University of Alabama Department of Geological Sciences

Here is an article about Colton Byrne's Goldwater Scholar journey:

UA’s Colton Byrne Selected 2026 Goldwater Scholar for Marine Geology Research - Alabama Water Institute | The University of Alabama Colton Byrne has been named a 2026-2027 Goldwater Scholar for his first-of-its-kind research on seafloor sediments near Thwaites Glacier, work that is helping scientists better understand Antarctic glacial recession and sea-level rise. Byrne conducted the research under Dr. Rebecca Totten, a CONSERV...

Congrats to Dr. Natasha Dimova and her high school mentee, Saisha Sahoo, for the innovative work they completed together this summer with the help of Jonathan Riddle. See the story below.

Geological Sciences Faculty Mentors High School Student in Award-Winning Research – Barefield College of Arts & Sciences Geological Sciences Faculty Mentors High School Student in Award-Winning Research July 31, 2026 Samples from the research project Within a couple months, an 11th grade Alabama student built a small-scale wetland replica in her apartment, started working in the Department of Geological Sciences Coast...

It was my pleasure give an invited talk at the 2nd IASGT Conference held in Accra (Ghana) from 22-24 July 2026. There were 18 lectures presented by geoscientists working on various aspects of Structural Geology and Tectonics from different countries. The title of my talk was "Advances in Fold-Thrust Belts". I made new friends and learned about the geology of Ghana. Thank you to the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Ghana for hosting. I also met Abigail Enyonam Ayikwei, an assistant lecturer within the department. We have a common friend, perhaps 2 degrees of separation (instead of 7). The next International Association of Structural Geology and Tectonics (IASGT) meeting will be in Kathmandu, Nepal in 2028 or 2029. Visit https://www.iasgt.org/ to information on how to join.

Congrats to Brian Liberato for earning his MS and recently graduating. Sam Hansen is his advisor.

We are proud of all of our Summer 2026 graduates. Here are a few pictures. On the left from left to right are 3 PhD graduates: Dr. Ojo Ogundare (advised by Yong Zhang and Geoff Tick), Dr. Chelsea Comans (advised by Tom Tobin), and Dr. Long Ho (advised by Sam Hansen). On the right are Chelsea and Tom.

Congrats to incoming MS student Jack Meusburger for earning a spot on a Society of Economic Geologists (SEG) field trip called the Ronald E. Seavoy Student Field Trip (9 days): The Diverse Ore Deposits, Prospects, and Mineralization Styles in the Northwest United States.

Jack will work on his MS thesis with Dr. Nicolas Saintilan on the Richmond Hill gold-REE project in South Dakota.

I saw this position of the Geological Society of America Job Board.
It is a geologist/environmental scientist in Birmingham Alabama with Arcadis. Minimum requirement is a BS in the Geosciences. Our BS and MS graduates might consider this. It was posted on May 26 so I am not certain when it closes.

Geoscience Job Board Explore open positions on GSA's geoscience job board, or post your organization's jobs.

Please join me in congratulating Marianne Heberlein on her first publication for her PhD, which is also co-authored by Colton Byrne (undergrad)! Rebecca Totten is their advisor. It was published in Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology last month: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2025PA005410

Congrats to the soon to be Dr. Chelsea Comans for passing her Ph.D. defense!! Dr. Tom Tobin is her Ph.D. advisor.

The GSAB met at Moundville Archeological Park at the end of April. They watched Eric St. Clair from the Oil and Gas Board at the Geological Survey of Alabama pilot a drone and explored drone capabilities. Let me know if you have an interested in joining our advisory board.