Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences

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App State professor Dr. Ellen Cowan, left, and undergraduate student Khloe Springsteen examine soil samples collected from beneath the plow zone near the footprint of the palisade at Fort Defiance in Lenoir. With the fort’s footprint now pinpointed, the research of Cowan and her team will inform an augmented reality rendering of the site, created by historians at the American Battlefield Trust as part of the Liberty Trail North Carolina project. Photo by Chase Reynolds
The entrance of the McKinney Geology Teaching Museum, located in the Rankin Science South Atrium.

The Appalachian highlights McKinney Geology Teaching Museum
Oct 28, 2026

App State provides a number of resources to students that often go underutilized.

outreach, teaching
Students with VR headsets

From the Mountains to the Coast to Alaska: Empathic Planet Project Connects Classrooms Through Immersive Environmental Education
Oct 27, 2026

What do students in the mountains of western North Carolina, along the North Carolina coast, and in rural Alaska have in common?

outreach
A person in a gray jacket kneels in the woods, looking down at the ground.
Professional headshot of a smiling man with glasses and dark hair, wearing a black collared shirt against a black background.
Educational museum exhibit honoring paleoenviron­mental scientist Cynthia Liutikus, with fossil displays, an information panel, and interactive activities.

Dr. Cynthia Liutkus featured in regional Women in STEAM exhibit at AMOS
Sep 8, 2026

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Appalachian State University's Dr.

outreach
Marta Toran
Appalachian State University is bringing new hands-on STEM learning experiences to middle school students thousands of miles away through a partnership with the Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program. Photo by Amber Johnson

App State partnership brings hands-on STEM learning to rural Alaska students [faculty featured]
Apr 16, 2026

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Appalachian State University is bringing new hands-on STEM learning experiences to middle school students thousands of m

outreach
App State environmental science majors Kyia Wing, a senior from Suwanee, Georgia, left, and Kaden Cusack ’25, an App State alumnus from Cary, take a close look at the new boulder donated to the university’s rock garden by Albemarle Corp. Cusak graduated from App State in May, earning his bachelor’s degree in environmental science. Photo by Chase Reynolds
Tucker Terrell ’25, who graduated from App State in May with a bachelor’s degree in geology-environmental geology, far left, shows community members where a single headstone was located by App State researchers trying to determine the position of grave sites in an area formerly covered with brush behind the Fort Defiance site in Caldwell County. Photo by Bret Yager