UMD Geology

YouTube video by UMD Geology UMD Convocation 2025 - Provost Rice's Citation and Michael Brown's Remarks

At the 2025 University of Maryland Convocation ceremony, Professor Emeritus Michael Brown received the honor of being named a Distinguished University Professor.

Watch Provost Rice's citation and Michael's remarks.

youtu.be/RlCQxbrUYHw

Karen Prestegaard wearing a blue shirt and glasses, holding a laptop in her lab to promote her Reddit Ask-Me-Anything on September 29, 2025

@umdgeology.bsky.social's Karen Prestegaard studies the links between precipitation, stream baseflow, stormwater runoff and evapotranspiration in the mid-Atlantic region.

Ask Karen your questions about freshwater and stormwater flooding in today's Reddit Ask-Me-Anything: redd.it/1ntaqz0

Congrats Mike!

Marsquakes indicate a solid core for the red planet, just like Earth Scientists revealed Wednesday that Mars' innermost core appears to be a solid hunk of metal just like Earth's.

New research revealed that Mars' innermost core appears to be a solid hunk of metal just like Earth's.

@umdgeology.bsky.social's Nick Schmerr weighed in on these findings with @sciencex.bsky.social, noting that questions regarding Mars' core are far from settled. 🔭 #PlanetaryScience

Tommaso Mandolini and Travis Hager at GSECARS.

Tommaso Mandolini and Travis Hager (University of Maryland) perform hydrostatic mineral carbonation experiments on cylindrical MgO ceramic samples using a triaxial deformation apparatus, GSECARS, June 2025.

@umdgeology.bsky.social

A salt crisis is looming for U.S. rivers The biggest source of salty freshwater in D.C. and other major northern inland cities is an overapplication of road salt to thaw winter ice, which runs off into rivers or the ground.

@umdgeology.bsky.social Professor Sujay Kaushal's body of research has established that freshwater ecosystems are growing saltier year-round.

@washingtonpost.com featured Sujay's important work studying and protecting freshwater ecosystems 🛶

Graduate raising her hands in the air at the 2024 Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony after walking the stage

Tune in for our 2025 Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony today at 2:30 p.m. ET!

Watch the ceremony—including speeches from Adam Wenchel (B.S. '99, computer science) and Jade LeSchack (B.S. '25, physics; B.S. '25, mathematics)—on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/@UMDscience

Dean Amitabh Varshney shaking a graduate's hand at the 2024 Graduate Commencement Ceremony

Tune in for our 2025 Graduate Commencement Ceremony this afternoon at 2 p.m. ET!

Watch the full ceremony—including our keynote from DataRobot CEO Debanjan Saha (M.S. '93, Ph.D. '95, computer science)—on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/c/umdscience

Distinguished University Professor Michael Brown.

Congratulations to Professor Michael Brown who has been selected as a Distinguished University Professor. The title of Distinguished University Professor is the highest appointment bestowed on a tenured faculty member.

If only real volcanoes were this predictable. #mdday

Wenlu Zhu, Megan Ryan, Tommaso Mandolini, and Travis Hager at 13 BMD.

Wenlu Zhu, Megan Ryan, Tommaso Mandolini, and Travis Hager (University of Maryland) conduct an experimental investigation of chemical-mechanical feedback during mineral carbonation, 13 BMD, April 2025.

@umdgeology.bsky.social

Congratulations to professor emerita Ann Wylie who has been elected as a 2024 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) "for distinguished contributions to both the field of mineralogy and university administration."

cmns.umd.edu/news-events/...

YouTube video by UMD Geology Helz Lecture - Alexander Halliday from Columbia University - 3/6/2025

Last week we had our Helz Distinguished Lecture with Dr. Alexander Halliday from Columbia University. He spoke about climate change and how universities and colleges are well suited for the cross-disciplinary research needed to find solutions.

youtu.be/3gprr_ETM-E

From left, geology Assistant Professor Megan Newcombe, master's student Kathryn Bickerstaff '23 and Ph.D. student Kathleen Stepien sort through rocks at Tasmania's Mornington Core Storage Facility. Photos courtesy of Sarah Penniston-Dorland

Geologists Explore Tasmania’s Hidden Gems

Through Mud and Mines, Students and Faculty Uncovered Garnets’ Rich Geological Stories

today.umd.edu/geologists-e...

Statue of Testudo, the UMD mascot.

#GivingDayUMD is your chance to support and uplift #ScienceTerps!

Even small gifts can have a huge impact. Learn how you can give back to our department programs and support geology students: www.geol.umd.edu/giving

Moon is Not As “Geologically Dead” As Previously Thought, New Study Reveals | College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences | University of Maryland A UMD geologist helped develop advanced dating methods to track geological changes on the far side of the moon a

Moon is Not As “Geologically Dead” As Previously Thought, New Study Reveals

cmns.umd.edu/news-events/...

A cutaway image of a house with sources of salt shown on top. These are table salt, concrete, household cleaning supplies and fertilizers.

From the Winter 2025 TERP Magazine...

Salt Life: Take a Home Tour to Learn How We’re Worsening Salinity Around the World with Professor Sujay Kaushal.

terp.umd.edu/salt-life

Headshot photo of Dr. Fang-Zhen Teng, class of 2005.

Congratulations to Fang-Zhen Teng (Ph.D '05) who was awarded a UMD Alumni Excellence Award in Research. This award recognizes alumni that make positive impacts on the world through their research.

Read more about his work:

alumni.umd.edu/news/excelle...