EAPS faculty and students in tectonics study how the Earth has evolved over billions of years, integrating observations from the building and breaking of mountain ranges to the rise and filling of ocean basins, with an eye to their impact on the evolution of life.
Geology and Geophysics
Tectonics
Geophysics
Our geophysics faculty and students quantify the forces that currently shape the surface of our planet, from plate tectonics to mountain building, and the strength of the crust and mantle, from cold rocks that break as earthquakes to warm rocks that flow.
Geomorphology
Select EAPS faculty and students focus their research on the study of the origin and evolution of landscapes created by physical and chemical processes including tectonics, the flow of water and ice, and climate change.
Energy
Research in the traditional and unconventional energy thematic areas are conducted by our faculty and students, including the study of the exploration of reservoirs, the sedimentological and structural characterization of wells, and fluid/rock interactions.
Geology and Geophysics News
Purdue honors 2026 Showalter Scholars, expands early career research awards
10-27-2026
Purdue University is recognizing Xiaoping Bao and Jacqueline Linnes as 2026 Showalter Faculty Scholars and supporting 12 early career faculty members whose innovative projects address pressing challenges in human health. With the addition of Bao and Linnes, 15 Showalter Faculty Scholars are currently supported on Purdue’s West Lafayette campus. Michael Vermeuel, assistant professor of earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences, is featured.
Purdue scientist leads NASA airborne campaign to help map a changing Earth
10-16-2026
ASCENT flights over California are testing how radar, lidar and stereoimaging could work together in a future spaceborne observing system.
Purdue Science offers tutoring assistance in Indianapolis through the SMART Center
09-17-2026
Purdue University students in Indianapolis will now have an added option for free drop-in tutoring via the College of Science. The Science and Mathematics Academic Resource and Tutoring (SMART) Center is a College of Science student support service that is facilitated by tutors comprised of departmental graduate teaching assistants and trained undergraduate tutors. The SMART Center will be available to provide drop-in tutoring support throughout the semester Sunday through Friday, including evenings.
Purdue Researchers Collaborate Across Disciplines to Study Ancient Iron Smelting
08-24-2026
A Purdue-led archaeological project in Uzbekistan is bringing together researchers from the College of Liberal Arts, College of Engineering, and College of Science to investigate how iron was produced in one of the medieval world’s most important metallurgical regions. EAPS Associate Professor Ali Bramson was part of the research.
Dinosaur-killing asteroid may have helped create a long-lived underground home for life
06-10-2026
The asteroid that ended the age of dinosaurs also created something unexpected deep beneath the surface. A warm, water-rich environment that may have lasted for millions of years and could offer clues about where life might arise on Earth and other planets. EAPS's Marissa Tremblay was a part of the research team.