Department of Geology - Appalachian State University

Contact Us

Physical Address
Department of Geology
033 Rankin Science West
572 Rivers Street
Boone, NC 28608

Postal Address
Department of Geology
Appalachian State University
ASU Box 32067
Boone, NC 28608-2067

phone: (828) 262-3049
fax: (828) 262-6503

Chairperson:
Dr. Johnny A. Waters
watersja@appstate.edu

General Questions:
Geology Webmaster

B.S. in Geology - Paleontology Concentration

AppPaleo

Paleontology is the quintessential interdisciplinary science, combining geology and biology to document the evolution of life.

Few schools have a dedicated major in paleontology, but we at Appalachian have developed a concentration in paleontology within our geology major.

This program targets the dedicated undergraduate interested in pursuing a career in paleontology or the petroleum industry by providing a strong interdisciplinary background rooted in geology and biology, opportunities for student research in paleontology, and a program of study designed to facilitate entry to graduate school.

   AppPaleoPhoto
Above: Appalachian geology students on a course field trip look on as a paleontologist (hidden in dust cloud) uses a rock saw to extract a Triassic reptile from a quarry block near Raleigh, North Carolina.

Classes

  
Above: Moonrise over camp in Triassic badlands near Tucumcari, NM, May, 2006 paleontology trip.

Students whose focus is paleontology take a variety of courses in geology and biology, as well as some presently offered as special topics in geology. These include paleontology methods, paleoecology, and quantitative paleobiology. The result is a student with a strong geology major, a biology minor, and an exemplary introduction to paleontology.

To see the course checksheet for a concentration in paleontology, click here.

Student Research Opportunities

  

Field Projects

  • Middle Ordovician community ecology
  • Microvertebrates and the Triassic-Jurassic boundary in the American Southwest
  • Triassic rift-basin paleoenvironmental reconstruction and implications for paleo-landscape resources

Lab Projects
  • Bryozoan genetics and evolution
  • Practice in Preparation - an expanding opportunity in paleontology
  • Microvertebrates - finding fossils in the lab

Personnel

  

Faculty expertise at Appalachian spans the gamut from archosaurs to zooecia, with three paleontologists on staff and a fourth, active emeritus member:

Who What When Where Email
Dr. Johnny Waters
Chair		 Blastoids and other fossil echinoderms Paleozoic China, USA watersja@appstate.edu
Dr. Steve Hageman
Associate Professor		 Systematics, evolution, and growth of Bryozoa; paleoecology Paleozoic-Recent Australia, Scotland, the Adriatic Seaway hagemansj@appstate.edu
Dr. Andrew Heckert
Assistant Professor		 Microvertebrates and early dinosaur evolution Triassic-Jurassic American Southwest, North Carolina heckertab@appstate.edu
Dr. F. Kenneth McKinney
Emeritus		 Bryozoan systematics and evolution; paleoecology Paleozoic-Recent Eastern North America; the Adriatic Sea mckinneyfk@yahoo.com

Other faculty associated with the program:

Who What When Where Email
Dr. Ellen Cowan
Professor		 Sedimentary record of climate change; foraminifera Pleistocene-Recent Alaska, Antarctica cowanea@appstate.edu
Dr. Cynthia Liutkus
Assistant Professor		 SPaleolandscape reconstruction, stable isotopes, and the early hominid record Miocene-Recent East African Rift; Nevada liutkuscm@appstate.edu

AppPaleo faculty collaborate with researchers around the world, and are intensively involved with projects associated with the American Museum of Natural History (New York), Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago), North Carolina Museum of Science, the Virginia Museum of Natural History, the New Mexico Museum of Natural History, the Natural History Museum (London), and other institutions in North America and beyond.