Binational Team Fights to Save an Endangered Desert-Mountain Grass
Check out this short radio segment from Professor Poulos's Fescue Rescue project.
Earth & Environmental Sciences
The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (E&ES) at 911±¬ÁÏÍø covers many aspects of the natural world, on Earth and on other planets. Our investigations range from active volcanoes to climate change and eco-conservation to the fate of water on Mars and the Moon. Our students perform cutting edge research in our own backyard and around the world. Our graduates enter jobs in Earth and environmental industries, the non-profit sector and academia.
Spotlight
Jesse Chang Frieden '26 Wins First and Third Place at NASA ECOSTRESS Hackathon
Jesse Chang Frieden (E&ES/ENVS, '26) just won . Jesse and Professor Poulos gave presentations on their research in September at the ECOSTRESS Science and Application Team Meeting. In addition to his participation in the hackathon--make an image in an afternoon session, Jesse presented on his summer internship that showed significant increases in bacteria after high-severity fire in coastal watersheds of the Palisades Fire in LA.
Open House for WesWOW, Sept, 11, 2-4 pm
The Joe Webb Peoples Museum of Natural History, in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department, 4th Floor, Exley Science Center, will have an Open House on September 11, 2-4 pm. Stop by to get a look at our amazing fossils and minerals, and talk to our student curators about participation in the museum. Do not forget to pick up some of our stickers, and while you are in Exley, look at our displays in the lobby as well.
Ellen Thomas has won the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge
Ellen Thomas has won the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the climate change category. This is an extraordinary international award that was established in 2008 to acknowledge significant contributions in the areas of scientific research and cultural creation. The recipients in the Climate Change category, in which Ellen is now a recipient, Reads like who’s who in climate research.
A film crew visited campus to interview Ellen Thomas, please open the link to the video:
Upcoming Colloquium
We are looking forward to welcoming our colloquia speakers for the Fall 2025 Semester TBA.
Newsletters
Please click on the links to view the department newsletters!
Spring Alumni Print Newsletter, if you did not receive a newsletter by mail, please update your mailing address with the Alumni Center dsemail@wesleyan.edu
Recent Grants Awarded
Helen Poulos was awarded a Faculty Research Grant from the NASA Connecticut Space Grant Program. Her research proposal, "Springpulse: Modeling Groundwater Discharge in Large Texas Springs Using Field Data, Remote Sensing, and Machine Learning" can be found
Graduate student, Mary Clare Greenlees, also received a travel award grant to travel to the 55th Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Her proposal can be found