Welcome to Geological Sciences at San Diego State University. For more than 75 years, the Department has provided outstanding educational opportunities for students leading to successful careers in government, business, industry and teaching. Water, energy and natural resources are at the forefront of societal concerns, and the Department's General Education courses serve thousands of students each year helping to provide the country with an environmentally responsible and scientifically literate electorate. The Bachelors of Science degree options are based on an advanced academic core curriculum distinguished by a senior thesis requirement that promotes a collaborative student-faculty atmosphere and prepares students for top graduate school programs. The Masters of Science program is likewise one of the most successful in the country preparing students for high trajectory career paths as well as more advanced academic studies. Beginning in 2010, the Geophysics Program of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD and the Department of Geological Sciences at SDSU will offer a Joint Doctoral Program in Geophysics focused on earthquake science and applied geophysics. Graduates of the JDP will be prepared to assume leadership roles in universities, government, and industry. If you are considering a science course, interested in pursuing a major, or contemplating graduate school, please explore this web site for more information and feel free to contact us or to come by and visit. We look forward to hearing from you!
Dr. Steven Day & Dr. Kim Olsen Receives a grant for "Fault and Earthquake System Dynamics" 10.11.2011
Dr. John Crockett Receives a grant for "Regional Energy Innovation and Commercialization" 10.06.2011
Dr. Eric Frost Receives a grant for "Potential Impact and Mitigation Strategies for Overlap of L-Band, 4th -generation Wireless and INMARSAT BGANs in the San Diego Backcountry" 09.08.2011
Dr. Kim Olsen & Dr. Steven Day Receives a grant for "Geoinformatics: A Petascale Cyberfacility for Physics-based Seismic Hazard Analysis (PetaSHA-3)" 08.15.2011
Dr. Thomas Rockwell & Dr. Gary Girty Receives a grant for "Collaborative Research: Structural Architecture and Evolutionary Plate-Boundary Processes Along the San Jacinto Fault Zone" 08.09.2011
Dr. Shuo Ma Receives a grant for "Exploring the Likelihood of Earthquake Ruptures on the San Andreas Fault Breaking through the San Gorgonio Pass Area by Using Dynamic Rupture Simulations and the Community Fault Model" 07.19.2011
Dr. Aaron Pietruszka Receives a grant for "Collaborative Research: Magnetic Evolution of Kilauea Volcano: Past, Present and Future" 06.29.2011
Dr. Shuo Ma Receives a grant for "Exploring the Probability of Fault-to-Fault Jumps During Earthquake Ruptures by Using Three- Dimensional Dynamic Simulations" 06.27.2011
Dr. Shuo Ma Receives a grant for "Rupture Dynamics, Validation of the Numerical Simulation Method" 06.27.2011
Dr. Kim Olsen Receives a grant for "Correlation of Peak Dynamic and Static Coulomb Failure Stress with Seismicity Rate Change after the M7.2 El Mayor-Cucapah Earthquake SCEC#11140" 06.27.2011
Dr. Kim Olsen Receives a grant for "Rupture and Ground Motions Near an Extensional Stepover on the San Jacinto Fault with Validation from Precariously Balanced Rocks: Collaborative Research with UC Riverside and San Diego State University" 06.27.2011
Dr. Shuo Ma Receives a grant for "Extraction of Station-to-Station Green's Functions Using Seismic Coda in Southern California" 06.27.2011
Dr. Thomas Rockwell Receives a grant for "Characterization of Earthquake Slip Distribution on the Northern Coyote Creek Strand of the San Jacinto Fault Using LiDAR and Field Mapping" 05.31.2011
Dr. Kim Olsen Receives a grant for "Validation of Finite Fault Simulations Using Broadband Synthetics Based on Low-Frequency Dynamic Rupture Propagation and High-Frequency Scattering Green's" 05.24.2011
Dr. Thomas Rockwell Receives a grant for "Characterization of Pulverized Granitoids in the Little Rock Core Along the San Andreas Fault" 05.16.2011
Dr. Thomas Rockwell Receives a grant for "Collaborative Research: Paleoseismology of the Borrego and Pescadores faults in Northern Baja California: Characterizing the Past Rupture History of a Complex Transtentional Fault Zone" 05.16.2011
Dr. Thomas Rockwell Receives a grant for "Development of a Holocene Earthquake Record for the Northern San Jacinto Fault Zone From a New Paleoseismic site at Mystic Lake: Collaborative Research with CSU Long Beach, SDSU, and CSU San Bernardino" 05.16.2011
Dr. George Jiracek Receives a grant for "Geothermal Assessment of the Middle Rio Grande Rift in New Mexico - National Geothermal Student Competition" 03.14.2011
Dr. John Crockett Receives a grant for "Regional Energy Innovation and Commercialization" 03.07.2011
Dr. Shuo Ma Receives a grant for "The Role of Sediments in Rupture Dynamics of Tsunami Earthquakes and Tsunami Generation" 02.22.2011
Dr. Kim Olsen Receives a grant for "Fully Nonlinear Modeling of Strong Ground Motion From M7.0 Earthquakes on the Salt Lake City Segment of the Wasatch Fault, Utah: Request for Supplemental Funding" 02.08.2011
Dr. Steven Day Receives a grant for "Earthquake Rupture Simulations: Thermo-mechanical Models, and Validation with Strong Motion Data" 01.20.2011
Dr. Thomas Rockwell Receives a grant for "A Long Record of Earthquakes with Timing and Displacements for the Imperial Fault: A Test of Earthquake Recurrence Models" 01.11.2011
SDSU's video is one of 11 videos submitted for the 2013 AAPG Student Chapter YouTube Video contest. $1,000 for the top video, $300 for 2nd and $100 for 3rd place. Please view, share, and go to the AAPG Student Programs page and like it!, most views/likes wins! AAPG Video Contest Facebook Post
Koji Okumura
Graduate School of Letters, Hiroshima University Wednesday, May 1st, 2013
CSL 422 - 1:00pm
The 2011 March disaster in Japan occurred on the edge between the known and the unknown. That means earthquake and tsunamis of unknown magnitude hit the area prepared for those of known magnitude. Knowledge on extreme natural hazards may derive from experience, history, and geology but incomplete. Confidence on the knowledge as well as lack of the knowledge resulted in severe disasters. Northern half of the areas severely damaged by the Tsunami, the Sanriku rocky coast area was the best-in-the-world prepared for huge tsunamis reflecting experiences in 1896, 1933, and 1960 tsunamis. more...
David Schug
URS Corporation Wednesday, April 24th, 2013
CSL 422 - 1:00pm
The Panama Canal expansion project started in 2007 with the goal of doubling the capacity of the canal by 2014 by allowing more and larger ships to transit. Dave Schug was one of several URS Corporation geologists involved in geotechnical studies critical to the design of earthquake resistant dams across active faults in the region. He worked with Panama Canal Authority (ACP) geologists during the site characterization studies and borrow material investigations. more...
03.21.2013
ANNUAL BANQUET - APRIL12th, 2013 sponsored by
SDSU GEOLOGY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
(aka "FRIENDS OF THE DEPARTMENT)
This year's banquet will be held at Holiday Inn Mission Valley Stadium on Murphy Canyon Road in San Diego. The Friday evening event begins with a social hour at 6pm and dinner at 7pm. The meal will be followed by a program, with presentations to and by this year's recipients of the Baylor Brooks Honored Alumni Award. The deserving honoree is Mr. Mike Bemis, recently retired from Ninyo and Moore, Geotechnical and Environmental Consultants. more...
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5500 Campanile Dr • 237 Geology Mathematics and Computer Science Building • San Diego • CA 92182-1020 • (619) 594-5586
If you need assistance, contact Geological Sciences at 619-594-5586, email: geology@mail.sdsu.edu or visit us on campus GMCS-237. Our office hours are 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday-Friday