A brief history of the Geology and Planetary Science Department at the University of Pittsburgh Bill Harbert
The beginning. The University of Pittsburgh dates back to 1787 when the Pittsburg Academy was established. It remained as such until 1819 when it became the Western University of Pennsylvania. For about the first ten years of its existence the Academy was housed in a log cabin in what is now downtown Pittsburgh. The School of Mines was formed as a School within the University in 1897. In 1908 the institution s name was changed from the Western University of Pennsylvania to the University of Pittsburgh. It was that year that the University moved from its location on the north side at the at the Allegheny Observatory site to the Oakland campus where 43 acres of the Schenley Farms property had been acquired. The School of Mines building was the first building constructed on the new campus.
The spirit of those early years-1911.
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The Owl from 1912 appreciated the life of a field geologist.
From 1864 to 1896, geology was taught as part of the natural sciences curriculum. A geology degree was not offered. There was a Bachelor of Science degree option in geology in the School of Mines from 1896 until 1917 when geology became a degree program in the Liberal Arts segment of the University, known then as the College.
1912 student humor
The faculty in 1912 in Geology and associated subjects.
Henry Leighton Henry Leighton, who had come to the University of Pittsburgh in 1910 as an instructor in Mining Geology and Mineralogy, became Acting Head of the Department of Geology in 1930. He later became department head and remained as such until his retirement in 1944 when Richard E. Sherrill took over. In the decade from 1934 to 1944, geology and geography were a combined department. The second chapter of The Society of SIGMA GAMMA EPSILON (the Beta chapter) was formed at the University of Pittsburgh, shortly following the formation of this Society on March 30, 1915 at the University of Kansas. Undergraduate training was emphasized in those early years, but graduate degrees have been granted since 1912 when Harry N. Eaton became the first Ph.D. in geology at the University of Pittsburgh. His thesis was entitled Geology of South Mountain and the Reading Hills, Pennsylvania.
A field class in surveying taught by the department in 1931.
Something that will never change.
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Seismograph at the University of Pittsburgh In 2005, for the first time in 30 years a recording seismograph at the University of Pittsburgh has recorded an earthquake. The Department of Geology and Planetary Science has been accepted as an voting member of IRIS, a research consortium involved in seismic research. Chancellor Bowman, responsible for the Cathedral of Learning, was keenly interested in seismology and there had been a working seismograph at Pitt, until it was removed in the early 1970's. The 6.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in Africa on December 5 and was clearly recorded by the University of Pittsburgh (UPPA and UPAO) seismic station.
More recent history. The department has gone through several name changes. The name was Department of Geology until 1960 when it was changed to the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Associated with this name change was a program expansion from essentially only geology to include, geophysics, geochemistry, and planetary science. A paradigm used was the TOPS focus Tropics, Ocean, Polar, and Space. There was a significant expansion of the graduate program at that time. From 1979 to present the department name has been Geology and Planetary Science. In the period from 1960 to 1965, as the graduate program was expanding, the undergraduate program was diminishing, but since about 1970 the department has maintained an excellent balance between undergraduate and graduate programs. Graduate degrees (M.S. and Ph.D.) are granted in geology, geophysics, geochemistry, and planetary science. The undergraduate degrees are a B.S. in Geology and a B.A. in Environmental Science. From 1973 to 1983, there was a steady increase in student enrollment to a peak of 100 undergraduate majors in 1983. This peak has since been surpassed by undergraduate majors for more than 10 years. Graduate student enrollment continued to climb until 1984 when a peak number of 100 students was realized. Approximately half of these graduate students were on a part-tie basis and many successful geologists, geophysicists and planetary scientists fondly remember those years. The department has been housed in various locations since its inception. At first it was located in State Hall (the School of Mines building, no longer existent). A move was made to the Cathedral of Learning in the 1930s, to Clapp Hall from 1958 to 1961, and to Langley Hall from 1961 to 1976. From 1976 to 1995 the Department was in three physically adjoining building of Old Engineering Hall, Thaw Hall, and the Space Research Coordination Center. Since that time the Department has been in Thaw Hall and the Space Research Coordination Center.
Department Chairs 1930 1944 1944-1952 1952-1957 1957-1960 Individual Henry Leighton Richard E. Sherrill Chilton E. Prouty Norman K. Flint (Acting) Departmental Name Department of Geology Department of Geology Department of Geology Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences 1960-1965 Armand F. Frederickson Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences 1965-1971 Michael Fuller Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences 1971 1985? Edward G. Lidiak Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and then later Department of Geology and Planetary Science 1985? 1999 Thomas A. Anderson Department of Geology and Planetary Science 1999-2001 Harold Rollins Department of Geology and Planetary Science 2001-2005 William P. Harbert Department of Geology and Planetary Science 2005-2008 Brian Stewart Department of Geology and Planetary Science 2008-2010 Thomas A. Anderson Department of Geology and Planetary Science 2010-2013 William P. Harbert Department of Geology and Planetary Science
Today s status. Our department seeks to achieve a level of prominence, commensurate with that of the University of Pittsburgh itself, in our research and graduate programs in the fields of geological and planetary sciences. Our primary metrics for this goal are (1) overhead-bearing research funding from a variety of national agencies; (2) production of high-quality peer-reviewed journal articles that generate interest and influence in their fields; (3) peer rankings from various national surveys; (4) the strength and background of our incoming graduate students; and (5) placement of graduate students in academic, research and industrial programs around the country and the world. Additional goals communicated by the University administration include maximizing the number of Ph.D. students enrolled in the Department and generating funds to support all students. During the last year, of the 35 students currently pursuing graduate degrees in GPS programs 22 are in the doctoral program. In FY 2011, sponsored research expenditures for the department are slightly more than $1.87 million, increasing by ~8% relative to FY 2011. Gross expenditures, that is with and without overhead, per faculty member stand at ~$170,000.