Research and Scholarship

Our graduate and undergraduate programs are supported by faculty who perform high-caliber research with reputations that span world-wide. We teach and conduct research in many areas of the geosciences including paleontology, Quaternary geology, geomorphology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, tectonics, environmental geology, and biogeochemistry. Our faculty maintain high-tech laboratories and conduct field work all over the world, and our students are involved every step of the way!

Our faculty and graduate students publish their work in leading journals and over the past two years have published over 100 research papers. The faculty and students at all levels present their research at national and international conferences. We also provide our students with opportunities to gain field, laboratory, and quantitative experience. Cincinnati and the surrounding tri-state region serve as an excellent local field area for reserach in invertebrate paleontology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, hydrogeology, geomorphology, and geochemistry. 

The Department of Geosciences maintains and operates the Theis Environmental Monitoring and Modeling Site (TEMMS), a unique facility in the Great Miami River valley that collects a wide range of real-time environmental data in the river (stage), above the ground (vegetation activity and weather information), and in groundwater (geophysical imaging and geochemical sensing). Pairs of observation wells continuously monitor basic water quality parameters. TEMMS is designed to stimulate students’ interest and prepare them for hydrogeology related STEM careers. TEMMS data are integrated into coursework and are available for student use in research projects related to hydrology, water quality, and environmental science.

The Cincinnati Museum Center is an important resource for the department and its students. Student research and training are supported by the CMC’s world-class fossil collections spanning local, regional, and exotic flora and fauna from around the globe. Museum staff paleontologists are adjuncts of the department, and offer internships in museum curation and display, as well as field experiences in paleontology. Students commonly utilize these skills in museum careers or as staff geologists and naturalists in federal and state surveys.

The Department of Geosciences strongly encourages undergraduates to develop their skills through authentic research experiences. Undergraduates regularly conduct directed or independent work with one or more faculty, and the department provides research grants to majors who wish to engage in cutting edge geoscience research. These projects are commonly used to fulfill the undergraduate capstone requirement, and can be designed around a variety of laboratory, field, or quantitative approaches.

GRO is a University of Cincinnati research study focusing on studying the potential effects of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, on groundwater in the Utica Shale of Ohio. Read more...