Department of Geosciences
Faculty
Professors: Carlos L. V. Aiken,
David E. Dunn (emeritus), John F. Ferguson, John W. Geissman, William I.
Manton, George A. McMechan, Richard M. Mitterer (emeritus), John S. Oldow, Emile A. Pessagno, Jr. (emeritus), Dean C. Presnall
(emeritus), Robert H. Rutford (emeritus), Robert J.
Stern
Associate Professors: Alexander Braun, Thomas H. Brikowski, James L.
Carter (emeritus), Georgia Fotopoulos
Senior Lecturers: William R. Griffin, Ingnacio
Pujana
Objectives
The
basic objective of the Department of Geosciences Graduate Program is to provide
students with a broad fundamental background in geosciences as well as an
in-depth emphasis in a particular specialty.
The
Master of Science degree (thesis option) is designed for students desiring
research experience in a specific area of the geosciences. This degree will
prepare the student for professional employment in the energy, mining, or
environmental industries or government, as well as those seeking a doctoral
degree. The Master of Science degrees (non-thesis options) are designed for
students who seek employment in the energy, mining, or environmental
industries, and the industrial application of Geospatial Information Sciences
(GIS).
The
Doctor of Philosophy degree in Geosciences emphasizes basic research in one of
the specialties in geosciences and is designed to prepare students for advanced
positions in the energy, environmental or mining professions in industry or
government, or for positions in academia.
The
Doctor of Philosophy degree in Geospatial Information Sciences (GIS) is
supported by the Department of Geosciences, the
Facilities
Departmental
research facilities include: digital imaging petrographic microscope, rock
preparation and mineral separation facilities, electronics shop and machine
shop. Separate research facilities for computing, hydrology, thermal ionization
mass spectrometry, and geophysics are described below.
Computing
Facilities
The
Geosciences Department has a large number of networked Windows/PC and unix/linux workstations in
several laboratories accessible to the students and faculty. A number of
laser printers are available, including a color printer. A large format HP
2500CP printer/plotter is available for creating maps and posters. A variety of
software licenses are supported for GIS, remote sensing, image processing,
geophysical data processing, graphics and visualization. Large scale
computing is supported by two state of the art linux
clusters, one with 10 and one with 32 64-bit processors, and 13 terabytes of
disk. A GeoWall visualization facility permits
immersive interaction with 3-D data and is supported by high-resolution 3D HDTV
visualization systems.
Hydrology
Laboratory
Field
equipment for measuring ground and surface water flow and chemistry, including
borehole bailers, electric water level meter, FlowProbe
hand-held flow meter, Hach DREL 2010 Basic Water
Quality Lab (field spectrophotometer, pH and salinity meters), and YSI-85
DO/salinity/conductivity meter. Software for modeling water
flow and transport, including general interfaces GMS andWMS,
Hydrus-2D (unsaturated flow and transport), TOUGH2 and Tetrad (2-3D multiphase
flow and transport), and many public-domain models. Hardware and
software for visualizing model results, including Windows and linux workstations.
Geochemical
Laboratories
A
Perkin-Elmer 6100 DRC ICP-MS is used for determining concentrations of a wide
range of elements in materials. A Finnigan MAT 261 equipped
with 9 collectors and a secondary electron multiplier is supported by Class 100
clean room facilities with sub-boiling acid distillation apparatus, micro- and
semi-microbalances, and vessels for pressure decomposition of refractory
silicates. Studies focus on using the evolution of Sr,
Nd and Pb as indexes of petrogenetic processes, geochronology, environmental Pb, and evolution of marine Sr.
Geophysics
Facilities
Geophysical
research is supported by two Scintrex CG-5 gravimeters and
a Micro-g A-10 absolute gravimeter; a variety of surveying instruments
including a Nikon theodolite and data collector, a TOPCON GPT 3005LW total
station electronic distance meter and theodolite, two Laser Atlanta Advantage
CI reflectorless laser rangefinders, a Riegl LMP 3800 laser scanner and a Riegl
LSM Z620 laser scanner, seven dual frequency Leica Viva RTK GPS systems,
three dual frequency Topcon HyperLite RTK GPS systems
(6 receivers), nine dual frequency Leica SR9500 GPS receiver systems with
choke-ring antennas, a Trimble GeoXT GPS system, a
Trimble GeoHT GPS system and GPS post-processing
software including Leica SKI, Trimble
Pathfinder Office and BERNESE. A Geometrics
proton-procession total field magnetometer system, An AGI SuperSting
R1/IP DC resistivity and induced polarization system is available for near
surface electrical conductivity mapping. Seismic and radar equipment include a Geometrics
48-channel floating point seismic acquisition
system with Betsy, hammer, and explosive sources for shallow to deep
exploration; and pulse EKKO IV and 1000 ground penetrating radars.
Admission
Requirements
The
University´s general admission requirements are discussed here.
Applicants
are expected to take the GRE General Test (Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical
Writing). A combined score of no less than 1000 on the Verbal and Quantitative
portions of the exam is advisable based on our experience with student success
in the program. In addition, students should complete and submit a Supplemental
Geosciences Application Form which can be obtained from the Geosciences
Department Office by mail (FO21, University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W Campbell
Rd, Richardson, TX, 75080, USA), telephone (972-883-2401), or e-mail
([email protected]).
Entering
students are expected to have completed the equivalent of the University´s B.S.
degree in Geosciences, as well as a 3-hour scientific programming course.
Students whose undergraduate training is in a science other than geology or
geophysics are admitted to the program when their previous course work
complements or supports their intended research interests. Students may be
admitted with some deficiencies but these must be completed during the first 18
graduate hours. It is understood that the minimum course requirements for the
intended degree, as specified below, apply to well-prepared students.
Degree
Requirements
The
University´s general degree requirements are discussed here.
Additional
requirements are specified below for each degree.
Graduate Certificate in Remote Sensing
The
Remote Sensing Certificate is supported by the Department of Geosciences and
the
The
American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (1997) defined remote
sensing as the art, science, and technology of obtaining reliable information
about physical objects and the environment, through the process of recording,
measuring and interpreting imagery and digital representation of energy
patterns derived from non-contact sensor systems.
Remote
sensing is a powerful set of software and hardware, computer-based techniques
for extraction and presentation of information represented by raster and vector
spatial data acquired via non-contact sensors. It provides reliable and cost-effective
means of studying the environment for protection, natural resources management
and urban planning. Government and non-government organizations continuously
seek qualified professionals to use remote sensing for a wide range of
applications.
Pre-requisites
and Admission
•
B.S.
or B.A. Degree. Competence in personal computers, especially Windows-based, is
expected.
•
Application
for admission to UTD Graduate School as "non-degree or degree
seeking"
•
Only
B.S. or B.A. transcripts are needed. No GRE score or reference letters are
needed for non-degree seeking students.
•
On-line
registration is at: www.utdallas.edu/admissions
Course
Requirements
The
Graduate Certificate in Remote Sensing is obtained by completing 15 hours of
courses. Students must complete the following courses: GEOS 5325 Introduction
to Remote Sensing, GISC 6381 Introduction to GIS, GEOS 5326 or GISC 7365 Remote
Sensing Digital Image Processing, GISC 7366 Applied Remote Sensing and GEOS
7327 or GISC 7367 Remote Sensing Workshop.
Master
of Science in Geosciences
Thesis
Option
All
students seeking the Master of Science degree (thesis option) must
satisfactorily complete the following requirements (a minimum of 36 graduate
semester hours):
In
addition to the above requirements, students seeking the M.S. degree (thesis
option) must submit, no later than the second semester of enrollment, an
acceptable degree plan and a research proposal to their supervising committee.
Upon completion of the thesis research, the M.S. degree candidate will publicly
defend the thesis.
Non-Thesis
Option
All
students seeking the Master of Science degree (non-thesis option) must
satisfactorily complete a minimum of 36 graduate semester hours including the
specified Geosciences courses below.
In
addition to the above requirements, students seeking the M.S. degree
(non-thesis option) must submit, no later than the second semester of
enrollment, an acceptable degree plan.
Master of Science in Geographic Information
Sciences
The
Master of Science in Geographic Information Sciences is a professional program
that is offered jointly by the School of Economic, Political and Policy
Sciences and the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. The program
focuses on the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and associated
technologies such as remote sensing and global positioning systems for managing
spatially referenced information. Students are provided with the concepts
underlying GIS, the skills for implementing GIS projects in public and private sector
organizations, and the ability to use GIS in pure or applied research in
substantive areas. Prospective students should apply using established
procedures to either Geosciences or the School of
Economic, Political and Policy Sciences depending on their background.
For
the Master´s degree in Geographic Information Sciences, beginning students are
expected to have completed college Mathematics through Calculus and at least
one programming or computer applications course or possess equivalent
knowledge. Students must have the equivalent of GISC 6381 Geographic
Information Systems Fundamentals and GISC 6382 Applied GIS, or they must take
these courses at UTD in addition to the 30 credit hours required for the
MGIS. Additional details of the curriculum can be found under
"Master of Science in Geographic Information Sciences," in the School
of Social Sciences section of the catalog.
Doctor of Philosophy in Geosciences
All
students seeking a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Geosciences must
satisfactorily complete the following requirements (75 graduate hours minimum).
In
addition to the above course requirements, students seeking the Ph.D. degree
must submit an acceptable degree plan and research proposal describing the
intended project to be completed for the dissertation. Students entering with a
Master´s should complete this proposal in the third semester; students entering
without a Master´s have until the fourth semester. An oral qualifying
examination covering the broad background and detailed knowledge relating to
the student´s specialization and research proposal will be held in the same
semester that the proposal is submitted. After satisfactory performance on the
Qualifying Examination, the student will complete and publicly defend the
dissertation.
Also,
see the University´s general
degree requirements.
Please note that more detailed instructions for Geosciences Graduate students
are given in the "Guideline for Graduate Students - Geosciences" that
is available in the office of the Department Head.
Doctor
of Philosophy in Geospatial Information Sciences
The
Doctor of Philosophy in Geospatial Information Sciences is an advanced degree
offered jointly by the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, the School
of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences and the Eric Jonsson
School of Engineering and Computer Science. Geospatial information is a
unifying theme across a wide range of disciplines and the unique organization
of this program permits a diverse range of expertise to the prospective
student. The Ph.D. in GIS is intended to go beyond the M.S. in GIS degree in
terms of analysis, the creation of new technology and the novel application of
geospatial information technology. This program will prepare students for
leadership positions in academy, industry or government.
Individual
students can concentrate in particular discipline areas. The Geosciences
component focuses on remote sensing and mapping technologies, including global
positioning satellite and three-dimensional laser ranging based data capture as
well as other imaging technologies. In particular, these methodologies are
applied to geological, hydrological and environmental problems associated with
the physical Earth.
It
is expected that students will enter this program with diverse educational
backgrounds. Applicants may have Bachelors, Masters or other advanced degrees
in any relevant field including computer science, economics, engineering,
geography, geology, information system management, resource management,
geographical information science and possibly others. At least a Bachelors
degree from an accredited (or equivalent) institution with an
undergraduate/graduate grade point average of 3.25 or better is required. A GRE
score of 1150 or higher is desirable. Fluency in written and spoken English is
required. (Please see detailed degree requirements under "Doctor of
Philosophy in Geospatial Information Sciences," listed in the School of
Social Sciences section of the catalog.)