In an effort to better reflect its growth in both people and areas of expertise, the Geology Department in the College of Science and Technology has formally changed its name to Earth and Environmental Science.

The change was officially approved by the university’s Board of Trustees earlier this year.

“The department is growing and the specialties of the faculty are also changing,” said Department Chair David Grandstaff.

“Rather than working strictly on geological matters like petroleum or mining or fossils, our faculty are now also working with NASA on space science, they’re working on environmental problems such as groundwater contamination, unexploded ordinance and looking for caverns in limestone karst terrain,” he said.

Grandstaff also noted that environmental science was added to the department’s new name because of its importance and prominence in today’s world, with issues such as global warming and climate change, sea level rise and pollution.

The department has been undergoing other changes as well.

In the past two years, the department has hired two non-tenured track faculty members in 2006-2007. Two tenure track faculty, Alexandra Krull Davatzes and Nicholas Davatzes, joined Temple in January.

In addition to the recent hires, Grandstaff said the department is currently looking to recruit two new faculty members with research interests in stable isotope geochemistry of ecosystems/marine environments and geo-hazards for fall 2009.

Renovations to the department’s facilities in Beury Hall have also been completed.