classroom Dr. Md. Khalequzzaman Dr. Loretta Dickson and students outdoors

B.S. Geology

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Concentration options:

  • Applied Geology
  • Water & Environment
  • Engineering Geology
  • Geography & GIS
  • Secondary Education - Earth & Space Science or
    General Science

If you are interested in the science of our changing planet, natural resources, and environmental issues facing our society, then the LHU Geology major is exactly what you are looking for. Your small class sizes will guarantee that you will get the personal instruction you need to succeed. And you will get hands-on experience with field and laboratory equipment used in the exploration of natural resources and real-world problem solving.

You will participate in exciting weekend field trips each semester to study unique geologic features in various settings, including the world class geologic outcrops right here in our area. You may work with the faculty on research in such areas as water resources, acid mine drainage, paleoclimatic change, mass extinction impact events, and volcanic and magmatic processes. You may also become involved in international research dealing with coal and water resources on a local, regional, and global scale by studying the impact of coal mining and agricultural practices in Central Pennsylvania on water quality.

In addition, our very active Geology Club welcomes you to join them on field trips, hiking and camping trips, fossil digs, mineral collecting trips, and community service projects.

Facilities

LHU boasts state-of-the-art equipment such as petrographic microscopes, scanning electron microscope, anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) analyzer, rock-cutting and thin section making equipment, outcrop gamma-ray scintillometer, portable seismology and electromagnetic survey equipment, Frantz magnetic mineral separator, digital spectrometers for soil and water analysis, sedimentological analysis equipment, stream table, groundwater simulator, groundwater and surface water modeling software, and GIS software that enables students to perform research on a global basis. Our modern laboratories are housed in Ulmer Hall as are our classrooms which are equipped with SmartBoards allowing interfacing of computers and the Internet into the learning experience.

Career Opportunities

Now is an exciting time to be an Earth Scientist. Because our society will always need tremendous quantities of raw materials extracted from the earth and will also always place tremendous pressures on our environment, well-trained professionals will always find numerous career opportunities. With your Geology degree from LHU, you will be in high demand for a seemingly endless list of careers from exploration geologist and oceanographer to pollution remediator and urban planner. You will be prepared to work in areas such as hydrogeology and water resources, oil and gas exploration, mining, seismology, volcanology, geophysics, geochemistry, marine geology, planetary geology, engineering geology, environmental consulting, and mineralogy. Our Secondary Education concentrations (in Earth & Space and General Science) will prepare you to teach science in middle and high schools, sharing your understanding of astronomy, meteorology, oceanography, and geology with the next generations.

Recent graduates have found employment with Corning Glass, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, GSC/Kleinfelder, HRI, Inc., ERM West, Inc., Pennsylvania Tectonics, Inc., Del Val Soil & Environmental Consultants, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, among others. Others have continued to graduate school at the University of Delaware, University of Maine, Arizona State University, SUNY Binghamton, Idaho State University, University of Miami, University of Akron, and Wright State University.

Internships

The hands-on learning you will receive by working in real-life situations is invaluable for future employment or entrance into graduate school. Some recent internships that our students have experienced include working with the New Jersey Geological Survey, the Pennsylvania Geological Survey, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, HRI, Inc., Del Val Soils Engineering, the Black Hills Institute, Hillis-Carnes
Engineering, and PA Tectonics.

Our Faculty

All geology faculty hold doctorate degrees and are continuously involved in their respective specialties. Their diverse specialization allows the Geology program to offer upper-level courses in all the important sub-disciplines in geology. Small labs and classes are taught by these professors, not graduate assistants, and provide a high level of personal interaction with every student.

Anura Goonewardene, Ph.D.
Professor of Physics
Director of Nanotechnology
Experimental Surface, Physics/Solid State Physics

Michael Cullin, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Science Education
Understanding the nature of science and scientific inquiry, specifically scientific models & modeling

Loretta Dickson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Geology
Igneous Petrology, Mineralogy, Crystallography, Structural Geology,
Volcanology, Gemstones

Md. Khalequzzaman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Geology
Hydrology, Aqueous Environmental Geochemistry Coastal Oceanography, GIS

John D. Reid, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Physics
Experimental Particle Physics, High Energy & Heavy Ion Physics

Indrajith Senevirathne, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Physics
Surface Physics, Structure, Thermodynamical and Kinetic Stability of Nano Particles, Plasmonics of Nano Structures

Marian Tzolov, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Physics
Photovoltaics, Organic and Molecular Electronics, Solid State Spectroscopy

James Wheeler, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Physics
Relativistic Astrophysics of Hot Dense Systems

Thomas Wynn, Ph.D. , Department Chair
Assistant Professor of Geology
(570) 484-2081   Email: twynn@lhup.edu
Stratigraphy, Sedimentology, Paleontology and GIS