The ESS community is very active, and we love sharing knowledge. See our events calendar for the most up-do-date schedule and other upcoming department events and seminars. If you would like to be notified about upcoming events, you can request to be added to our events mailing list by mailing .

Department Colloquia

Weekly Departmental Colloquia

Held on Thursday afternoons during the academic year, this weekly seminar presents invited speakers from academia and governmental and non-governmental agencies and organizations. Speakers include distinguished Earth, space, and planetary scientists from around the world, as well as ESS faculty, postdocs, and graduate students. Seminars are free and open to the public.

Graduate Student Invited Speaker Event – This event provides an exciting opportunity for ESS graduate students to nominate and select a speaker for the Department’s weekly colloquium series. This event is an important way for graduate students to contribute to, and shape perspectives brought to the Department via the seminar series.

Other Seminars

Please see our EVENTS CALENDAR for the most up-to-date schedule and information on the below seminars.

SeismoLunch Seminar Series

This is a weekly lunch-time series with varying topics, generally within the field of seismology. This series is free and open to the public.

PetroLunch Seminar Series

This is a semi-weekly series of lunch-time talks, held Fridays, 12–1PM, organized amongst the igneous and metamorphic petrology and high-temperature geochemistry community in ESS. Speakers may include UW faculty, PhD students, and postdocs, as well as invited speakers from beyond UW who typically join us via Zoom. PetroLunch is held in person in the QRC Conference Room (JHN 377) or on zoom.

Glaciology Lunch Seminar Series

This is a weekly lunch-time series with varying topics, generally within the field of glaciology. This series is free and open to the public.

ESS Research Symposium and Gala

The ESS Research Symposium and Gala is an annual, graduate student-organized research symposium supported by the Department of Earth and Space Sciences (ESS) at the University of Washington. The Symposium is a showcase of ESS research where students present conference-style talks and posters to the department and wider UW community. This event is both a celebration of department research, and an opportunity for students to receive constructive feedback on their work. The Symposium includes talks and posters, a photo contest, an alumnus keynote speaker, and a reception and awards ceremony.

Cash prizes go to the best talks and posters.