1. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences1
So… What’s in a Name?
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences1
Whence recent name changes nationally? [Rossbacher and Rhodes, Geotimes, September 2004, p ]
Connoting far more than an idea attributed to Hutton, this points to pressing trans-science questions concerning Earth’s future that need both deep-time and modern perspectives.
The melding of “environmental” into Earth science departments is a triumph of our science. “Environmental” could have gravitated to biology, engineering, chemistry, etc. but did not. It needs – and grows from – the deep-time perspective of Earth science and an understanding of Earth’s physicochemical template.
It is okay – in fact essential – to have a humanistic component in what defines geoscience/Earth science.
Earth processes are compelling; and the reasons that students study them are manifold. In view of items 2-4 above, there is certainly a need to accommodate a breadth of student interests.
That is, themes and tools of communication across fields within the science – conservation, transport, coupled physical-biological processes, uncertainty, etc.
Solid geoscience expertise is needed (see Items 2 and 3); the skills to communicate with experts outside the science are also.
The modern workplace in all sectors is fundamentally a multi-disciplinary one.
Think “adaptability.” Life comes at you fast. Can we aim at curricula that obviate retooling with each shift in the job market? And, after all, the Earth and environmental sciences can be the centerpiece of a wonderful liberal education.
A PERSPECTIVE TO GUIDE OUR ACTIONS
Earth science in the 21st century involves engaging a strong, balanced presence both in the past (the interpretation of Earth’s dynamic history) and in the present (modeling processes in modern Earth and environmental systems).2 This view derives from the recognition that, among the natural sciences, ours is the quintessential interdisciplinary science, providing vital perspective on how Earth’s physicochemical template — involving processes whose range of operative timescales is second only to cosmology — simultaneously sustains and threatens life,3 and influences human interactions with Earth.4 EES therefore is committed to nurturing student interests spanning traditional and emerging Earth-science fields,5 emphasizing unifying themes and tools in the study of Earth and environmental dynamics.6 We are aimed at educating students wherein they gain both essential depth in their studies,7 and exposure to ideas and skills that facilitate communication across disciplines,8 such that they are poised to excel in a diversity of life opportunities in all sectors of society.9