Environmental and Engineering Geology


Program

The Department of Geology at Kent State University offers a strong program in Environmental and Engineering Geology at the M.S. and Ph.D. levels. The program emphasizes environmental and engineering problems related to groundwater-surface water interactions, landscape evolution, urban development, mining, slope stability, and evaluating and managing hydrogeologic problems and environmentally related processes.

Research

The program focuses on theoretical and problem-oriented research which, in most cases, is conducted in collaboration with other academic institutions, national research centers, industrial firms, municipalities, or governmental agencies. Environmental geoscience research focuses on the physical and chemical processes occurring at or near the Earth’s surface and how they are impacted by human activities. Specifically, research in the department focuses on the fate and transport of metals and radionuclides in the environment, on the assessment of surface and ground water resources, aqueous and organic geochemistry, and coastal and riparian processes. Engineering Geology research has focused on stability of highway cuts, mine waste embankment stability and design, landslide hazards, watershed and urban hydrology and geochemistry affected by acid mine drainage, and properties of soil and rock material as related to their engineering behavior. 

Courses

Introductory Hydrogeology, Advanced Hydrogeology, Modeling in Hydrogeology, Contaminant Hydrogeology, Engineering and Advanced  Engineering Geology, Watershed Hydrology, Urban Hydrology,  Environmental Geochemistry, Environmental Mineralogy,  Hydrogeochemistry,  Paleolimnology, Introduction to Soil Mechanics, Exploration Geophysics, Slope Stability, Stable Isotope Geochemistry, Sedimentology.

Faculty whose specialties are related to Hydrogeologic Processes and Engineering Geology include:  

  • YORAM ECKSTEIN, Ph.D., Hebrew University, 1977. Hydrogeology and Ground Water Resources; Modeling Ground Water Flow; Solute Transport; Aquifer Contamination Studies.
  • JOSEPH D. ORTIZ, Ph.D., Oregon State University, 1995. Stable isotope geochemistry, stratigraphy, sedimentology, climatic change.
  • DONALD F. PALMER, Ph.D., Princeton University, 1968.  Geophysical Methods in Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology. 
  • ABDUL SHAKOOR, Ph.D., Purdue University, 1982.  Landfill Studies; Waste Disposal Problems; Engineering Geology; Geotechnical Site Characterization; Landslide and Subsidence Studies. 
  • ALISON J. SMITH, Ph.D., Brown University, 1991.  Limnology, Paleolimnology, Lacustrine-Ground water Interactions; Lacustrine Ostracodes as environmental and climatic indicators. 
  • ANNE J. JEFFERSON, Ph.D., Oregon State University, 2006. Watershed Hydrology, Urban Hydrology, Geomorphology.
  • DAVID M, SINGER, Ph.D., Stanford University, 2008. Environmental Mineralogy, Environmental Geochemistry, Medical Geology.
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