News Release
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February 23, 2006
State Board Approves New Doctoral Program in Geosciences at
Boise State University
Program is second Ph.D. approved by State Board this academic year at
Boise State
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Dr. Clyde J. Northrup,
left, chair of the Department of Geosciences at Boise State
University, discusses his research with student Gene Kurz. Kurz
plans to enroll in the Ph.D. program in geosciences this fall. |
The State Board of Education today unanimously approved a
new doctoral program in geosciences at Boise State University, and
university officials say they will admit the first students to the program
in fall 2006.
The new Ph.D. is the fourth doctoral program to be offered at Boise State,
and the second to be approved by the State Board this academic year. In
December, the State Board approved a Ph.D. in electrical and computer
engineering. The university also offers a Ph.D. in geophysics and an Ed.D in
curriculum and instruction.
Boise State President Bob Kustra said the new Ph.D. will benefit students,
local industry and state and federal agencies in southwest Idaho by
providing access to a research-intensive program that builds on the
university’s strengths in geology, hydrology, geochemistry and geophysics.
“This new Ph.D in geosciences will bring many new opportunities for
education, research and collaboration” Kustra said. “It supports our vision
as a metropolitan research university and helps us prepare our students for
the jobs of the future.”
The new doctoral program builds on the expertise the Department of
Geosciences has already developed in successfully managing graduate
programs, added Provost Sona Andrews.
“With a doctoral program in geophysics, three master’s degree programs and a
very strong undergraduate program, the Geosciences Department and its
exceptional faculty are well prepared to offer this new Ph.D. program,”
Andrews said. “Our undergraduate and graduate students will be the
beneficiaries as they work with faculty in both classrooms and
laboratories.”
There is a demonstrated need for more graduate-level geoscientists in Idaho
and the region, said Clyde J. Northrup, chair of the Department of
Geosciences. “Graduates of doctoral programs find employment in a remarkably
broad range of industries and organizations involved with earth and
environmental processes,” he said.
Research is an integral part of the Ph.D. in geosciences, and a dissertation
based on creative research accounts for 18 of the 66 credits necessary to
graduate. Candidates will work with faculty on projects funded by the
National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the
Department of Defense and other agencies.
The projects range from watershed studies to analyzing the age and
composition of geologic materials to charting how moisture flows through the
Earth’s subsurface to climate studies and other projects. The department
runs nearly a dozen in-house or field labs, and is expanding its facilities
with new research funds.
For example, last year geosciences professor Mark Schmitz was awarded a
$620,000 NSF grant to purchase state-of-the-art equipment for a new Isotope
Geology Laboratory that will be the first of its kind in the Interior
Northwest. The grant funds a thermal ionization mass spectrometer, or TIMS.
The instrument measures the products of radioactive decay in microscopic
minerals and can be used to determine the age of geologic materials such as
rocks or fossils, and the composition of environmental samples such as
dissolved minerals in water or lead contaminants in soil.
The TIMS equipment will be the centerpiece of a new ultra-clean lab now
under construction at Boise State that is expected to be completed later
this spring. The new facility will enable Boise State faculty and students
to laboratory collaborate with scientists at similar labs at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California-Berkeley
and other research universities as part of a NSF program.
As part of its plans for the new Ph.D., the Geosciences Department will add
two new faculty with expertise in geochemistry and geomorphology by fall
2006 and another two faculty with expertise in geophysics and geology by
fall 2007. That will bring the department’s ranks to 16 tenure-track
faculty, in addition to seven research faculty and affiliated researchers in
engineering , biology, mathematics and anthropology. Currently the
department enrolls 75 undergraduate and 27 graduate students, including
eight students pursuing a doctorate in geophysics.
The start-up costs for the program are being funded by grants and university
funds. After the six-year implementation phase, costs of running the Ph.D.
program should be covered by research grants that provide student
fellowships, faculty salaries, lab equipment and facilities and other costs,
Northrup said.
Gene Kurz is among students who is looking forward to enrolling in the Ph.D.
program in geosciences next fall. Kurz, who earned a master’s in geology in
2001 from Boise State and then worked as an environmental consultant, said
he wants to earn a doctorate and someday teach at a university.
“Boise State has the location, the faculty and the resources,” said Kurz. “I
enjoyed working with Dr. Northrup for my master’s degree, and I’m glad I
will now have the opportunity to continue my education here.”
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Contact: Clyde J. Northrup, Department of Geosciences, (208)
426-1581, cjnorth@boisestate.edu,
Media Contact: Janelle Brown, University Communications, (208)
426-1790, jbrown2@boisestate.edu
Boise State University is the largest institution of higher education in
Idaho with about 18,600 students and 2,200 faculty and staff. More than 190
undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and technical degrees are offered within
eight colleges. A metropolitan university located in the capital city, Boise
State is committed to life-enhancing research, teaching excellence and
public service.
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Last reviewed on Wednesday, January 03, 2007