The Earth and Planetary Science Department and programs are among the strongest on campus. Significant resources are already in place, including greatly esteemed faculty and staff, brilliant undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, well-equipped labs and substantial building space, some fellowship funds, and a strong alumni base. These assets provide an excellent foundation on which to build the EPS program of the future. The goal: is to realize the program's promise in expanded educational opportunities, research discoveries, and intellectual contributions to global human knowledge.
History of the Department of Geology & Physics
The University of California was established in 1868 and in 1869 Joseph Le Conte, professor of geology, natural history, and botany, came to Berkeley and taught the first courses in geology and life sciences. Indeed, for several years almost every student on the Berkeley campus attended his lectures in physical geology. A Department became established and was originally housed in South Hall, described at the time as “an enduring structure of brick and stone” and it survived to this day. In 1911 the Department of Geology moved into the renovated library building called Bacon Hall, where it remained until 1961 when it moved into the new Earth Sciences Building on the N-side of Campus (now McCone Hall).
Eugene W. Hilgard, professor of agriculture, taught the first course in mineralogy in 1872. The appointment of Andrew C. Lawson in 1890 was particularly important. While LeConte continued to teach the popular, introductory course in physical geology until 1898, Lawson taught mineralogy, crystallography, petrography, and economic geology. He is best known for his discovery of the San Andreas fault (Calif. Dept. Geology Bull. #1-4, 1893).
By the turn of the century, the number of teaching staff consisted of three regular members (A. Lawson, J. Merriam, and A. Eakle). Already in 1887, the University had established the first Seismographic Stations in the Americas, one at Berkeley and the other at Lick Observatory. But the first course in seismology was not offered until 1912, by Elmer F. Davis and later by Father Macelwane. In 1925 Lawson asked Perry Byerly to join the faculty and direct the seismographic stations. In 1922, John P. Buwalda started instruction in physiography and established the summer field course in geology, later to be carried on successfully for 33 years by Professor Nicholas L. Taliaferro. This development was largely an outgrowth of the need for more geologists by the petroleum industry. In 1923 Norman Hinds joined the Department and established a program in geomorphology. Another important personality was George D. Louderback. From 1906-1944 he was a leader in the affairs of the department and of the campus as a whole; for 11 years as chairman, and for an equal span as dean of the College of Letters and Science.
By 1945 the Department had grown to seven faculty (Byerly, Gilbert, Hinds, Louderback, Pabst, Taliaferro, and Williams). Under the 1945-1949 chairmanship of volcanologist Howell Williams, the Department attained an international reputation by hiring petrologist Francis Turner from New Zealand and geophysicist John Verhoogen from Belgium. Traditionally, the emphasis had been on the field, structural, sedimentary, stratigraphic, and historical aspects of geology but increasingly theoretical and experimental expertise was emphasized, to understand igneous and metamorphic processes, the deformation of rocks and minerals, evolution of landscapes, paleomagnetism, mineral equilibria at high pressures and temperatures. In 1963, the department's name became “Geology and Geophysics”. The academic staff had grown to ten in geology and to four in geophysics by 1968 when the Campus celebrated its 100th anniversary.
Since then, earth sciences have transformed once more, mainly by including environmental issues, atmospheres, oceans, as well as planetary systems, which are all closely linked to solid earth processes. The name changed again in 2001 to “Earth and Planetary Science”. Adding these new fields resulted in further growth to 21 faculty. The Department is proud to rank at top of the list of earth science departments in public universities, together with the much larger Departments at MIT, Caltech, and Stanford.
The Path to Knowledge and Solutions
There is palpable excitement in the classrooms, labs, and field stations where EPS scientists and students explore fascinating questions, do superb research and create innovative solutions to some of our most pressing problems.
This is a pivotal time in our explorations and studies; only limited resources can hold us back. With financial support from others who share the thirst for knowledge and the commitment to global solutions, Earth and Planetary Science at Berkeley can move strongly forward.