Baylor Geosciences

08/13/2026

The Baylor School of Earth and Environmental Sciences mourns the passing of Dr. Joe Yelderman, Jr., a beloved professor, mentor, colleague, and friend.

Dr. Yelderman served Baylor University for 43 years as a professor of geology specializing in hydrogeology. His passion for teaching, scientific excellence, and environmental stewardship inspired generations of students and left a lasting impact on our Baylor community.

A Celebration of Life will be held Wednesday, August 19, at 12:00 p.m. at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church. We extend our deepest condolences to his wife, Diane, his family, former students, colleagues, and all who were blessed to know him.

Dr. Yelderman’s legacy of faith, wisdom, service, and kindness will not be forgotten. 💚💛

05/31/2024

Congratulations Dr. James! New exciting planetary science research is coming soon!

Contact: Shelby Cefaratti-Bertin, Baylor University Media & Public Relations, 254-327-8012Follow us on Twitter:

04/16/2024

PhD student Jasmine Kidwell doing some exciting work at the Center for Big Bend Studies!

06/02/2023

A little more about faculty member Dr. Dan Peppe’s research in eastern Africa!

How did a Baylor professor play a role in adjusting what scientists thought they knew about Africa’s historic timeline -- by 10 million years?!? It all comes down to a lot of digging, a decade’s worth of research, and the definitive presence of warm-weather grasses. Here’s the background: Unde

05/28/2023

Faculty member Dr. Dan Peppe was on Baylor Connections talking about his recently published research in Science about C4 grasses and early ape evolution in eastern Africa. Check out his interview below!

Dr. Daniel Peppe, a Baylor geosciences professor, was part of an international team whose decade-long research has shifted Africa’s prehistoric timeline by 10 million years.

Peppe explains the team's work and findings — on the latest Baylor Connections:

🎧 Listen: https://bit.ly/3oxvJhs
📱 Subscribe: https://apple.co/2XMUNOd

05/12/2023

Congratulations to all the Baylor University graduates today - and especially to Department of Geoscience graduates who received their BS, MS, & PhD! We wish all of you success in the future. 🐻⚒️

04/18/2023

The Baylor Lariat highlighted geosciences faculty member Dr. Dan Peppe’s recently published research today. Check out the article below 👇

After 10 years of research, collaboration and annual summer trips to East Africa, Dr. Daniel Peppe, associate professor of geosciences, and his team of global scholars — many who are Baylor graduates — published their scientific discovery that changed the understanding of East African evolution of the climate and apes.

Read: https://baylorlariat.com/2023/04/17/baylor-professor-team-of-global-scholars-make-groundbreaking-discovery-in-east-africa/

🖊: Caitlyn Meisner | Copy Editor
📷: Photo courtesy of Daniel Peppe

04/18/2023

One of our faculty members, Dr. Dan Peppe, recently published two papers in News from Science rewriting the history books on the evolution of early apes in eastern Africa. More info here ->

WACO, Texas (April 13, 2023) – Something as simple as a grass can fundamentally change the understanding of life in the prehistoric world. A pair of studies funded by the National Science Foundation and published in the journal Science document the earliest evidence for locally abundant C4 grasses...

01/24/2023

This is a great article about ongoing collaborative work between graduate students in Baylor Geosciences and the Waco Mammoth National Monument. Featuring quotes by Geosciences PhD candidate, Dava Butler about the project and some of her dissertation research!

“We all love these mammoths, but without micro fossils, they were like figures painted onto a blank canvas,” Butler said.

01/19/2023

Check out the some of the exciting work being done by Dr. Peter James’s Planetary Reseach Group!

WACO, Texas (Jan. 9, 2023) Silicic volcanoes on the Moon, specifically the mysterious Gruithuisen Domes, are a lunar geologic mystery that still perplexes scientists more than half a century after they were discovered. Based on early telescopic and spacecraft observations, these extinct volcanoes ha...