
Pacific rock samples offer a glimpse of an active Earth 2.5 billion years ago
Assistant Professor Rita Parai and graduate student Judy Zhang got a glimpse of Earth’s history by tracking infinitesimal levels of noble gases in volcanic rocks.
Fall 2024 Edition
Fall 2024 Edition
David Fike use deposits from the seafloor to reconstruct timelines of past ecological and environmental change.

Mysterious, light-colored swirls on Moon’s surface could be rocks magnetized by magma activity underground, WashU laboratory experiments confirm
EEPS Field Work in 2024
WashU graduate student Adrea Williams, third from left, worked with a team to launch ocean-bottom seismographs to study seismic activity under Tonga. (Photo: Doug Wiens)
Students in the spring cohort of EEPS 496 sit at the Gulf of Corinth in Greece. Credit: Phil Skemer
Students take notes on observable tectonic processes in the Gulf of Corinth. Credit: Phil Skemer
Doug Wiens' team dredged up hundreds of pounds of rocky material from the seafloor. (Photo: Doug Wiens)
New awards received from September 01, 2023 - August 31, 2024
EEPS Research Roundup: 2023 - 20242024 Harold Levin Award Winner The Harold Levin Award is for undergraduate students who have done outstanding jobs as assistants to the instructor. Professor Levin was a paleontologist who specialized in study of microscopic fossils as indicators of environmental conditions during deposition of sedimentary rocks. He was an outstanding teacher at all levels, ensuring through dynamic lectures and discussions that students remained engaged in his courses.
2024 Margaret E. Bewig Award Winner The Margaret E. Bewig Memorial Field Camp Award is presented to an EEPS major selected by the faculty from those attending summer field camp, based on a combination of academic merit and financial need. The award may be used to defray part of the cost of summer field camp. Margaret Bewig was the department secretary and later the administrative assistant from 1963 to 1986. She died on May 26, 1991. The award is funded by endowed donations from her friends, faculty, and former students.
2024 Graduate Research Excellence Award Semifinalist
2023 Tolman Prize Winner The Tolman Prize is awarded annually to a graduate student who has done an outstanding job as assistant to the instructor. Professor Tolman was a long-time professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. He also served as chancellor of WashU. As a geologist, Tolman conducted pioneering work on the geology of the Precambrian granitic rocks exposed in the St. Francois Mountains in southern Missouri. He was a caring and thoughtful teacher and mentor who was particularly interested in helping students achieve their career goals.
2023 Outstanding Paper Award Winner The Graduate Student Outstanding Paper Award is bestowed to a graduate student who is the sole or first author of a peer-reviewed, published journal paper or book chapter that significantly advances our understanding of some key aspect of Earth, environmental, and/or planetary sciences.
2023 Outstanding Paper Semifinalist