Faculty and Staff

Who are the GES faculty?

Appalachian's GES faculty include four Fellows of the Geological Society of America, three Fellows of the Explorers Club, two National Geographic Explorers, six Board of Governors Teaching Award winners, and they have also won a number of other university-wide, local, and regional teaching/leadership/service awards. They have conducted research on every continent, from the tops of mountains to the bottom of the ocean, and have a wide range of interests and expertise.  

Note to international applicants: The Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences is an undergraduate-only (baccalaureate-granting) department; the faculty cannot directly supervise MS, PhD, or postdoctoral researchers. If you are interested in continuing your graduate education in the United States, you will need to contact universities with MS and PhD programs.

Teaching and Administrative Faculty

Name Position Contact
Dr. William P. Anderson Jr.
Professor: Hydrogeology
(he/him/his)
(828) 262-7540
Dr. William H. Armstrong
Assistant Professor: Glaciology (he/him/his)
(828) 262-6739
Morgan Baker
Lecturer: Science Writing & Professional Development
Dr. Sarah K. Carmichael
Professor: Fluid-Rock Geochemistry and Biomineralogy
(she/her/hers)
(828) 262-8471
Dr. Gabriele M. Casale
Professor: Structural Geology
(828) 262-2746
Dr. Ellen A. Cowan
Professor: Sedimentary record of climate change, Geoarchaeology, Geomorphology
(she/her/hers)
(828) 262-2260
Dr. Cole Edwards
Associate Professor: Carbonate Sedimentology and Stratigraphy
(he/him/his)
(828) 262-7820
Dr. Sarah G. Evans
Assistant Professor: Hydrogeology
(she/her/hers)
(828) 262-2517
Dr. Steven J. Hageman
Professor: Invertebrate Paleontology, Paleoecology
(he/him/his)
(828) 262-6609
Dr. Jupiter Hansen (Cheng)
Visiting Assistant Professor: Structural Geology and Planetary Tectonics (she/her/hers)
Dr. Andrew B. Heckert
Professor: Vertebrate Paleontology, Dinosaurs, Litho/Biostratigraphy
(he/him/his)
(828) 262-7609
Dr. Christine Ogilvie Hendren
Professor: Nanomaterial Risk Assessment and Integration and Implementation Sciences (I2S)
Research Institute for Environment, Energy, and Economics - Director
(828) 262-2764
Dr. Jamie S. Levine
Professor: Structure, Tectonics, and Metamorphic Petrology
(she/her/hers)
(828) 262-2166
Dr. Cynthia M. Liutkus-Pierce
Professor and Chair: Sedimentology and Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction
(she/her/hers)
(828) 262-6933
Laura Mallard
Senior Lecturer: Geoscience Education
(828) 262-7517
Dr. Scott T. Marshall
Professor: Geophysics, Satellite Geodesy, and Fracture Mechanics
(he/him/his)
(828) 262-8320
Joey Mosteller
Senior Lecturer: Physical and Environmental Geology
(828) 262-8466
Dr. Bob Swarthout
Associate Professor (joint appointment with Department of Chemistry) and Director of Environmental Sciences
(828) 262-4083
Marta Toran
Lecturer and Outreach Coordinator
Dr. Lauren H. Waterworth
Senior Lecturer: Environmental Law
(she/her/hers)
(828) 262-4980
Brian W. Zimmer
Senior Lecturer: Volcanology
(he/him/his)
(828) 262-2749

Staff

Name Position Contact
Anthony Love
Research Operations and Laboratories Manager
(he/him/his)
(828) 262-6952
Lauri J. Miller
Office Manager
(828) 262-3049

Emeritus Faculty & Staff

Name Position Contact
Richard N. Abbott Jr.
Emeritus Professor: Metamorphic Petrology and Mineralogy
John E. Callahan
Emeritus Professor: Economic Geology
Marjorie J. McKinney
Emeritus Museum Curator
Loren A. Raymond
Emeritus Professor: Petrotectonics
Johnny A. Waters
Emeritus & Adjunct Research Professor: Invertebrate Paleontology
Fred Webb Jr.
Emeritus Professor: Sedimentology

Affiliated Faculty

Name Position Contact
Dr. Denise Akob
Affiliated Research Professor
Research Microbiologist, United States Geological Survey (Reston, VA)
(703) 648-5819
D. Randy Blood, AAPG Certified Petroleum Geologist
Affiliated Research Professor
DRB Geological Consulting
Dr. Erika Kido
Affiliated Research Professor (Vienna, Austria)
Dr. Gregg H. Marland
Affiliated Research Professor
Research Institute for Environment, Energy, and Economics
(828) 262-6161
Dr. Arthur Merschat
Affiliated Research Professor
Research Geologist, United States Geological Survey (Reston, VA)
(703) 648-6035
Dr. William Miller
Affiliated Research Professor
Professor of Geology: Humboldt State University
Dr. Cara Santelli
Affiliated Research Professor
Associate Professor: University of Minnesota
Keith C. Seramur, P.G.
Adjunct Research and Teaching Professor
Seramur and Associates (Boone, NC)
Joan Smyth, P.G., RSM
Adjunct Research and Teaching Professor
Smith-Gardner Inc.
(828) 262-7540
Dr. Thomas Suttner
Affiliated Research Professor (Vienna, Austria)