Brown University Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences

10/21/2026

Assistant Professor Sam Birch hopes that by blending the disciplines, the course will emphasize the non-linear and “messy” process of scientific research. The science of Titan and Dragonfly is designed to be a starting point, and students are encouraged to abstract from it in their exploration.

“Don’t let reality get in the way,” he added.

The class encourages students to find creative ways to communicate scientific ideas.

10/20/2026

Guided by Assistant Professor Blake Hodgin, a group of undergraduates recently ventured to upstate New York for the annual DEEPS Fall Field Trip. The students learned about the unique geologic history of the region, examined dinosaur footprints, and explored Kaaterskill Falls in the Catskill Mountains.

“We [saw] rocks from different tectonic settings that have been used to reconstruct the complex geological history of eastern North America,” according to the group's field guide. “While following country roads and hiking in the Appalachians, we [viewed] some rocks and evidence of life within those rocks (fossils) that are indeed older than the mountains!”

View more photos on the DEEPS Website: https://deeps.brown.edu/news/2026-10-19/fall-field-trip-2026

10/05/2026

Happy World Space Week! In case you missed it, Les Johnson recently visited Brown for a special DEEPS & Engineering colloquium, titled "Reaching Other Stars: The Physics and Engineering of Interstellar Travel."

As astronomers discover thousands of planets orbiting nearby stars, the vision of interstellar exploration is gaining renewed attention from the scientific community as well as the general public. Les Johnson –a NASA physicist and popular scifi author– shared realistic options for and technical challenges of interstellar travel, and reviewed the physics of breakthrough propulsion concepts and outline the formidable engineering hurdles that must be overcome to cross the vastness of interstellar space.

09/22/2026

Earlier this month, the students of EEPS 1370 Environmental Geochemistry went on their annual water and sediment sampling trip around Rhode Island. The group visited the Scituate Reservoir, the Pawtuxet River, Pawtuxet Cove, Brickyard Pond, and Walker's Farm.

The course, taught by Professor Yongsong Huang, explores the the biogeochemical cycling, fate, and transport of chemicals in atmospheric and aquatic environments by examining natural ecosystem examples. Students will use the samples their samples from this trip in labs for the course, studying the water quality for nutrients, trace metals, and organic contamination. Students also tested water for pH and alkalinity, learned how to use a YSI multimeter, and spent time kayaking together in Barrington.

DEEPS graduate student Brianna Hoelger, who is the Teaching Assistant for EEPS 1370, shared these photos and her thoughts from the trip.“Water connects every living thing, and on this trip, our students got to experience the journey water takes through Rhode Island, from a pristine reservoir, through a river that flows through heavily populated towns, and all the way to where it empties into the estuary,” she shared. “I hope they take away both lessons about the importance of protecting such a precious resource and fun memories of exploring a bit of the state by bus and kayak!”

09/17/2026

Scenes from DEEPS: The new academic year is officially underway, and we hope you're Fall Semester is off to a great start! Last week, DEEPS kicked off the semester with our department poster session, as well as our annual picnic. Wishing everyone a great Fall 2026 Semester!

09/15/2026

"Earth is one of the most unique planets in our solar system — I promise that’s an unbiased statement! — and learning what made it different helps us to understand a lot of things, including how life happened. Therefore, learning what the structure is of other planets and how they formed can help us understand Earth."

Using a technique developed by researchers at Brown, scientists have discovered a strange warm spot deep in the interior of the Red Planet.

09/14/2026

Scenes from DEEPS: PhD students Jessica Wen and Sarah Brown (first photo) and Professor Karen Fischer (second photo) are on a NSF-funded research cruise that left Wellington, New Zealand last week, and is working on deploying 20 ocean bottom seismometers offshore of the western coast of the North Island.

"The seismometers will record global earthquakes for ~15 months, and then we will retrieve them and use their data to image the structure of the crust and mantle beneath the North Island," Fischer shared in an email. "Our focus is understanding the origins of the mantle melting that produces volcanism on the North Island, in particular the young basaltic magmas that have erupted around the City of Auckland. Geoff Abers (Brown ‘’83) is chief scientist for the cruise, and I am the co-chief scientist. The yellow boxes in the photo are some of the seismometers."

Thank you to Professor Karen for sharing these great photos! Safe travels!

09/14/2026

Karunmay Aggarwal, a Brown junior with astronaut dreams of his own, said he relished the chance to chat with one of his heroes. "It was an awesome experience!” Aggarwal said. “For someone who wants to be the ‘next up,’ it’s pretty cool to see an idol answer my questions. I've never heard anyone talk live from space, so that's a good bucket list item. And, of course, I am hoping to be up there as soon as possible.”

In a private teleconference from the International Space Station, Brown alumna and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir answered students’ questions about space exploration and the path that led her to explore the stars.

09/04/2026

Registration for the Fall 2026 semester reopens today! What courses will you be taking?

Whether you want to explore distant planets, delve into our oceans, tackle climate change, or discover the forces behind earthquakes, volcanoes, and other natural hazards, we invite you to explore the universe with us this semester! Learn more about our upcoming courses on our website (or search for "EEPS" through the Courses@Brown website).

https://deeps.brown.edu/news/2026-04-07/courses-fall-2026

08/31/2026

Follow Postdoc Shailja Gangrade and her team of five Brown University undergraduate students as they test the water quality along the public shoreline of Narragansett Bay and support environmental research right here in Providence, RI!

Learn more about this project and our other Summer Undergraduate Research Highlights on the DEEPS website: https://deeps.brown.edu/news/2026-08-18/2026-undergrad-research