“The financial support from this scholarship allows me to fully immerse myself in my studies, pursue research in areas like seismic hazard mitigation, and participate in professional development opportunities that would otherwise be beyond my reach. As I work toward my goal of contributing to public safety through geological hazard preparedness, I hope to follow in Julian Barksdale’s footsteps by combining technical expertise with a deep commitment to education and service. This support inspires me to excel in my academic pursuits and reminds me of the importance of giving back to others. I am deeply grateful for this opportunity and for the legacy of Julian and Marajane Barksdale, whose dedication to students and geological sciences continues to make a lasting difference.”

“As a non-traditional postbaccalaureate student, receiving this award has helped to validate my recent life decisions. I had a sense that I was “taking away the opportunity” for younger students.  Receiving this award is one of several events that provided confirmation of my journey and that moved me past the imposter syndrome, showing me that I am where — and when — I belong. In early September, I was invited to join Dr. Michelle Muth, UW’s new volcanology professor, and her grad students on fieldwork near Indian Heaven, collecting samples of cinder cone tephra.  I am now volunteering as a lab assistant in the volcanology lab, helping prepare and analyze the samples we collected.  Receiving this award has reduced my financial burden, freeing up my time and allowing me to take advantage of this opportunity.”

“Although at times I have felt so alone trying to navigate all the logistics, I’ve had moments of deep appreciation for the support I’ve received along the way. Support from you has strengthened my sense of community in this field and I hope that someday I can pass on that support to those around me as well. Because of your support, I can immerse myself in my studies even further and work magnitudes greater than I would have without it. I will not forget the care you’ve given me to advance my career as I progress further through its many milestones.”

“I want to express my deepest gratitude for this scholarship, which helped to pay for the tuition cost of the 2024-2025 school year, my final year at UW. This scholarship opened major opportunities, such as giving me financial freedom to present my research at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology conference in Minneapolis this year, an extremely important networking opportunity that had a major impact on my career. Most importantly, the scholarship made it possible for me to gain field experience that was vital in landing a geology job right out of college. I am deeply grateful for your support.”

“I am incredibly honored to be a recipient of both the Robert and Mary Alice Crosson Endowed Graduate Student Support Fund and the Dr. Jody Bourgeois Endowed Fellowship in Sedimentary Geology. Your generosity has made a huge impact on my journey as a Ph.D. student in ESS. The Robert and Mary Alice Crosson award enabled me to take on a technique that is essential for my training as a tectonic geomorphologist and a research project that is central to adding a long-term perspective to my dissertation. The Bourgeois Fellowship has not only helped me achieve my academic and professional goals but also inspired me for the future. For now, I will continue mentoring, teaching, and collaborating to create a thriving, diverse, and equitable community for future generations, as Jody has done for decades. Thank you again for your incredible support.”

“In the past year, with budget cuts at NASA, grants that have supported a large portion of my Ph.D. are coming to a close, and I had to look for alternate sources of funding. I was grateful to have received a quarter of RA funding that allowed me to prioritize my research and graduate in a timely fashion. Without this funding, I would have struggled this year to publish my thesis chapters for graduation while fulfilling teaching responsibilities. This funding has given me the flexibility to push further into my final thesis chapter and pursue a topic I am passionate about.”

“I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for your generosity, which has had a strong impact on my education and research. Thanks to the support I have received, I have been able to work on some of my current research that focuses on understanding the impact of atmospheric pressure changes on slow-slip events. I believe that the work I am doing today, with your support, will have a lasting impact on both the scientific community and the public. Once again, thank you for your generous support through the Anthony Qamar Endowed Memorial Fund. Your contributions are making a tangible difference in the lives of students like me, and I am committed to making the most of this gift.”

“For the past three summers, I have volunteered as faculty and conducted research with the Juneau Icefield Research Program (JIRP). JIRP is an undergraduate field school teaching glaciology and climate science as part of a two-month expedition across the Juneau Icefield. This summer was the program’s 79th season, making it the longest-running field school of its kind, and one with a long legacy of involvement by UW faculty and students. I want to thank you for your generous donation to the UW that makes work like this possible. Your support enables students like me to engage in meaningful research in unique environments like the Juneau Icefield — one of the best places in the world to study the rapid change of glacier landscapes. Thank you for making this journey possible for me and other students, and for supporting the next generation of scientists and researchers at the UW.”

Daniel Otto

• In 1894, the Department of Geology and Mineralogy is authorized by the state legislature and Henry Landes is hired.
• In the fall of 1895, Landes starts teaching classes in the newly built and still unfinished Administration (now Denny) Hall, the only new building on the new campus. (UW Libraries Special Collections)
• “I will never forget…my first trip to the University. After we had rattled along for an interminable time we got out of the city into the woods, and it required much reassurance on the part of the conductor to make me believe that the University was yet ahead of us.” Henry Landes, 1916 Tyee. (UW Libraries Special Collections)

• In 1901, Undergraduate Charles Ruddy was a geology teaching assistant, president of the “Geological Society” (a geology club), and co-founder of the cooperative text-buying program that became the University Book Store.
• In 1907, Charles Weaver is hired to teach petrology as well as his specialty, paleontology. He developed the Tertiary stratigraphy and paleontology of the Pacific Northwest and supervised many of the early M.S. theses in the department.
• In 1907, pioneering geology major Fanchon Borie graduates. She summited Mt. Rainer, rowed women’s crew at UW, married geology classmate Russell Wayland and spent the rest of her life in Alaska and Colorado mining towns. (UW Tyee)
• In 1908, the department moves to the new Science (now Parrington) Hall and installs their first seismograph — no doubt spurred by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. (Library of Congress)

• In 1912, Henry Landes leads a month-long summer field trip/class to Yellowstone National Park, outfitted by the Roseborough Camping Company, and capped by a visit to the Anaconda mine in Butte Montana. (UW Libraries Special Collections)

• From 1913-1915, the department awards M.S. degrees to Earl Leroy Packard, Monroe Tetsugi Awoki and Willard Rouse Jillson.

• 

  Paleontological Research Institute

  In 1919, future renowned paleontologist Katherine Van Winkle (later Palmer) earns a B.A. from UW and publishes her thesis. Sent to Cornell for graduate study by Prof. Weaver, she returns as a visiting assistant professor in 1922-1923 while Weaver was on leave in South America. (left, Paleontological Research Institution)

• In 1919, petrologist and economic geologist George Goodspeed joins the department, later with a long stint as chair (1936-1952). With only a B.S. from MIT, he supervised four of the first five Ph.D.’s in the department.

• In 1927, Roy McClellan earns the first Ph.D. in the department, on the geology of the San Juan Islands.
• In 1930, the department moves into the new Johnson Hall, shared with the Biology Department.
• In the 1930s, major faculty additions included Richard Fuller (1930-1962), Mackin, Howard Coombs (1935-1976) and Julian Barksdale (1936-1973).
• In 1934, while the department was merged with Geography (1928-1935), physical geographer George Renner leaves UW and is replaced by J. Hoover Mackin, a beloved professor and one of the 20th century’s leading geomorphologists.
• From 1919-1930s, as Dean of the College of Science and Chair of the Committee on the Course of Study, Landes spurred campus development of survey courses for non-majors, teaching versions of “Geology 1” himself. Larry Hanson (1969-1981), Stan Chernicoff (1981 – 2007) and Terry Swanson (1992-present) have taught ESS 101 over the last 5 ½ decades! Currently, ESS 101 brings in nearly 1,000 students every quarter, including online students. (UW Tyee).

• From 1941-1945, both Barksdale (Navy) and Mackin (USGS) go on leave to contribute full-time to the war effort. Goodspeed did summer strategic mineral studies and Coombs moonlights as a B-17 aircraft inspector.
• In 1947, after an adventuresome early life that led to a teaching career in China, geologist and mountaineer Peter Misch came to the US and is hired by UW. Over his UW career he supervised more than 70 graduate students and over 100 M.S. and Ph.D. projects. (Bottom right, photo credit: D. Molenaar)
• In 1948-1949, Johnson Hall doubles in size, with basement facilities including new seismographs, just in time to record the 1949 Olympia (aka Tacoma Narrows) earthquake. (Library of Congress)

Library of Congrees

• From 1953-1958, Harry Wheeler publishes a series of papers (some with V.S. Mallory) on “time stratigraphy” – establishing concepts of what is now called “sequence stratigraphy”. (Wheeler 1958)

The award of an NSF Science Development Grant to UW in 1968 gives the department its biggest financial stimulus ever, establishing several important centers and laboratories.

• Establishment of the Quaternary Research Center, the oldest interdisciplinary center at UW. Its first director is A. Lincoln Washburn, the journal Quaternary Research is started.
• Support for many fields and instruments, including seismology, gravity, solid-earth tides, paleomagnetism, marine geophysics, glaciology, periglacial geomorphology, mineral physics, petrology (an electron microprobe), geochronology (K-Ar dating).
• Geophysics Program formalizes with newly hired Stewart Smith as chair.
• Establishment of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN): from 5 to >600 seismic stations today.
• ATG building completes in 1972.
• Acquisition of Johnson Hall Annex, aka “The Barn”.

• In 1970, Chair John Whetten, recognizing the underrepresentation of Black students in geology, launches a recruitment effort. Current graduate student Claire Jensen has interviewed several of these alums, including current Advisory Board member Dr. Wes Ward (see pp. 52 for alum profile).
• In 1973, Julian Barksdale publishes the “History of Geology at the University of Washington 1895-1973”.

Tucker and Melody Barksdale

• The 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens was significant for the department, as a hub for dispersing information about the eruption. (U.S. Geological Survey)
• In 1982, dating individual tree rings from WA and CA in the QRC’s underground precision radiocarbon facility, Minze Stuiver publishes the first of his lab’s radiocarbon calibration curves. The continued work earned him the 2005 GSA Penrose Medal.
• In 1988, construction of new geochemistry laboratories for low-contamination sample preparation and installation of a multiple-collector solid source mass spectrometer opens new research avenues in the department’s already strong petrology and geochemistry program.
• In 1989, the Geophysics Program brings in one of the first NASA Space Grants, intended to encourage students in STEM to engage in space-related education, research, and public service, and to expand participation in NASA’s mission. The space group subsequently develops popular courses in space science, including balloon and rocketry programs, as well as outreach to underrepresented communities.

Robert Burke.

• In the early 1990s, the Remote Sensing lab, established in 1984 in Johnson Hall Annex (“The Barn”) and conducting studies ranging from tropical and desert terrain to planetary surfaces and processes, receives a major boost from the W.M. Keck Foundation.
• In 1998, UW’s highly interdisciplinary Astrobiology Program gets its start with an NSF IGERT grant. By 2025, ten ESS faculty are active members.

• In 2001, Geological Sciences and Geophysics merge to become Earth and Space Sciences.
• In 2001, having evolved from the Quaternary Isotope Lab, the new stable isotope geochemistry lab acquires updated instrumentation with funding from NASA and NSF, and over time develops new methods for analyzing everything from early-Earth metamorphic rocks and Quaternary carbonates to ice cores and atmospheric aerosols. The current lab has six mass spectrometers and four laser spectrometers. (IsoLab in 2023, UW Photography)
• In 2004-2005, the old Johnson Hall is long overdue for renovation. It is gutted, then rebuilt with modern labs and classrooms, as well as with geologic themes creatively displayed along public corridors (left).
• In 2008, the College of the Environment is established. In 2009, the Earth and Space Sciences department moves into the College from the College of Arts and Sciences.
• In 2009, PNSN installs a set of small seismic arrays (“Array of Arrays”), providing a rich dataset for exploring non-volcanic tremors on the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

• In 2012, the Masters in Earth and Space Sciences, Applied Geosciences (MESSAGe) Program is established. Currently on pause, the program has graduated ~100 students since its inception.
• In 2013, a multi-year, multi-disciplinary, NSF-funded study with leading participants in ESS, as well as USGS affiliates, is established. The M9
• Project brings together UW researchers with private and public sectors to investigate the effects of a magnitude 9.0 earthquake in the Cascadia Subduction Zone. The project aims to mitigate and reduce those effects through community planning and design, early warning technology and other preventative measures.
• In 2021, on May 4, the ShakeAlert® Earthquake Early Warning system is publicly launched in Washington. PNSN plays a key role in developing the system, with early support from the Moore Foundation. (ShakeAlert Installation. UW Photography)
• In 2024-2025, the Department of Earth and Space Sciences celebrates its 130th anniversary!

• Kathy Troost (Teaching Professor Emeritus) – 12 years at ESS
• George Bergantz (Professor Emeritus) – 36 years at ESS
• Ron Sletten (Research Professor Emeritus) – 27 years at ESS
• Paul Bodin (Research Professor Emeritus) – 18 years at ESS
• Michael Brown (Professor Emeritus) – 40 years at ESS
• Bruce Nelson (Professor Emeritus) – 38 years at ESS
• Ed Waddington (Professor Emeritus) – 33 years at ESS
• Ken Creager (Professor Emeritus) – 38 years at ESS
• Howard Conway (Research Professor Emeritus) – 33 years at ESS
• Robert Holzworth (Professor Emeritus) – 42 years at ESS
• Charles Nittrouer (Professor Emeritus) – 26 years at ESS
• Bernard Hallet (Professor Emeritus) – 43 years at ESS
• Heidi Houston (Professor Emerita) – 12 years at ESS
• Darrel Cowan (Professor Emeritus) – 50 years at ESS
• Jody Bourgeois (Professor Emerita) – 44 years at ESS
• Alan Gillespie (Research Professor Emeritus) – 39 years at ESS
• Steve Warren (Professor Emeritus) – 43 years at ESS
• John Booker (Professor Emeritus) – 53 years at ESS
• Stanley Chernicoff (Senior Lecturer) – 27 years at ESS
• Patricia Anderson (Research Professor Emerita) – 30 years at ESS
• Stephen Malone (Research Professor Emeritus) – 39 years at ESS
• Brian Swanson (Research Associate Professor Emeritus) – 27 years at ESS
• Ron Merrill (Professor Emeritus) – 56 years at ESS
• Eric Cheney (Professor Emeritus) – 60 years at ESS
• Marcia Baker (Professor Emerita) – 44 years at ESS
• Robert Odom (Research Associate Professor Emeritus) – 31 years at ESS
• Charles Raymond (Professor Emeritus) – 55 years at ESS
• Bernard Evans (Professor Emeritus) – 55 years at ESS