Faculty

Sarah Austin didn’t set out to become a geologist. In fact, she jokes that she “messed up” when she first enrolled at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, mistakenly thinking the College of Education and Human Development was the right path to medical school. But one introductory geology course...

Illinois Public Media premieres a new weekly radio program and podcast, a partnership with the Department of Climate, Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences in the School of Earth, Society & Environment at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Weather Realness brings the best weather and...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ­— On Tuesday, President Trump’s administration proposed revoking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “endangerment finding,” a 2009 scientific finding that underpins U.S. policy on greenhouse gas emissions. By identifying the gases as a threat to public health and welfare,...

As Larry Di Girolamo stood at Vandenberg Air Force Base in December 1999, he was a relatively new professor in what would become the Department of Climate, Meteorology, & Atmospheric...

In a reflective piece for the Illinois News Bureau’s “In My Own Words” series, Professor Ellen Buckley of Earth Science and Environmental Change recounts the surreal and powerful experience...

In 2023, global temperatures spiked in a way that puzzled scientists, sparked headlines, and led many people to wonder whether the climate was entering an unpredictable new phase. The spike stood out so dramatically that some called it mysterious or unprecedented.But the spike wasn't so...

Shaowen Wang issues this straightforward invitation: Your perspective is needed now more than ever.He’s encouraging you to attend the Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress (SRI2025) June 16-19 in Chicago. The cyberGIS and geospatial science expert...

Marynia Kolak is a professor of geography and geographic information science and principal investigator for the Health Regions & Policies Lab. As a health geographer and spatial data scientist, Kolak is...

Scientific collaboration often begins with a simple conversation, an exchange of ideas that transcends borders. For Bruce Rhoads, a professor of geography and geographic information science and river dynamics expert, and Alexander Sukhodolov, a research...

How can AI and data science help solve some of the world’s most complex environmental and societal challenges? In this Q&A, professor of geography and geographic information science and associate dean for life and physical sciences in the College of LAS...