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Department: Earth and Atmospheric Science

(Division of Science)

Professor Z. Johnny Luo, Chair • Department Office: MR 926• Tel: 212-650-6984

General Information

The City College offers the following master’s degree in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences:

M.S. in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences  

Programs and Objectives

The Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences has developed a unique version of the Earth Systems Science (ESS) model, the proposed national curriculum in earth sciences. The focus of ESS is to integrate the chemical and physical principles which interlink earth processes and features. The integrated curriculum gives us the flexibility to offer research training in the following areas:

Atmospheric Science and Climate

  • Geology and Geophysics

  • Geochemistry and Environmental Chemistry

  • Remote Sensing/Geographic Information Systems Terrestrial and Coastal Ecology

Students who receive an M.S. from the EAS Department will be prepared for employment in environmental companies and government agencies, as well as for Ph.D. level studies in ESS, Geology, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Public Policy, or Terrestrial Ecology.

EAS Departmental Facilities

The EAS Department maintains well-equipped hydrology, geochemistry, geophysics, and remote sensing laboratories. Geochemical analysis equipment includes spectroscopy, spectrometry, and microscopy. Environmental geophysical equipment includes an electromagnetic ground conductivity meter, an automated resistivity system, a gravimeter, and a proton precession magnetometer. In remote sensing, field gear supporting ground measurements for validation of remote sensing datasets concerning terrestrial ecosystem dynamics and the carbon and water cycles is available, as well as workstations for analyzing satellite data. The EAS facilities also include a Weather and Climate Lab that hosts a wide range of tools for the downloading and analysis of data from weather satellites. Additional access to the CUNY supercomputing center at College of Staten Island, analytical equipment (e.g., electron microscopy, XRD, stable isotope mass spectrometry) through the CCNY Division of Science Core Facility, the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center, the NY Structural Biology Center on South Campus, and allocated time for electron probe microanalysis through our faculty affiliation with the American Museum of Natural History. 

Research

Qualified students are encouraged to become research assistants to faculty. Many are assisted in their research with support from the NOAA sponsored Center for Earth System Sciences and Atmospheric Administration Cooperative Remote Sensing Technologies (NOAA-CESSRST), CUNY Environmental Crossroads Initiative and CUNY Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC), or through other resources provided by the faculty.

Departmental Activities

CCNY Geosciences Club

The Geology Club has meetings during club hours. Meetings include guest lecturers, environmental films, and field trips in the New York City area.

Additional opportunities are available to students through national organizations such as the American Meteorological Society (AMS), the American Geophysical Union (AGU), and the Geologic Society of America (GSA).

Advisement

For general advisement for all program options:

Professor Steven Kidder

MR 831; 212-650-8431.

Additional information:

http://easgrad.ccnysites.cuny.edu/

Doctoral Courses Open to Master's Students

Qualified students may take or substitute, with the approval of the Graduate Committee, courses available in the doctoral program in Earth and Environmental Sciences. Those courses are described in the bulletin of The Graduate School of the City University of New York.

Faculty

Karin Block, Associate Professor
A.B., University of Michigan; M. Phil., CUNY, Ph.D.

James Booth, Associate Professor
B.S., Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; M.S., Univ. of Kentucky; Ph.D., Univ. of Washington

Spencer Hill, Assistant Professor,
B.S. UCLA; Ph.D., Princeton Univ.

Kimberly Huppert, Assistant Professor
B.S., Massachusetts Inst. of Technology, Ph.D.

Steven Kidder, Associate Professor
B.S., Univ. of Minnesota; M.S., Univ. of Arizona; Ph.D., California Inst. of Technology

Angelo Lampousis, Lecturer
B.S. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece); M.Phil., CUNY, Ph.D.

Z. Johnny Luo, Professor
B.S., Peking Univ. (China); M.Phil., Columbia Univ., Ph.D.

Kyle McDonald, Terry Elkes Professor
B.E.E., Georgia Institute of Technology; M.S. Johns Hopkins Univ.; M.S.Ph.D., Univ., of Michigan, Ph.D.

Diomaris Padilla, Lecturer,
B.S., NYIT; Ph.D. CUNY Graduate Center

Nicholas Steiner, Research Assistant Professor
B.A., Univ. of Colorado, Boulder; M.Phil., CUNY, Ph.D.

Maria Tzortziou, Martin & Michele Cohen Professor
B.S., Aristotle Univ. (Greece), M.Sc.; M.S., Univ. of Maryland, Ph.D.

Zhengrong Wang, Associate Professor
B.S., Univ. of Science and Technology of China, M.S.; Ph.D., California Inst. of Technology

Pengfei Zhang, Professor and Chair
B.S. Univ. of Science and Technology of China; M.S., Montana Tech; Ph.D., Univ. of Utah

 

Professors Emeritus

Stanley Gedzelman
Edward Hindman
Patricia Kenyon
Margaret Anne Winslow