Research
Research at the Jackson School occurs across themes (described below) that encompass the entire Earth system and other planetary bodies in our solar system. The six broad themes explore the linkages between earth processes and systems, and bring the fundamental geoscience disciplines together in a way that encourages collaboration and interdisciplinary research.
We encourage students to get involved with research at every academic stage, including undergraduate students. There are ample opportunities to work with experts at each of our three world-class research units. The researchers across these units are leaders in their field, and often work on the frontiers between disciplines where major developments are taking place. Ongoing work includes:
- NASA collaborations to explore Mars and Jupiter’s moon Europa and help forecast dangerous floods and droughts here on Earth;
- The most comprehensive public study of the nation’s largest shale plays;
- Research of natural disasters soon after they occur through the school’s Rapid Response Program;
- Research on potential fuel source methane hydrate in the Gulf of Mexico, funded by an $80 million DOE grant;
- Creating and operating a seismic monitoring network (TexNet) across Texas to track earthquake activity;
- Sampling the Chicxulub crater in the Gulf of Mexico, the impact site left by the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs;
- Extensive carbon sequestration research;
- Mapping the substructure of vulnerable ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland.
- Researching the evolution of birds and dinosaurs through fossils and genetic analysis
