Primary Faculty: Professors ANDERSON (Chair), DONAHUE, HAPKE, LIDIAK, ROLLINS; Associate Professors BIKERMAN (Director of Graduate Admissions), HARBERT; Assistant Professors BERATAN, CAPO, CROWN, STEWART; Research Assistant Professor EVANS

Affiliated Faculty (Adjunct faculty and those with primary appointments in other areas): Professors BRAND (Adjunct), DAWSON (Adjunct), DEUL (Adjunct), GATEWOOD (Physics and Astronomy; Director, Allegheny Observatory); Associate Professor WHITLOCK (Adjunct); Assistant Professors BREZINSKI (Adjunct), HUTCHINSON (Adjunct), LUGAR (Adjunct), LUO (Adjunct), REYNOLDS (Adjunct), WITKOWSKI (Adjunct); Research Professors R. ANDERSON (Adjunct), APT (Adjunct); Research Assistant Professor HARVEY (Adjunct)

Emeritus Faculty: Professors CASSIDY, HSIEH; Associate Professors PILANT, STRICK; Research Professor SHARKEY

The department offers degree programs which lead to the MS or PhD in Geology and Planetary Science. The principal objective of the graduate programs is to provide a broad and strong foundation upon which students may base careers. The PhD program is designed to educate scientists for basic or applied research and teaching. Graduate research may involve specialization in geology, geochemistry, geophysics, planetary science, and environmental science.

All graduate students must be on active status and registered in the term of graduation. Active status is defined as one credit of registration in a 12 month period.

The comprehensive examination consists of two parts: preparation of two written research proposals and an oral examination. The proposals must be provided to the comprehensive examination committee at least two weeks prior to the oral presentation. Questions will focus on the proposal topics and closely related areas, but may also cover other areas. The student should demonstrate knowledge of facts and concepts, resource materials, history, and current literature in the research areas covered in the proposals, and the ability to integrate the research materials into new, creative concepts as may be required for the successful completion of significant research.

There are five possible results of the comprehensive examination: (1) pass, (2) pass with provisions, (3) fail with the opportunity to retake during the following term of residence, (4) fail with transfer to a master’s program, and (5) fail and drop from the graduate program.

After completion of the comprehensive examination, the student should consult with his/her major advisor and propose a dissertation committee. After the specific dissertation topic has been chosen and data collection begun, the student must schedule a dissertation overview. At this meeting, the student shall present a clear and concise statement of the purpose and scope of the dissertation research, a detailed plan of research, and the expected significance of the research. The purpose of the dissertation overview is for the committee to approve formally of the dissertation topic, and to critique the research plan and proposed methodology. The overview provides an opportunity for the members of the committee to review the student’s research program. Subsequently, the student shall schedule a dissertation overview once per year in order to keep the dissertation committee informed of progress, and to give the members an opportunity to suggest possible improvements in research methodology or analysis.

Each student must write and present a dissertation embodying an extended original investigation of a problem of significance in his/her field of specialization. The dissertation must add to the general store of knowledge or understanding in its field and be of sufficient importance to merit publication. The dissertation shall be defended during a departmental meeting with the dissertation committee and shall be presented at a public departmental seminar. The degree shall be awarded upon submission of the results for publication as a peer reviewed article in an acceptable journal.

There is no formal language requirement, although individual advisors may require a reading knowledge of a foreign language.

Planetary Science Laboratories: The Planetary Surfaces Laboratory contains UV, visible, and IR spectrometers and a goniometric photopolarimeter for characterization of the spectral reflectance of planetary surface materials, as well as a high vacuum system for simulating conditions on the surfaces of airless bodies and a H-ion gun for simulating space weathering by solar wind radiation damage in regoliths. The Planetary Geosciences Laboratory contains computer facilities, a collection of planetary geology datasets, and resources for map production and image analysis (for example–light tables, stereoscopes, and drafting equipment). The PGL contains an extensive collection of remote sensing data, including NASA CD-ROMs of Clementine, Galileo, Magellan, Viking, Voyager, GRSFE (Geologic Remote Sensing Field Experiment), and Volcanology (Kilauea, Mauna Loa, and Kamchatka) data; a print collection of Lunar Orbiter and Viking Lander images; selected prints of Viking Orbiter images and mosaics, Voyager images and mosaics, and Mariner 10 mosaics of Mercury and aerial photographs; and LANDSAT data of volcanic landforms in the western U.S. (CA, ID, HI, and OR) and the Central Andes (Bolivia). Also included in the PGL collection are Antarctic meteorite stranding surface maps, topographic maps of Antarctica and selected terrestrial impact craters, and U.S. Geological Survey photomosaics and maps (topographic, shaded relief, and geologic) of Mercury, Venus, the Moon, Mars, and the Galilean satellites.

Paleomagnetism Laboratory: The Paleomagnetism Laboratory houses a magnetically shielded, lowfield room with superconducting rock magnetometer, large capacity thermal demagnetization ovens, computer controlled alternation field demagnetizer, high field (27KG) pulse magnetizer, and equip­ment for measuring magnetic susceptibility (MS) and anisotropy in magnetic susceptibility (AMS).

Radiogenic Isotope Facility: The Radiogenic Isotope Facility consists of an instrument lab and two sample preparation laboratories. Isotope measurements are carried out on a new Finnigan MAT 262 thermal ionization mass spectrometer (TIMS) equipped with a high abundance sensitivity RPQ_plus device. Additional instrumentation includes a Spectro Modula EOP inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) with autosampling capability, and a Merchantek laser ablation station with computer controlled translation stage and video observation system for use with the ICP. These instruments and the TIMS are housed in a ~500 sq. ft. laboratory adjacent to the chemistry labs. Most chemical procedures related to radiogenic isotope sample preparation are carried out in a state-of-the-art clean chemistry laboratory, housed in a ~500 sq. ft. space provided with positive pressure and filtration to a 95% level, 16 lineal feet of hood space, and ULPA filtered laminar flow stations for ultraclean chemical procedures. A smaller, fully-equipped wet chemistry lab is available for routine ICP-AES sample preparation.

Computer Laboratory: The computer laboratory consists of a cluster of Unix workstations (Sun and SGI), Pentium Windows-95 and Macintosh personal computers, a digitizing tablet, scanner, and EKOTONIX high-resolution scanning camera. The department has received funding from the University of Pittsburgh to develop a workstation-based Spatial Data Instructional Computer Laboratory. This laboratory will be used for graduate and undergraduate instruction, providing hands-on experience with state-of-the-art techniques in Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing. This lab will consist of 10 SPARC ICPs networked to a SPARC Ultra Serv-2 with 128 MB of RAM, an HP DesignJet 760CE Large Format Color Printer, and a video display device. Available software packages will include Arc/Info, ENVI, and ERMapper. The new Spatial Data Laboratory allows the department to offer a new undergraduate certificate in Geographic Information Systems.

Supporting facilities are provided by the University’s Computing and Information Services (CIS), including photo-quality color printers, document and slide scanners, and video capture/editing and 3- D rendering capabilities that are accessible for research use.

Courses 3900-3970 may be elected by students who wish to pursue topics not covered in regularly scheduled courses. Arrangements must be made with the appropriate staff member before registration.

Additional information about departmental programs and course offerings may be obtained by writing the Chair; Department of Geology and Planetary Science; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh, PA 15260-3332.