiochemistry in nearshore and deep-sea environments. (dave_demaster@ncsu.edu) |
| R.
V. Fodor, PhD, University of New Mexico, 1972. Igneous
petrology, volcanoes, meteorites. (ron_fodor@ncsu.edu) |
J.
C. Fountain, PhD, University of California at Santa
Barbara, 1975.
Geochemistry, contaminant hydrology, fractured rock characterization.
(fountain@ncsu.edu) |
D.
Genereux, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
1991.
Interaction of groundwater and surface water, hydrogeology and
watershed hydrology. (genereux@ncsu.edu) |
| J.
P. Hibbard, PhD, Cornell University, 1988. Structural
geology, Appalachian tectonics. (jim_hibbard@ncsu.edu) |
| M.
M. Kimberley, PhD, Princeton University, 1974. Sedimentary
geochemistry, sedimentary ore deposits, chemistry of natural
and polluted water. (kimberley@ncsu.edu) |
| E.
L. Leithold, PhD, University of Washington, 1987. Nearshore
and shelf sedimentation and stratigraphy, sediment transport.
(leithold@ncsu.edu) |
| J.
P. Liu , PhD, The College of William and Mary, 2001
Late Quaternary sea level change and ocean margin evolution;
Large river deltaic deposits and sedimentary processes; Land-ocean
interactions; Watershed and estuarine GIS modeling; Geophysical
surveys (jpliu@ncsu.edu) |
| D.
A. Russell, PhD, Columbia University, 1964. Dinosaurian
evolution, ecology, and extinction. (dale_russell@ncsu.edu) |
M.
Schweitzer, PhD, Montana State University-Bozeman,
1995
Molecular preservation in fossils, evolution of physiological strategies
in dinosaurs, microbial influences in taphonomy of vertebrates,
Mars exobiology research. (schweitzer@ncsu.edu) |
| W.
J. Showers, PhD, University of Hawaii, 1982. Stable
isotope geochemistry, paleoceanography, ground water pollution,
geochemistry of phosphates. (w_showers@ncsu.edu) |
C.J.
Thomas, PhD, North Carolina State University, 1998.
Isotope geochemistry, biogeochemistry, animal-sediment interactions.
(cjthomas@unity.ncsu.edu) |
» For information on graduate programs, contact:
Dr. Gerald S. Janowitz
Graduate Administrator
janowitz@ncsu.edu | tel: 919-515-7837 |
