WACO, Texas (June 21, 2021) – A new analysis of Venus’ surface shows evidence of tectonic motion in the form of crustal blocks that have jostled against each other like broken chunks of pack ice. Published in PNAS, the study — which includes contributions by Baylor University planetary physicist Peter James, Ph.D. — found that the movement of these blocks could indicate that Venus is still geologically active and give scientists insight into both exoplanet tectonics and the earliest tectonic activity on Earth.

WACO, Texas (May 5, 2021) – Mastery of fire has given humans dominance over the natural world. A Yale-led study – with contributions from a Baylor University paleoclimatologist – provides the earliest evidence to date of ancient humans significantly altering entire ecosystems with flames.

ON OCTOBER 8, 2020 O.B. SHELBURNE (BS, 1955) RELEASED HIS BOOK: FROM PRESIDIO TO THE PECOS RIVER: SURVEYING THE UNITED STATES–MEXICO BOUNDARY ALONG THE RIO GRANDE, 1852 AND 1853.

What do volcanoes, gemstones, butterflies and faith have in common?

The Department of Geosciences at Baylor University invites applications for full-time PhD and MS students. Teaching & research assistantships available.

Kenny Befus explores a novel approach to the study of geological forces.

WACO, Texas (Sept. 24, 2020) – A new way of analyzing the chemical composition of soil organic matter will help scientists predict how soils store carbon — and how soil carbon may affect climate in the future, says a Baylor University researcher.

Congratulations to Sam Barber, MS candidate in the Department of Geosciences, for being selected as a recipient of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award for summer 2020.

WACO, Texas (July 31, 2020) – Texas researchers from the University of Houston, Baylor University and Texas A&M University have discovered evidence for why the earth cooled dramatically 13,000 years ago, dropping temperatures by about 3 degrees Centigrade.

Kenny Befus, assistant professor of geosciences, is one of four Baylor faculty members to earn CAREER awards from the National Science Foundation this spring. Learn more about his research studying strains in minerals and gemstones as a record of geological forces.

WACO, Texas (June 25, 2020) – Baylor University’s drive toward Research 1 (R1) status received a major boost this spring as four faculty members earned prestigious CAREER development awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grants represent the largest number of CAREER awards earned by Baylor faculty in a single semester and nearly doubled the University’s total number of active CAREER awards to nine.

Baylor professors offer warning as climate change has potential to dry world’s largest tropical lake more quickly than anticipated.

WACO, Texas (May 29, 2020) – As private rocket company SpaceX readies for the scheduled launch to the International Space Station on Saturday or Sunday — the first space crew launch from America in nearly a decade — Baylor University planetary geophysicist Peter James, Ph.D., says that private companies not only have lowered the cost of space exploration but also may speed it along.

Another academic year has come to an end. However strange it was, some things are still familiar: Final grades have been posted, books are being returned, students have graduated — and Baylor’s professors of the year have been awarded! The Collins Outstanding Professor Award, which is voted on by the outgoing senior class, awards the …

WACO, Texas (May 19, 2020) – A Russian paleontologist visiting the Natural History Museum in London desperately wanted a good look at the skeleton of an extinct aquatic reptile, but its glass case was too far up the wall. So he attached his digital camera to a fishing rod and — with several clicks — snagged a big one, scientifically speaking.

Have you ever wanted to learn more about geology, paleontology, geography, natural hazards, and the world around you? Now is your chance!

WACO, Texas (March 24, 2020) – Three new species of toothed pterosaurs — flying reptiles of the Cretaceous period, some 100 million years ago — have been identified in Africa by an international team of scientists led by Baylor University.

The Department of Geosciences at Baylor University invites applications for full-time PhD and MS students. Teaching and research assistantships available.

WACO, Texas (Sept. 17, 2019) – Steven L. Forman, Ph.D., professor of geosciences and director of the Geoluminescence Dating Research Laboratory at Baylor University, will receive the international Farouk El-Baz Award for Desert Research from the Geological Society of America, becoming only the 21st scientist to receive the award. The GSA will present Forman with the award during the organization’s meeting Sept. 23 in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Baylor University Department of Geosciences seeks a dynamic scholar in hydrology and surface processes beginning August 2020.

Congratulations to Wynne Casteel and Will Brewer who were awarded scholarships from Groundwater Foundation through the Len Assante Scholarship Program.