From sustainable energy and climate change, to earthquakes, volcanoes, rivers and glaciers, from the origin of life on Earth to the potential for life on other planets, we lead in educating and inspiring the next generation of scientists.
AboutEducationAlumni & Community
The Department of Earth and Space Sciences offers an expansive educational experience. We provide a rigorous interdisciplinary program in which students develop an understanding of the fundamentals of Earth, space, and planetary sciences, and learn relevant skills for a variety of careers.
The Earth and space sciences — geology, geophysics, geobiology and geochemistry — play a critical and unique role in the advancement of knowledge, improvement of the quality of life, and in understanding humanity’s place in the universe. Research in Earth and space sciences draws on methods and theory from chemistry, physics, biology and computational sciences.
Faculty in our department are concerned both with fundamental research and with the dissemination of Earth-science knowledge in the service of society.
Limited resources, geologic hazards, and related environmental change are among the most serious challenges we face. We use our expertise to provide the training and education required to address these challenges, and we are engaged in serious efforts to include a more diverse community of scientists, students and stakeholders than in the past.
Harold Tobin, ESS professor and PNSN director, is quoted.
Read more at BBCESS alumna and Indiana University Bloomington Assistant Professor Dr. Julia Kelson was awarded the Geological Society of America’s 2025 Young Scientist Award. Kelson got her Ph.D. from UW Earth and Space Sciences in 2019, advised by Professor Kate Huntington.
Read more at Indiana University NewsESS Assistant Professor Dr. Baptiste Journaux was recognized this past summer with the International Association for the Properties of Water & Steam’s Helmholtz Award.
Read more