Department of Earth Sciences
Welcome to Earth Sciences
CELEBRATING OVER 55 YEARS OF DISTINCTION - REQUEST INFORMATION
HIGHLIGHT VIDEO OF MU EARTH SCIENCES DEPARTMENT
At MU, you are more than just a number. Learn how faculty care for their students and prepare them for their careers in the video above.
STUDENT PRESENTATIONS AT NATIONAL meetingS
Students from the Millersville University Earth Sciences Department presented their research at the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) 2022 National Conference in Savannah, the Geological Society of America (GSA) Meeting in Pittsburgh from October 15-18, 2023, the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2024 in New Orleans in February, and the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) in Baltimore from January 27-Febaruary 1, 2024.
Millersville students, alumni, and faculty attend space weather workshop
The 2023 Space Weather Workshop was held from April 17-21 in Boulder, CO, and brought together instructors, graduates, and students of the space weather programs at Millersville University. Pictured in the front row are, from left-to-right: instructors Drs. Tamitha Skov, Jennifer Meehan, and Sepi Yalda, who is also the program coordinator, and program graduates Sara Housseal and Samantha Carlson. Pictured in the back row are, from left-to-right: instructors Michael Cook and Dr. Richard Clark, program founder and emeritus faculty, Tim Keebler, Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan, Athony Williams, graduate student in the Integrated Scientific Applications program, and Wes Taylor, undergraduate meteorology major with a minor in Heliophysics and Space Weather. The group presented three posters and participated in the week-long workshop, whose banquet keynote speaker, Erin Wolf of Ball Aerospace, amazed the audience with a presentation and stunning images from the James Webb Space Telescope.
project tiltting created by Millersville METEORology students
Remember the group of Millersville meteorology students who chased the EF-3 tornado in Mullica Hill, NJ, during Hurricane Ida? Under the leadership of Weather Information Center Director Kyle Elliott, they created the Thermodynamic Investigation of LCL Thresholds at Tornadogenesis and its Influence in the Northeast and Great Plains (TILTTING) project. For details on the project and how to support the students, visit TILTTING (millersville.edu/tiltting). Nearly 20 students are involved in the project, and 7 of them deployed to the Great Plains for a two-week period during May 2024 to conduct tornado research. Under the guidance of Dr. Greg Blumberg, this "chase team" will obtain three atmospheric profiles of temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind velocity for each storm event: one 30-60 minutes before, one during, and one 30-60 minutes after Tornadogenesis. The students have also designed their own probes that will be used to penetrate and measure wind velocity and pressure perturbations within the condensation funnel of a tornado. Intensive Observation Periods (IOPs) have and will continue to be conducted in the Northeast, with teams of 6-10 students deploying on a rotating basis. Three IOPs took place in the Northeast during Summer 2022, with another three happening during Summer 2023. Incorporation of this data into numerical weather prediction models will increase accuracy of severe weather forecasts, improve tornado warning lead times and, most importantly, save lives.
The Department of Earth Sciences offers comprehensive degree programs leading to:
Bachelor of Science
- Emergency Management (both online and in person)
- Environmental Earth and Ocean Sciences (EEOS)
- Meteorology
- Secondary Education in Earth Sciences with a teaching certification in Earth & Space Science.
Master of Science
Our MS programs are all offered fully online.
- Integrated Scientific Applications (MSISA) offers two specializations.
Graduate Certificate