Stanford University School of Earth Sciences
Encyclopedia
The School of Earth Sciences (often referred to as the SES, or at Stanford as just "The School") is one of three schools at Stanford
awarding both graduate and undergraduate degrees. Stanford's first faculty member was a professor of geology
as such the School of Earth Sciences is considered the oldest academic foundation of Stanford University. It is composed of four departments and three interdisciplinary programs. Research and teaching within The School spans a wide range of disciplines. The School is often regarded as one of the most comprehensive and prestigious earth sciences consortia in the world. Since 2002 the Dean of Earth Sciences is Pamela Matson
.
, hired John Casper Branner, a geologist, as the university's first professor. The search for and extraction of natural resource
s was the focus of Branner's geology department during that period of Western development.
Looking ahead to the twenty-first century, basic research
will continue to elucidate the physical, chemical, and biological process
es that make Earth materials, shape the landscape, and control the emplacement and recovery of mineral, hydrocarbon, and geothermal resources. Improved description of fundamental mechanisms will permit the separation of anthropogenic climate variations from naturally occurring ones, the ability to predict how organic and inorganic pollutants migrate in the soil, an understanding of how faults form and earthquakes begin, and the optimum use of energy resources. The goal of the School of Earth Sciences at Stanford is to build the base of Earth science, both for its own sake and for its application to the problems and opportunities faced in the next century.
The interdisciplinary programs, in conjunction with the four departments, reach out to all other schools on the Stanford campus, the USGS, and both state and federal policy makers.
The school's library, Branner Earth Sciences Library
, contains over 125,000 volumes, a large map collection and Stanford's GIS lab for ongoing GIS reference and research consultation.
in 2006 (Caltech is ranked no. 1). Both the geology and energy resources engineering programs are ranked no. 1, and the geophysics program is ranked no. 3.
Due to the interdisciplinary nature of earth sciences, students entering the program often have a strong background in multiple fields outside of earth sciences such as engineering, mathematics, physics, chemistry, computer science, political science, anthropology, and biology.
Students seeking seeking the PhD spend anywhere from 5 to 8 years in their program. All PhD students are fully funded throughout their academic careers at Stanford. The vast majority of the students in GES and Geophysics are admitted as PhD track candidates. By the end of the second academic year (or 6th quarter) PhD students are expected to fulfill the University Orals Doctorate Qualifying requirement. Unlike most disciplines at Stanford, the qualifying examination in The School is extremely rigorous (often lasting in excess of 4 hours, compared to 1–3 hours in other schools). The students present on their previous research findings- most of which the students have already published in peer-reviewed journals. Also unique to The School, the faculty strongly encourage the students to lead their own research projects. This results in an abnormally high yield of first authored student publication in peer-reviewed journals.
The majority of the students completing PhDs from The School rarely find it difficult to acquire jobs related to their dissertation work (most entering industry/natural resources, and about a third enter prestigious post-doctoral positions- often at the USGS in Menlo Park, CA).
Because The School is modest in number of graduate students compared to the other 6 graduate/professional degree granting schools at Stanford, the School of Earth Sciences has a Graduate Student Advisory Committee. The Graduate Student Advisory Committee (GSAC) is composed of students in the School of Earth Sciences who are committed to making the school a better environment by providing a forum for student concerns, promoting integration of the disciplines within the school, and developing programs that will benefit the greater Earth Sciences community. Likewise, most students in The School report being very happy at quarterly town hall meeting
s.
, Stanford Wave Physics Laboratory, Stanford Rock Physics and Borehole Geophysics Project) that implement student led research for industry implementation.
Research Groups in The School:
in conjunction with the USGS and NASA. The SAFOD
site is located just north of the town of Parkfield, California
. The SAFOD main hole was drilled to a depth of ~3.4 km in 2004 and 2005, crossing the San Andreas near a region of the fault where repeating Magnitude 2 earthquakes are generated.
A goal of this project is to install instruments to record data near the source of these earthquakes. In addition to the installation of these instruments, rock and fluid samples were continuously collected during the drilling process, and will also be used to analyze changes in geochemistry and mechanical properties around the fault zone
. The project will lead to a better understanding of the processes that control the behavior of the San Andreas fault
, and it is hoped that the development of instrumentation and analytic methods will help evaluate the possibility of earthquake prediction
which is of primary importance for earthquake engineering
.
The project is co-PIed by Bill Ellsworth and Steve Hickman of the USGS, and Stanford geophysics faculty member and alum Mark Zoback. Zoback's research in The School focuses on stress and crustal mechanics. His students are heavily engaged in on-going research in the geophysics Earthquake Group (particularly via SAFOD), and Global Climate and Energy Project
.
, Chemical Engineering
, and Civil and Environmental Engineering
.
Other traditions include:
New Student Overnight: Hosted by GSAC in a California State Park.
Bar Crawl: often a few weeks after the new student overnight in nearby downtown Palo Alto.
Semi Annual 99 Bottles: Bike ride from Stanford to the Santa Cruz bar "99 Bottles".
GES Holiday Party: Students in GES give gifts to faculty and staff, one student dresses as Santa. All followed by a large, Schoolwide party in the GES seminar room.
Mall Crawl: Same concept as a bar crawl
, only held at the Stanford Shopping Center where numerous wines, cocktails, and beers are served.
Geophysics Student Visits: Graduate being considered for the program are invited to visit Stanford. A large party is usually held.
GeoSnow: GSAC-run Lake Tahoe
ski weekend for students and alumni.
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
awarding both graduate and undergraduate degrees. Stanford's first faculty member was a professor of geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
as such the School of Earth Sciences is considered the oldest academic foundation of Stanford University. It is composed of four departments and three interdisciplinary programs. Research and teaching within The School spans a wide range of disciplines. The School is often regarded as one of the most comprehensive and prestigious earth sciences consortia in the world. Since 2002 the Dean of Earth Sciences is Pamela Matson
Pamela Matson
Pamela Anne Matson is an American scientist, professor, and dean of the Stanford University School of Earth Sciences. She previously worked at NASA and at the University of California Berkeley. Her professional titles at Stanford are Chester Naramore Dean of the School of Earth Sciences, and...
.
History of The School
Earth Sciences at Stanford can trace its roots to the university's beginnings, when Stanford's first president, David Starr JordanDavid Starr Jordan
David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
, hired John Casper Branner, a geologist, as the university's first professor. The search for and extraction of natural resource
Natural resource
Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....
s was the focus of Branner's geology department during that period of Western development.
Looking ahead to the twenty-first century, basic research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
will continue to elucidate the physical, chemical, and biological process
Biological process
A biological process is a process of a living organism. Biological processes are made up of any number of chemical reactions or other events that results in a transformation....
es that make Earth materials, shape the landscape, and control the emplacement and recovery of mineral, hydrocarbon, and geothermal resources. Improved description of fundamental mechanisms will permit the separation of anthropogenic climate variations from naturally occurring ones, the ability to predict how organic and inorganic pollutants migrate in the soil, an understanding of how faults form and earthquakes begin, and the optimum use of energy resources. The goal of the School of Earth Sciences at Stanford is to build the base of Earth science, both for its own sake and for its application to the problems and opportunities faced in the next century.
Academics
There are four academic departments within The School; Environmental Earth System Science, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Geophysics, and Energy Resources Engineering. There are three interdisciplinary programs housed within The School; Earth Systems Program, Graduate Program in Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Environment & Resources.The interdisciplinary programs, in conjunction with the four departments, reach out to all other schools on the Stanford campus, the USGS, and both state and federal policy makers.
The school's library, Branner Earth Sciences Library
Branner Earth Sciences Library
The Branner Earth Sciences Library and Map Collections is the main library supporting the Stanford University School of Earth Sciences on the Stanford University campus and part of Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources...
, contains over 125,000 volumes, a large map collection and Stanford's GIS lab for ongoing GIS reference and research consultation.
Rankings
The School as a whole was ranked as the second best Earth Sciences program by US NewsU.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
in 2006 (Caltech is ranked no. 1). Both the geology and energy resources engineering programs are ranked no. 1, and the geophysics program is ranked no. 3.
Programs
The School offers both undergrad and graduate degrees. The majority of the students are graduate students, with a large contingent of coterminal masters degree recipients from the Earth Systems interdisciplinary program. The School attracts students from all 6 of the inhabited continents, and continues to be one of the most ethnically diverse Earth Sciences programs in the US.Due to the interdisciplinary nature of earth sciences, students entering the program often have a strong background in multiple fields outside of earth sciences such as engineering, mathematics, physics, chemistry, computer science, political science, anthropology, and biology.
Students seeking seeking the PhD spend anywhere from 5 to 8 years in their program. All PhD students are fully funded throughout their academic careers at Stanford. The vast majority of the students in GES and Geophysics are admitted as PhD track candidates. By the end of the second academic year (or 6th quarter) PhD students are expected to fulfill the University Orals Doctorate Qualifying requirement. Unlike most disciplines at Stanford, the qualifying examination in The School is extremely rigorous (often lasting in excess of 4 hours, compared to 1–3 hours in other schools). The students present on their previous research findings- most of which the students have already published in peer-reviewed journals. Also unique to The School, the faculty strongly encourage the students to lead their own research projects. This results in an abnormally high yield of first authored student publication in peer-reviewed journals.
The majority of the students completing PhDs from The School rarely find it difficult to acquire jobs related to their dissertation work (most entering industry/natural resources, and about a third enter prestigious post-doctoral positions- often at the USGS in Menlo Park, CA).
Because The School is modest in number of graduate students compared to the other 6 graduate/professional degree granting schools at Stanford, the School of Earth Sciences has a Graduate Student Advisory Committee. The Graduate Student Advisory Committee (GSAC) is composed of students in the School of Earth Sciences who are committed to making the school a better environment by providing a forum for student concerns, promoting integration of the disciplines within the school, and developing programs that will benefit the greater Earth Sciences community. Likewise, most students in The School report being very happy at quarterly town hall meeting
Town hall meeting
A town hall meeting is an American English term given to an informal public meeting. Everybody in a town community is invited to attend, not always to voice their opinions, but to hear the responses from public figures and elected officials about shared subjects of interest. Attendees rarely voted...
s.
Research
Research programs in The School continue to make groundbreaking discoveries about the planet, its environment, and human interactions. As a result, there are a number of industry funded research groups (i.e.Stanford Exploration ProjectStanford Exploration Project
The Stanford Exploration Project is an industry-funded academic consortium within the Geophysics Department at Stanford University. SEP research has contributed greatly to improving the theory and practice of constructing 3-D and 4-D images of the earth from seismic echo soundings...
, Stanford Wave Physics Laboratory, Stanford Rock Physics and Borehole Geophysics Project) that implement student led research for industry implementation.
Research Groups in The School:
- Atmospheric ChemistryAtmospheric chemistryAtmospheric chemistry is a branch of atmospheric science in which the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere and that of other planets is studied. It is a multidisciplinary field of research and draws on environmental chemistry, physics, meteorology, computer modeling, oceanography, geology and...
- Basin and Petroleum Systems Modeling Group
- Benson Lab
- Biogeochemistry
- China Research Group
- Climate, Tectonics and Landscape Evolution
- Crustal Deformation and Fault MechanicsFault mechanicsFault mechanics is a field of study that investigates the behavior of geologic faults.Behind every good earthquake is some weak rock. Whether the rock remains weak becomes an important point in determining the potential for bigger earthquakes....
- Crustal Geophysics
- Earthquake Seismology
- Environmental Geophysics
- Environmental Molecular ScienceMolecular physicsMolecular physics is the study of the physical properties of molecules, the chemical bonds between atoms as well as the molecular dynamics. Its most important experimental techniques are the various types of spectroscopy...
Institute - Experimental Mineral Physics
- Geoarchaeology
- Geostatistics
- Geothermal Program
- High-Pressure & Ultrahigh-Pressure Study Group
- Hydrogeology
- Noble GasNoble gasThe noble gases are a group of chemical elements with very similar properties: under standard conditions, they are all odorless, colorless, monatomic gases, with very low chemical reactivity...
Laboratory - Ocean Biogeochemistry
- Paleobiology
- Radar Interferometry
- Sedimentary Research Group
- Silicic MagmaMagmaMagma is a mixture of molten rock, volatiles and solids that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and is expected to exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and dissolved gas and sometimes also gas bubbles. Magma often collects in...
tism & Volcanology - Smart Fields
- Soil and Environmental ChemistryEnvironmental chemistryEnvironmental chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. It should not be confused with green chemistry, which seeks to reduce potential pollution at its source...
- Solid-State NMRSolid-state nuclear magnetic resonanceSolid-state NMR spectroscopy is a kind of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, characterized by the presence of anisotropic interactions.-Introduction:Basic concepts...
and Silicate Materials - Stable IsotopeStable isotopeStable isotopes are chemical isotopes that may or may not be radioactive, but if radioactive, have half-lives too long to be measured.Only 90 nuclides from the first 40 elements are energetically stable to any kind of decay save proton decay, in theory...
Biogeochemistry Laboratory - Stanford Center for Computational Earth & Environmental Science
- Stanford Center for Reservoir Forecasting
- Stanford Exploration Project
- Stanford Project on Deep-sea Depositional Systems
- Stanford Rock Physics and Borehole Geophysics Project (srb.stanford.edu)
- Stanford Wave Physics Lab
- Stress and Crustal Mechanics
- Structural GeologyStructural geologyStructural geology is the study of the three-dimensional distribution of rock units with respect to their deformational histories. The primary goal of structural geology is to use measurements of present-day rock geometries to uncover information about the history of deformation in the rocks, and...
and Geomechanics - Structural Geology and Tectonics
- SUPRI-A (Heavy and Thermal Oil Recovery)
- SUPRI-B (Reservoir Simulation)
- SUPRI-C (Gas Injection)
- SUPRI-D (Well Testing)
- SUPRI-HW (Horizontal Wells)
- Surface and Aqueous Geochemistry
- Tectonic Geomorphology
San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD)
The San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) is one of three components of the Earthscope Project, funded by the National Science FoundationNational Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
in conjunction with the USGS and NASA. The SAFOD
San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth
The San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth is one of three components of the Earthscope Project, funded by the National Science Foundation in conjunction with the USGS and NASA. The SAFOD site is located just north of the town of Parkfield, California...
site is located just north of the town of Parkfield, California
Parkfield, California
Parkfield is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. It is located on Little Cholame Creek east of Bradley, at an elevation of 1529 feet...
. The SAFOD main hole was drilled to a depth of ~3.4 km in 2004 and 2005, crossing the San Andreas near a region of the fault where repeating Magnitude 2 earthquakes are generated.
A goal of this project is to install instruments to record data near the source of these earthquakes. In addition to the installation of these instruments, rock and fluid samples were continuously collected during the drilling process, and will also be used to analyze changes in geochemistry and mechanical properties around the fault zone
Geologic fault
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been significant displacement along the fractures as a result of earth movement. Large faults within the Earth's crust result from the action of tectonic forces...
. The project will lead to a better understanding of the processes that control the behavior of the San Andreas fault
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental strike-slip fault that runs a length of roughly through California in the United States. The fault's motion is right-lateral strike-slip...
, and it is hoped that the development of instrumentation and analytic methods will help evaluate the possibility of earthquake prediction
Earthquake prediction
An earthquake prediction is a prediction that an earthquake of a specific magnitude will occur in a particular place at a particular time . Despite considerable research efforts by seismologists, scientifically reproducible predictions cannot yet be made to a specific day or month...
which is of primary importance for earthquake engineering
Earthquake engineering
Earthquake engineering is the scientific field concerned with protecting society, the natural and the man-made environment from earthquakes by limiting the seismic risk to socio-economically acceptable levels...
.
The project is co-PIed by Bill Ellsworth and Steve Hickman of the USGS, and Stanford geophysics faculty member and alum Mark Zoback. Zoback's research in The School focuses on stress and crustal mechanics. His students are heavily engaged in on-going research in the geophysics Earthquake Group (particularly via SAFOD), and Global Climate and Energy Project
Global Climate and Energy Project
The Global Climate and Energy Project at Stanford University "seeks new solutions to one of the grand challenges of this century: supplying energy to meet the changing needs of a growing world population in a way that protects the environment."...
.
Traditions
The School is host to numerous traditions making it one of the most socially dynamic graduate student populations at Stanford University. The most prominent tradition in The School is the Friday Beer hosted by three first year graduate students every Friday at 5 pm in the GeoCorner garden of the main quad. Often lasting until 8pm or 9pm, students, faculty, staff, their loved ones and pets congregate in the garden to enjoy beer (for a minimal fee), wine, appetizers, non-alcoholic beverages, bocce ball, frisbee, music and sunshine. The Department of Energy Resources Engineering hosts their own Friday Beer in the Green Earth Sciences Industrial Garden. This free event is organised by ERE students but is open to students from all the departments. Conversely, the GeoCorner event is heavily attended by students from Geological and Environmental Sciences, Geophysics, as well as students from Applied PhysicsApplied physics
Applied physics is a general term for physics which is intended for a particular technological or practical use.It is usually considered as a bridge or a connection between "pure" physics and engineering....
, Chemical Engineering
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
, and Civil and Environmental Engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
.
Other traditions include:
New Student Overnight: Hosted by GSAC in a California State Park.
Bar Crawl: often a few weeks after the new student overnight in nearby downtown Palo Alto.
Semi Annual 99 Bottles: Bike ride from Stanford to the Santa Cruz bar "99 Bottles".
GES Holiday Party: Students in GES give gifts to faculty and staff, one student dresses as Santa. All followed by a large, Schoolwide party in the GES seminar room.
Mall Crawl: Same concept as a bar crawl
Pub crawl
A pub crawl is the act of one or more people drinking in multiple pubs or bars in a single night, normally walking or busing to each one between drinking.-Origin of the term:...
, only held at the Stanford Shopping Center where numerous wines, cocktails, and beers are served.
Geophysics Student Visits: Graduate being considered for the program are invited to visit Stanford. A large party is usually held.
GeoSnow: GSAC-run Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. At a surface elevation of , it is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is , making it the USA's second-deepest...
ski weekend for students and alumni.