UT Jackson School of Geosciences

09/29/2026

UPDATE: This lecture has been cancelled due to weather. We look forward to hosting Professor Schumacher another time!

Don't miss our DeFord Lecture this week!

Courtney Schumacher, professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University, studies atmospheric convection across spatial scales, from observations as well as modeling. On Thursday she'll be speaking about stratiform rain, which falls steadily over large areas, and how it affects the weather, climate, and geological record.

Hang around after the talk for cookies and coffee outside Boyd Auditorium!

09/28/2026

Researchers at the Jackson School of Geosciences have rewritten a small part of Oklahoma’s geologic history.

A large impact crater buried below the surface of Ames, Oklahoma is an important marker of Oklahoma’s ancient past and present-day economy; the structure is a major oil and gas producer.

Years ago, researchers found the teeth of an ancient eel-like creature called a conodont in the rock. This species is strongly associated with the Ordovician age, so researchers believed that the meteor must have made impact around this time, 467 million years ago.

But new research out of the Jackson School's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences shows that this date is about 100 million years off.

Read more: https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/news/2026/09/meteor-hit-oklahoma-100-million-years-later-than-previously-thought/

09/24/2026

Congratulations to our AGU awardees! 🥳🙌

Professor Ginny Catania and Research Professor Laura Wallace have been named Fellows of the American Geophysical Union, the organization’s highest honor. They are recognized for their contributions to polar science and tectonics, respectively.

Catania also serves as a professor at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Also joining the two UTIG researchers in their recognition by the AGU is Srisharan Shreedharan, a former Distinguished Postdoctoral fellow at the institute from 2021-2022, who received the Jason Morgan Early Career Award.

Read more: https://ig.utexas.edu/news/2026/catania-wallace-named-agu-fellows/

09/23/2026

Congratulations to Ginny Catania, Laura Wallace and Shujuan Mao, some of the Jackson School's amazing geophysicists who have been recognized by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) this year!

These are some of the AGU's most prestigious awards. We are thrilled for each of these recipients!

Congratulations also to former UTIG postdoc Srisharan Shreedharan, who received the Jason Morgan Early Career Award.

Read more about these awards here: https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/news/2026/09/jackson-school-researchers-win-top-awards-from-agu-2/

09/22/2026

Professor Emily Brodsky of UC Santa Cruz is our DeFord speaker this week!

Brodsky is an earthquake physicist who blends theory, observations, and experiments in her research.

You won't want to miss her lecture! And an important note for the cookie hounds out there: Coffee and cookies will be set out AFTER the lecture this week. Stick around for a bite, meet the speaker, and chat with your colleagues and friends!

09/22/2026

New UT Jackson School of Geosciences faculty member Taiyi Wang joins us this week for our series! Join us in-person or virtually via this link: https://ig.utexas.edu/utig-seminar-series/2026/utig-seminar-series-taiyi-wang/

09/21/2026

Résumés were flying from hand to hand at the Texas Geosciences Career Fair last week!

About 240 students stopped by to meet with 20 potential employers spanning the private and public sectors — from oil and gas to water resources management to environmental consulting.

Thanks to all the students who came by! Your future is mighty bright 😎

09/19/2026

Last week, Professor Emeritus Robert Dickinson passed away, leaving behind a legacy of climate research and mentorship that spans the globe.

Learn more about Dickinson's pioneering contributions to climate science and education in our 2018 profile.

Robert Dickinson By Monica Kortsha In the early 1980s, while serving as the deputy director of the National Center for…

09/18/2026

It is with great sadness that we share that Professor Emeritus Robert E. Dickinson passed away on Sept. 11, 2026.

Dickinson was a world-renowned climate scientist who joined the Jackson School in 2008 and retired in 2018. He was a valued colleague, mentor, educator and friend.

A pioneer in climate science, Dickinson’s research on atmospheric dynamics, land-atmosphere interactions, and Earth system science, among other things, helped lay the foundation for climate models in use today.

We send our sincere condolences to his family, friends, mentees, and colleagues around the globe.

https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/news/2026/09/professor-emeritus-robert-e-dickinson-passes-away/

09/16/2026

For this week's DeFord Lecture, we're bringing Alan Rooney to campus!

Rooney, an assistant professor at Yale University, studies the interactions between tectonics, climatic processes and geochemical cycles on a range of time scales, using radiogenic isotope geochemistry.

Be sure to swing by Boyd Auditorium early before the lecture to grab a cookie and a cup of coffee!