Where Geology Meets Public Health
With a grant from the Keck Geology Consortium, W&L’s Madhumita Chakraborty and a team of students tested private wells and springs throughout Rockbridge County to determine water chemistry and quality.
Earth and Environmental Geoscience Archive (50 Stories)
W&L’s Aiden Gray ’27 Awarded Goldwater Scholarship
Gray’s funded research will focus on autonomous oceanographic systems and materials science.
W&L’s Emma Marvelli ’27 Awarded Goldwater Scholarship
Marvelli’s funded research will focus on patterns of groundwater erosion.
In Memoriam: Frederic L. Schwab, Professor of Geology Emeritus
Schwab taught geology at Washington and Lee University for 36 years.
W&L Presents Author and Climate Scientist Michael Mann
The Presidential Distinguished Professor of Earth and Environmental Science from the University of Pennsylvania will discuss his new book, “Science Under Siege,” on March 4.
W&L Exchange: A Campus Resource for Sustainable Sharing
The Exchange connects the university community with free supplies while reducing waste.
W&L Students Win Second Place in Undergraduate Geoscience Poster Competition
The group presented their research at the 2025 GSA Connects Annual Meeting.
Cosmic Connections
W&L students studied samples of moon rocks from NASA to better understand the geological history of Earth, discovering new ways to view the world around them.
W&L Receives $450,000 Grant from the National Science Foundation
The funding will be used to purchase a confocal Raman imaging microscope for geoscientific investigations.
Remarkable Women
At the 2025 undergraduate Commencement, Barbara Jenkins ’92L, Kate Jenkins Howard ’99 and Kylie Therrien ’25 became the first female triple generation legacy at Washington and Lee University.
W&L’s Katalyn Denby ’26 Awarded Goldwater Scholarship
Denby’s funded research will focus on erosional river processes.
Bedrock Values
Howard Capito ’68 established the Christopher D. Connors Endowment for Earth and Environmental Geoscience to honor the “living legend” and support student internships in geology and related fields.
Living Lab
This fall, W&L students learned environmental field methods at a six-acre site in Rockbridge County set aside for experiential learning.
Lisa Greer to Deliver Lecture in Honor of Her Appointment to the Harry E. and Mary Jayne W. Redenbaugh Term Professorship
Greer’s talk, “Coral Reefs Past, Present and Future and Our Human Footprint,” will be held Jan. 15 in Science Addition 214.
Twelve W&L Students Awarded Gilman Scholarships to Study Abroad
The Gilman Scholarship Program offers awards of up to $5,000 to U.S. undergraduate students who are Pell Grant recipients.
Meet Emma Marvelli ’27
Marvelli enjoys building a community on campus as an RA and through her academic work.
Margaret Anne Hinkle Awarded a Collaborative Grant from the National Science Foundation
Hinkle and fellow scientists from the University of Pittsburgh will share the $550,000 award to examine the potential of adapting acid mine drainage remediation systems to produce critical minerals in economically viable concentrations.
Unearthing Answers
By enlisting guidance from the W&L science community, Emma Marvelli ’27 combined a Spring Term abroad class with summer research to better understand Virginia meta-basalts and their potential for combating climate change.
W&L Outcomes: Jack Maloy ’24
In September, Maloy will move to Germany for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship.
W&L Earth and Environmental Geoscience Professor Publishes Peer-Reviewed Article
Margaret Anne Hinkle collaborated with additional authors to produce an article focused on manganese exposure in spring and well water in the Shenandoah Valley.
Rock Stars
After 25 years, W&L faculty member Chris Connors teaches his swan song Spring Term class, Field Methods and Regional Geology of the Appalachians.
W&L’s Jack Maloy ’24 Awarded Fulbright to Germany
Maloy was selected for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to teach English in Germany.
CBL Faculty Collaborative Generates New Community Connections
The 2023-2024 academic year at W&L saw the proliferation of several new course offerings for students through a new faculty development initiative offered by the Office of Community-Based Learning (CBL).
Madhumita Chakraborty Co-Authors Journal Article on Groundwater Contaminants
The earth and environmental geoscience postdoctoral fellow co-authored the papers as part of her doctoral research at the Indian Institute of Technology.
W&L Alumni and Student Awarded NSF Fellowships
Emma Aldrich ’22, Tanajia Moye-Green ’23 and Jules Seay ’24 have received pre-doctoral graduate research fellowships from the National Science Foundation to support their research.
Washington and Lee Names Four Faculty Members to Endowed Professorships
These faculty have been recognized for their outstanding teaching, scholarship and service to the university.
Six W&L Students Awarded Gilman Scholarships to Study Abroad
The Gilman Scholarship Program offers awards of up to $5,000 to U.S. undergraduate students who are Pell Grant recipients.
Nicholas Barber Published in the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research
First-year earth and environmental science professor co-authored a paper titled “Monogenetic volcanoes as windows into transcrustal mush.”
Growth Opportunities
The Department of Earth and Environmental Geoscience provides students with the chance to expand their learning beyond the classroom by attending top national conferences.
W&L’s Greer Featured in bioGraphic Magazine Article about the Coral Gardens Reef
Professor Lisa Greer has been taking students to Belize since 2011 to study the thriving reef corals located there.
Meet a Colleague: Elizabeth Knapp
Elizabeth Knapp serves as director of the Johnson Program and professor of earth and environmental geoscience.
Meet a Colleague: Karena Gill
Karena Gill is a visiting assistant professor of earth and environmental geoscience.
W&L Professor Coordinates 42nd Annual National Association of Black Geoscientists Technical Conference
Karena Gill handles all aspects of the event slated to be held Sept. 27-30 in Washington, D.C.
W&L Professor Receives Grant from the American Association of University Women
Mengying Liu will use the funds to research high-throughput crystallographic mapping in the United Kingdom.
Meet a Colleague: Margaret Anne Hinkle
Margaret Anne Hinkle is an assistant professor of earth and environmental geoscience.
W&L’s Jules Seay ’24 Awarded Two Prestigious Scholarships to Support Her Undergraduate Studies
Seay has been selected for the Goldwater Scholarship to support a research career in science, mathematics and engineering, and also earned the Udall Scholarship in the environmental category.
Alumnus-owned property on view during Historic Garden Week
Stonegate Guesthouse, recently purchased and renovated by Derek Hutton ’93, is a featured Lexington landmark of the Garden Club of Virginia’s 90th annual event.
W&L Earth and Environmental Geoscience Professor Publishes Peer Reviewed Article in Geochemistry Journal
Assistant Professor Margaret Anne Hinkle’s article is titled “Impacts of Sulfonic Acids on Fungal Manganese Oxide Production.”
CBL’s Faculty Collaborative Creates Connection Across Campus
CBL’s new initiative is an opportunity for faculty development, student collaboration and deepening partnerships with the surrounding community.
W&L Professor Publishes Journal Article in PLOS ONE
Professor Lisa Greer’s article focuses on the survival of coral reefs in the Caribbean.
Matt Villante ’20 Presents Talk on Climate Technology and Science
Villante, a geoscientist in Iceland, will discuss the current state of the climate technology sector on Feb. 6.
From Screen to Square Film Screening: Hidden Figures
The upcoming screening is the second installment in the DeLaney Center's ongoing film series.
W&L Professor Awarded National Science Foundation Grant
David Harbor to work on collaborative project to describe and model the erosion process known as “plucking.”
Victoria Ferguson to Speak at Second Annual Indigenous Community Meal
Dinner attendees are invited to sample an indigenous menu during a guided discussion on Nov. 14.
Meet Hobson Bryan ’09
Bryan credits W&L for teaching him how to approach the complex problems he has tackled throughout his multi-faceted career.
Author Bill McKibben To Present Talk on Climate Change
McKibben will present a public lecture on Sept. 26 at 5:30 p.m.
‘Save the Whales’
A passionate conservationist, Niquole Esters ’04 has crafted complex approaches encompassing multiple countries to improve ocean health and benefit local communities.
‘Digging’ into a Summer Opportunity
Marcus Payne '25 is spending his summer doing geology research with Professor of Earth and Environmental Geoscience Jeffrey Rahl.
W&L Outcomes: Rett Daugbjerg ’22
After a successful summer internship in 2021, W&L's Rett Daugbjerg '22 is now working for JLL's Capital Markets group in Atlanta, Georgia.
W&L’s Lyon Co-Authors Scientific Paper
Professor Eva Lyon published an article in Global Change Biology.
