Geology Program

Geology students and faculty members share research lab facilities equipped with state-of-the-art analytical instruments; learn together in classes and lectures across all campuses; and explore geologically important settings around the world on joint fieldtrips.

Located within a 10-mile radius in the geologically rich Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts, the geoscience departments of the four colleges and the university collaborate to create a deep and broad pool of earth science faculty expertise. The Annual Five College Geology Distinguished Lecture Series brings a diverse slate of speakers to the valley to enrich our learning environment. The Annual Faculty Research Symposium (fall) and Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium (spring) showcase the spectrum of original research and discovery underway in the area and provide opportunities for cross-fertilization of ideas among earth scientists. Together, the Five College geology departments maintain an EarthScope seismic station. Along with the greater network of EarthScope instruments, data from our seismic station helps reveal the geologic architecture and plate tectonic dynamics of northeastern North America. Five College Geology Professor Michael Rhodes offers classes in Volcanology on a rotating basis at all campuses and makes his geochemical analytical lab open to all students and faculty members. The five geology departments also support a laboratory manager who trains students and faculty members of the consortium in applying the University of Massachusetts stable isotope and biogeochemistry labs in a range of earth science investigations.

If you want to be actively involved in the field of earth science, this is where you belong!

Faculty & Staff

Rachel E. Bernard, Assistant Professor of Geology, rbernard@amherst.edu

John T. Cheney, Samuel A. Hitchcock Professor of Mineralogy and Geology (Metamorphic & Petrology), Associate Provost and Associate Dean of the Faculty, jtcheney@amherst.edu

Peter D. Crowley, Professor of Geology (Structure & Petrology), pdcrowley@amherst.edu

Victor E. Guevara, Assistant Professor of Geology, vguevara@amherst.edu

Tekla A. Harms, Massachusetts Professor in Chemistry and Natural History (Structure & Tectonics), taharms@amherst.edu

Nicholas D. Holschuh, Assistant Professor of Geology, nholschuh@amherst.edu

David S. Jones, Associate Professor of Geology (Sedimentology & Stratigraphy); Director of the Beneski Museum of Natural History, djones@amherst.edu

Anna M. Martini, Professor of Geology (Environmental & Geochemistry) and Environmental Studies; Chair of Geology, ammartini@amherst.edu

Diane B. Hutton, Academic Department Coordinator, Geology, dbhutton@amherst.edu

Hayley M. Singleton, Head of Collections and Operations, hsingleton@amherst.edu

William R. Slocombe, Geology & Museum of Natural History Technician, wrslocombe@amherst.edu

Alfred J. Venne, Museum Educator, avenne@amherst.edu

Christina Cianfrani, Director of Teaching and Learning Initiatives; Professor of Hydrology (Hydrogeology), ccns@hampshire.edu

Steven Roof, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences (Surfical Processes), srns@hampshire.edu

Michelle J. Markley, Professor of Geology (Structure), Chair of Geology and Geography

Steven R. Dunn, Professor of Geology (Metamorphic Petrology)

Eugenio Marcano, Manager of the Geo-Processing Lab; Instructor in Geology and Geography

Mark McMenamin, Professor of Geology (Paleontology)

Thomas Millette, Professor of Geography; Director of the Geo-Processing Lab

Alan Werner, Professor of Geology (Geomorphology)

Serin D. Houston, Associate Professor of Geography and International Relations

Girma Kebbede, Professor of Geography

Brittany Wheeler, Visiting Instructor in Geography

Debra LaBonte, Academic Department Coordinator

Claire Pless, Geoscience Technician

Marc Anderson, Instrument & Techniques Instructor

John B. Brady, Mary Elizabeth Moses Professor Emeritus of Geosciences (Metamorphic Petrology)

Mark Brandriss, Senior Lecturer in Geosciences (Igneous Petrology, Geochemistry)

H. Robert Burger, Achilles Professor Emeritus of Geosciences (Structure, Geophysics)

H. Allen Curran, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor Emeritus of Geology (Paleontology, Oceanography)

Gregory de Wet, Assistant Professor of Geosciences

Bosiljka Glumac, Professor of Geosciences (Sedimentology)

Kinuyo Kanamaru, Lecturer in Geosciences

Jack Loveless, Associate Professor of Geosciences (Structural Geology)

Sarah Mazza, Assistant Professor of Geosciences

Robert Newton, Professor Emeritus of Geosciences (Geomorphology, Hydrology)

Sara Pruss, Professor of Geosciences (Paleontology, Oceanography)

Amy Larson Rhodes, Professor of Geosciences (Environmental Geology)

Michael Vollinger, Technical Services Specialist

Toby Martin Applegate, Lecturer (Geography)

David F. Boutt, Professor (Hydrogeology, Watershed Hydrology, Groundwater Recharge/Discharge)

Forrest J. Bowlick, Lecturer (GIS, Geography Education)

Raymond S. Bradley, Distinguished Professor (Climatology, Paleoclimatology, Global Change, Arctic Environments)

Julie Brigham-Grette, Professor (Quaternary/Glacial Geology, Arctic Paleoenvironments)

Stephen J. Burns, Professor, Department Head (Paleoclimatology, Speleothems, Stable Isotopes, Sediment Diagenesis)

Isla S. Castañeda, Associate Professor (Biogeochemistry, Molecular Paleoclimatology)

William P. Clement, UMass Extension Associate Professor (Near-Surface Geophysics, Hydrogeophysics)

Tim Cook, Research Associate Professor & Lecturer (Paleoclimate, Arctic, Lacustrine systems)

Michele Cooke, Professor (Structural Geology, Geomechanics, Rock Fracture Mechanics)

Britt Crow-Miller, Senior Lecturer (Human Geography, Sustainability, Sustainability Education, Environmental Politics, Political Ecology)

Robert M. DeConto, Professor (Climatology, Glaciology, Earth System Modeling)

Haiying Gao, Associate Professor (Seismology, Geophysics)

Piper R. Gaubatz, Professor (Urban Studies in China, Japan, and the U.S.)

Christine Hatch, UMass Extension Associate Professor (Hydrogeology, Water Resources and Climate Change, Ecohydrology, Surface Water - Groundwater Interactions)

Michael J. Jercinovic, Associate Professor (Microanalysis, Mineralogy, Geochemistry)

Ambarish Karmalkar, Research Assistant Professor (Climate Change, Climate Change Impacts Assessment)

Isaac Larsen, Assistant Professor (Geomorphology, Landscape Evolution, Cosmogenic Nuclides)

R. Mark Leckie, Professor (Micropaleontology, Stratigraphy, Biostratigraphy, Paleoceanography)

Stephen Mabee, Senior Lecturer (Hydrogeology)

Martin Medina Elizalde, Associate Professor (Paleoclimatology, Paleoceanography, Climate Change)

Steve Petsche, Associate Professor (Biogeochemistry, Geomicrobiology, Organic Geochemistry)

Michael Rawlins, UMass Extension Associate Professor (Climatology, Climate Change, Remote Sensing)

J. Michael Rhodes, Five College Professor (Volcanology, Petrology, Geochemistry)

Justin Richardson, Assistant Professor (Biogeochemistry, Trace Metal Cycling, Plant-Soil-Rock Interactions)

Jeff Salacup, Lecturer, Lab Manager (Isotope and Molecular Paleoclimatology)

Seda Salap-Ayca, Lecturer (Geography, GIS, and Spatial Analysis)

Eric Thomas, Lecturer (Environmental Anthropology, Political Ecology)

Stephen Turner, Lecturer (High Temperature Geochemistry and Petrology)

Eve Vogel, Assistant Professor (Political and Environmental Geography)

Michael Williams, Professor (Structural Geology, Metamorphic Petrology, Precambrian Geology)

Matthew Winnick, Assistant Professor (Biogeochemical Cycles, Chemical Weathering, Isotope Hydrology)

Jon Woodruff, Professor (Sediments, Coastal Dynamics)

Brian Yellen, Research Assistant Professor (Sediment Storage)

Qian Yu, Associate Professor (Environmental Geography, GIS, Remote Sensing)

jeff salacup

Five College Laboratory Manager

Sophisticated analytical instruments require skilled operation. The geology departments of the Five College Consortium support a lab manager – Jeff Salacup - in the Stable Isotope and Biogeochemistry labs at the University of Massachusetts so that undergraduate students from across the consortium can be trained and gain hands-on experience with several different mass spectrometers, gas chromatographs, and other elemental and isotopic analyzers as part of their research or studies.

Salacup’s research focuses on the application of elemental, isotopic, and organic geochemical techniques to ancient and modern ocean, coastal, and lacustrine sediments and waters in order to reconstruct past environments and ecosystems within a framework of modern processes.

EarthScope map

Five College EarthScope Seismic Station

The Five College EarthScope seismic station, located at Smith College’s MacLeish Field Station, is part of a continent-scale instrumentation network known as USArray that investigates the continental lithosphere and deep Earth structure by capturing seismic wave data.

Contact Us

Department Chairs:

Anna Martini, Professor of Geology and Environmental Studies, Amherst College

Steven Roof, Professor of Earth and Environmental Science, Hampshire College

Michelle Markley, Professor of Geology and Geography, Mount Holyoke College

Amy Larson Rhodes, Professor of Geosciences, Smith College

Piper Gaubatz, Professor of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences, UMass Amherst

Five College Staff Liaison:

Ray Rennard, Director of Academic Programs