West Virginia University Department of Geology and Geography

12/18/2023

This page is no longer regularly monitored or maintained by the faculty and staff in the WVU Department of Geology & Geography.

11/15/2018

http://www.morgantownmag.com/people-places/kathleen-benison/

Kathy Benison is doing out of this world research!

Kathy Benison’s research on acid salt lakes could help the search for life on Mars. A professor of geology at WVU, Benison examines halite and gypsum that form in rare acid salt lakes in Chile and …

11/12/2018

Eberly College Department of Geology and Geography Alumni Challenge

The first 10 gifts to the Department of Geology and Geography will unlock a $2,500 gift from proud alumni Dan and Pam Billman. Help the Department by making your gift today!

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

10/22/2018

Foliar nitrogen (N) concentrations and isotope ratios obtained from >43,000 samples acquired over 37 years suggest global declines in N supply relative to plant demand, consistent with elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide.

08/23/2018

Geography PhD Student Barbara MacLennan used input from her GEOG 102 World Regions class to create a story map that recently appeared in the WVU Magazine

Margreet Bos went to see the world after graduating from WVU in 1995. Then her world changed when a gr***de landed in her truck.

07/10/2018

G&G Undergraduate Francesca Basil summited Mount Kilimanjaro during her study-abroad archeological experience at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania.

She also learned Swahili, excavated for stone tools and bones in regions explored by the Leakey's, explored Masai and Tanzanian culture, learned ancient volcanic and geologic interpretations, and met amazing professors and students from all over. She even helped butcher a goat with stone tools she made by hand - just like our hominid ancestors.

Francesca's trip was supported by the Eberly College Undergraduate Enrichment Fund.

04/10/2018

Geography Professor Brent McCusker helps prepare for internal climate migration through new World Bank report
Dr. McCusker has contributed to a study of migration projections in the developing world, including Ethiopia, Mexico and Bangladesh, to help inform government leaders of what to expect from future migration patterns as a result of climate change. Learn more about his research at

Internal climate migrants are rapidly becoming the human face of climate change, according to a new report from World Bank. Brent McCusker, a professor of geography at West Virginia University, has contributed to a study of migration projections in the developing world, including Ethiopia, Mexico an...

02/07/2018

Congratulations to Caitlin Ahrens, a B.S. Alum of WVU Geology and Physics, for being named an outstanding young West Virginian

The West Virginia Junior Chamber named Caitlin Ahrens, a University of Arkansas space and planetary science doctoral student, a 2018 Outstanding Young West Virginian.

02/05/2018

12/19/2017

Dr. Helen Lang passed away on Sunday, December 17, from the effects of cardiac arrest. Dr. Lang taught Geology at WVU from 1984 until retiring in 2016, but remained active as Emeritus faculty until last week.

Dr. Lang came to WVU after earning a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. Helen’s research focused on metamorphic rocks formed under ultrahigh-pressure conditions deep in the earth’s crust and upper mantle. She taught Mineralogy and Petrology to almost every WVU geology major from 1984 to 2016, and other courses, such as Minerals and the Environment. She was an academic advisor to geology undergraduates throughout her career, giving freely of her time. She advised a number of M.S. students, and served on many other thesis and dissertation committees. She was twice named “Outstanding Geology Professor” at WVU in 1991 and 1995 by the Omicron chapter of Sigma Gamma Epsilon, the national honorary society in the Earth Sciences.

Helen provided service to the WVU in ways too numerous to list. She was Associate Chair for Geology from 2007-2013, and member or chair of the Geology Undergraduate Curriculum Committee for her entire career.

Helen was the first woman to hold a tenure-track faculty position in the WVU Department of Geology and Geography. She was a pioneer, paving the way for over a dozen women who later joined the G&G faculty, and serving as a positive role model for women students in geology.

There will be a celebration of Helen Lang’s life in early 2018 at the Department of Geology and Geography.

A more complete obituary can be read at

11/01/2017

Geology Undergrads on 1st and 3rd place teams at Eastern Collegiate Mine Rescue Organization National Mine Rescue Contest - Proof that geologists can work with engineers!

Geology major Brenna Cole (Ellicottville, New York) was on the Gold team that finished first in the event. Geology majors Aaron Malecki (Sarver, Pennsylvania) and Erica McCauley (Minerva, Ohio) were on the third place Blue team.

More at

West Virginia University sent two teams to the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration–Eastern Collegiate Mine Rescue Organization National Mine Rescue Contest in Beckley October 27-28. Both ended up on the winner’s platform.