About Us
Department Vision
"Civilization exists by geologic consent, subject to change without notice"
- Will Durant
The above quote emphasizes our society's dependence on the earth. The earth provides the raw materials for building, the soil and water to grow our crops, and the energy to fuel our industries, power our cars, and heat our homes. The earth is also capable of causing devastation through droughts, earthquakes, landslides, and other natural disasters. It is the job of the earth scientist to understand earth's history and active processes in order to make good use of earth's resources and to avoid its hazards. The Earth Science faculty at UVU is devoted to dynamic, effective undergraduate education. Our department includes 12 full-time faculty members, 10 with Ph.D.'s and two with M.S. degrees. Among our faculty members we have expertise in soil and water resources, earthquake and landslide hazards, the behavior of earthquake faults, environmental policy, geochemistry, geographic information systems, the growth of mountain ranges, the formation of rocks and minerals, and paleontology. Our courses emphasize the practical aspects of the course material, and we take great advantage of Utah's amazing opportunity for course-related field work. In addition to great classes, our students participate in extracurricular field trips throughout the western U.S., and they are active in a variety of research projects. If you are interested in any of these areas, please contact the Earth Science Advisor.
Chair Welcome
In the Department of Earth Science at UVU, our #1 goal is to provide students with rewarding, dynamic educational experience. We pride ourselves on being able to offer personal attention to the needs of students with diverse backgrounds and educational goals. Our degree programs provide a wide range of skills and knowledge that are applicable to today´s earth science job markets, as well as a broad-based general science education that´s ideal for students planning to continue to graduate programs in law, business, or medical fields. We incorporate field trips and/or practical working experience in nearly all of our courses. Our easy access to the geology of the Wasatch Range and Utah´s National Parks, our ties to local employers, and our diverse, dynamic faculty make the UVU Department of Earth Science a natural choice for anyone pursuing an education in the earth sciences.
Faculty & Staff

Nathan Toke
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR - Department Chair
Earthquake Geology
Tectonic Geomorphology
Geospatial Analyses


Joel Bradford
Associate Professor
Environmental Policy
Worker Safety
Human Geography

Michael Bunds
Professor
Structural Geology
Geologic Hazards
Geospatial Methods

Eddy Cadet
Associate Professor
Environmental Science
Biogeochemistry

Jim Callison
Associate Professor
Environmental Science
Water Resource
Management

Doug Czajka
Assistant Professor
Geoscience Education,
Geotechnical Investigations,
Field Geology


Danny Horns
Dean, College of Science
Geologic Hazards
Environmental Geology

Hilary Hungerford
Associate Professor
Human Geography
Human Environmental
Interactions


Michael Stearns
Assistant Professor
Petrology
Tectonics
Structural Geology

Daniel A. Stephen
Associate Professor
Invertebrate paleontology,
Stratigraphy & Petrology,
Evolutionary biology

Weihong Wang
Associate Professor
Wetland Ecosystems
GIS& Remote Sensing
Energy & Sustainability

Justin White
Assistant Professor
Environmental Remote Sensing
Physical Geography

Alessandro Zanazzi
Associate Professor
Geochemistry
Paleoclimatology
Paleoecology