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Savannah Devine ‘22

CAS alumna finds purpose in her work to understand volcanoes
Mar 23, 2026

Savannah Devine ‘22 graduated from App State with a passion for exploring the land under our feet. Because so many geological processes are buried t...

Vanya Dill, a senior geology major from Morrisville, at a field site in Mongolia in August 2025. Photo by Dr. Sarah Carmichael

Geology major selected to present research at prestigious Explorers Club event
Mar 19, 2026

BOONE, N.C. — Vanya Dill, a senior geology major from Morrisville, has been invited to present her research at The 122nd Explorers Club Annual ...

Dr. Scott Marshall

My fault or yours — earthquake source detection gets lift from App State
Feb 27, 2026

BOONE, N.C. — Linking earthquakes with the most likely causative fault just got better, thanks to an externally-funded project by Dr. Scott Mar...

dr benfield

Dr. Adam Benfield Launches Past Climate and Ecosystems Research in Southern Appalachian Bogs
Jan 23, 2026

Since joining the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at the start of the 2025–2026 academic year, Assistant Professor Dr. Adam Benf...

Group of students in Death Valley

GES Students Head to Death Valley for Inaugural Winter Field Course
Jan 20, 2026

From December 30, 2025, to January 10, 2026, GES faculty Dr. Brandon Lutz and Morgan Baker led a group of 13 students to the remote Mojave Desert in e...

Dr. Gregg Marland is an affiliated research professor in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Appalachian State University.

Turning point: Global greenhouse emissions will soon flatten or decline [faculty featured]
Nov 24, 2025

In July, a team of scientists assembled on a video call to study an anomalous wobble in a data curve. This blip didn’t signal a new particle decay i...

Dr. Bob Swarthout is an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences and Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences.

Dr. Bob Swarthout co-authors chemical analysis of USS Arizona oil leak
Nov 10, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — Dr. Bob Swarthout, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences and Department of ...

According to the National Weather Service, Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend area of the Florida Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm late in the evening of Sept. 26, 2024. The storm reached the Southern Appalachians on Sept. 27, 2024, causing widespread flooding, landslides, downed trees and power outages. Image courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere

What made Hurricane Helene a historic storm?
Sep 9, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — In September 2024, Hurricane Helene brought record-breaking rain and wind to the High Country, leaving a lasting impact across the reg...

Dr. Cynthia Liutkus is professor and chair of Appalachian State University's Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences.

Dr. Cynthia Liutkus co-authors new study revealing 18-million-year-old proteins in fossil teeth
Jul 23, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — Dr. Cynthia Liutkus, professor and chair in Appalachian State University's Department of Geological and Environmental Scienc...

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

Rock garden and lab expanded at App State after Helene cleanup
Jul 2, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University’s Fred Webb Jr. Outdoor Lab and Rock Garden — a resource for geology students, researc...

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