Graduate Programs

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Geological Sciences

Introduction

The Department of Geological Sciences offers two master’s degree programs—the Master of Science and Master of Science in Teaching (Earth Science). The Master of Science program prepares students for careers as professional geoscientists in industry, government, or education, or for continued graduate study. Current program concentrations are in geological sciences, geophysics, environmental geochemistry, environmental geology, environmental sciences, and hydrogeology. The Department of Geological Sciences is widely recognized for its applied graduate programs and maintains a strong emphasis on practical field applications. A nonthesis M.S. degree option is available for individuals seeking to gain expertise in geological sciences who already have an M.S. or Ph.D. degree in science or engineering from an accredited university, and who have completed a research thesis or dissertation. The Master of Science in Teaching (Earth Science) program is designed for K–12 educators seeking to add content and education courses in Earth/Space Science that may lead to Ohio Early Childhood Education, Middle Childhood, or Adolescent Young Adult (AYA) licensure in Earth/Space Science; or for presently certified or licensed K–12 teachers seeking to improve their knowledge of Earth/Space Sciences. For additional information on the department and its programs, you might wish to consult our Web site at www.wright.edu/geology/.

In addition to the above programs, the department supports the Interdisciplinary Science and Mathematics Master of Science in Teaching (M.S.T.) program offered by the College of Science and Mathematics.

Admission

A candidate for the Master of Science degree (geological sciences) must possess a Bachelor of Science degree or Bachelor of Arts degree from a recognized institution. Students must have a strong background in geological sciences with appropriate courses in support sciences, mathematics, and computer science. Students not meeting these requirements may be admitted with deficiencies. A candidate for the Master of Science in Teaching degree (earth science) must possess a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree from a recognized institution.

Degree Requirements

Master of Science in Geological Sciences
In addition to the requirements of the School of Graduate Studies, the following requirements
of the Department of Geological Sciences must be met:
1. Completion of 45 or more graduate credit hours apportioned in the following way: at least nine hours of thesis credit and at least 36 additional hours of graduate credit in an instructional program approved by the candidate’s graduate committee, including colloquia or seminars as required by the department
2. Submission of an approved thesis based on original research
3. Satisfactory performance in a final thesis defense near the end of the degree program
Individual programs of study tailor course work, seminars, and research guided by faculty to the professional and educational goals of each student. Each graduate student is advised by a committee of three faculty members. Ultimate responsibility for fulfilling all requirements rests with the student.

Environmental Sciences

The Environmental Sciences concentration was developed by the College of Science and Mathematics to promote interdisciplinary research. Students working toward an M.S. degree in the Department of Geological Sciences under this concentration are required to complete 45 graduate quarter hours, including environmental sciences core courses and additional geology and supporting science courses. A student in the Department of Geological Sciences can elect to pursue an environmental sciences concentration that combines courses and research in geology, biology, and chemistry. For students who select this option, the advisory committee includes
a member from outside the department, e.g., a member of the biology or chemistry faculty. And, in addition to meeting the general requirements for the Master of Science degree in geological sciences, course requirements for the environmental core include:

• Environmental chemistry
• Geologic and environmental applications of geographic information systems
• Environmental statistics
• Risk assessment
• Environmental sciences seminar
• Two environmental sciences electives outside the geological sciences department

Environmental Sciences Ph.D. Program

In addition, students in geological sciences can pursue an interdisciplinary Ph.D., in Environmental Sciences concentrating on Environmental Geophysics and Hydrogeology. See the separate listing for that program or consult the Web site www.wright.edu/academics/ieq/.

Master of Science in Teaching (Earth Science)

In addition to the requirements of the School of Graduate Studies, the following requirements of the Department of Geological Sciences must be met:
1. Completion of a minimum of 45 graduate credit hours apportioned in the following way: a maximum of 12 credit hours in the College of Education and Human Services, 6 credit hours of project credit, 9 hours of geology field-based courses, and additional graduate courses approved by the student’s graduate committee to fulfill the credit hour requirement
2. Submission of an approved project report
3. Satisfactory presentation of an approved project
Because graduate students working toward this degree are expected to have a wide range of backgrounds, programs must be designed on an individual basis. For instance, students may choose to focus on the environment by taking a suite of environmental sciences courses combined with a related environmental project. Graduate students are guided by an advisory committee consisting of two geological sciences faculty members and one education faculty member, who are responsible for advice concerning the academic program including the project, the number of education courses, and the selection of other courses to fulfill candidacy requirements. Ultimate responsibility for fulfilling all requirements rests with the student.

Facilities

The Department of Geological Sciences is housed in the Brehm Laboratory. Department facilities include 12 teaching and research laboratories and a wide variety of specialized facilities. The department’s research facilities and equipment are outstanding and lend critical support to its applied programs. The Geological Sciences computer room provides PCs and Macs for GIS, geological, hydrological, geophysical, and remote sensing applications.

In addition to the laboratory facilities described here, the department has an exceptional array of field equipment for faculty and student use. This equipment includes truck-mounted drilling rigs, trucks, vans, and other vehicles for extensive field research. Two technicians are employed to maintain and improve equipment capability of both field and laboratory equipment.

The mineralogy/crystallography/petrology laboratories feature reference and display collections of minerals and rocks, Zeiss universal microscopes, and several student model microscopes. A Logitech thin-sectioning machine and facilities for mineral separations are available.

The sedimentology and sedimentary petrology laboratory is equipped with a Wild stereomicroscope with drawing attachment, Nuclide Cathodoluminescence Luminoscope, Zeiss Universal petrographic microscopes, Nikon 35mm macrophotography equipment, an interactive video-computer microscope system, UV luminescence equipment, complete darkroom facilities, an air abrasive unit, and the petrologic equipment listed previously. Both PC- and Macintosh-based software are available for creating maps and cross-sections and for statistical analysis. Current research projects include the study of Mississippian oolitic limestones in the central Appalachian Basin, Pleistocene and Holocene carbonate rocks and sediments in the Bahamas, facies analysis of Paleozoic fluvial sandstones as well as Pleistocene glacial sediments, and the effects of sedimentary structures and facies distributions on ground water flow.

Several laboratories serve the needs of hydrogeology and environmental geology. The field laboratory supports equipment for sampling or in situ determination of both the physical and the chemical properties of hydrogeologic systems, including drilling rigs with numerous support vehicles, sample extraction apparatus, in situ sampling probes with automated digital data acquisition systems, and downhole geophysical logging tools. Two field sites with dedicated hydrogeological monitoring equipment are maintained. Through the hydrogeochemistry laboratories, access is possible to a complete line of analytical instrumentation for the analysis of aqueous chemical parameters, including ion chromatography, VIS/UV spectrophotometry,
gas chromatography, and facilities and vacuum extraction lines for stable isotope sample processing. An organic geochemistry lab is equipped with the latest Hewlett-Packard 6890 series gas chromatograph and a Hewlett-Packard 6890 series automatic sampler, managed by a HP VL3 pentium computer system and HP GC Chemstation software.

Current research includes the theory and the application of ground-water flow and pollution modeling, hydrogeochemical modeling, theory and application of environmental isotopes for ground-water age dating and for the investigation of hydrologic systems, organic contaminant fate and transport, insular water resource planning and management, ground-water buffering of acid precipitation, acid-mine drainage, hydrogeology and diagenesis of carbonates, non-point source pollution (Sycamore Farms Experimental Watershed), wetland hydrogeology and hydrogeochemistry, hydraulics of fractured rocks, and the characterization of hazardous waste repositories.

The facilities and equipment supporting the geophysics concentration include a 120-channel truck-mounted seismic reflection system, geophysical work stations for seismic modeling, Sun stations running PROMAX for seismic data processing and Paradigm for seismic interpretation, three gravity meters (LaCoste-Romberg and Worden), a magnetic gradiometer system, a ground-penetrating radar system, a 2D/3D resistivity imaging system, a 48-channel engineering seismograph, an elastic wave generator, and a precision GPS survey system.

Research on near surface geophysical studies related to environmental and engineering problems is active. Additional research includes gravity, magnetic, and seismic refraction and reflection studies relating to the geology of Ohio and West Virginia. Field work in tectonics and structural geology is concentrated in the Appalachian Mountains, Western Ohio, and the Ohio River Region.

The Department of Geological Sciences has a remote sensing laboratory Sun Sparc 80 and personal computers with remote sensing data processing software and has the capability to download and process a variety of satellite image formats. The lab includes a large format plotter suitable for large scale mosaics.

Excellent cooperative academic and research relationships exist with other departments on campus and with surrounding colleges and universities in southwestern Ohio. The department has wide-ranging capabilities and can accommodate through its facilities a very broad range of research ideas.

Faculty

Professors

Christopher C. Barton, geological science
Allen Burton (chair), environmental science
C. Bryan Gregor, geochemical cycles, mass age distribution of sediments
Byron R. Kulander (Emeritus), structural geology, geophysics
Benjamin H. Richard (Emeritus), field geology, exploration geophysics
Robert W. Ritzi Jr., hydrogeology, hydrogeological modeling
Paul J. Wolfe (Emeritus), exploration geophysics

Associate Professors
Abinash Agrawal, contaminant hydrogeology, site remediation
Cindy Carney, carbonate petrology, carbonate sedimentology, diagenesis
Songlin Cheng, hydrogeochemistry, isotope hydrology, geographic information systems
David Dominic, clastic sedimentology, stratigraphy
Ernest C. Hauser, near surface geophysics, subsurface imaging
William Slattery, teacher education, sequence stratigraphy
Assistant Professor
Doyle Watts, remote sensing, seismic data acquisition and processing, astrogeology

Financial Assistance

Graduate teaching assistantships and graduate assistantships carrying stipends and fee remissions are awarded. Research assistantships connected with supported research projects and research contracts are also available. Tuition scholarships are available in special cases.