Department News Archive


Congratulations, Dr. Ben Passey

Dr. Ben Passey has been promoted to associate professor with tenure in Earth & Planetary Sciences. Ben skillfully teaches at all levels in our E&PS programs and runs a thriving research group. In particular, since arriving at Hopkins, he has made technical breakthroughs in stable-isotope geochemistry that have obstructed the field for decades. [...]


Cindy Parker and Ben Zaitchik Receive Johns Hopkins Discovery Award

Cindy Parker and Ben Zaitchik recently received a Johns Hopkins Discovery Award. Their project is on “Modeling the Effects of Climate Change on the Global Food System” and includes collaborators from four Hopkins divisions (BSPH, KSAS, WSE, and SAIS).


Graduate Hannah Susorney Wins Dwornik Award

Congratulations to E&PS grad Hannah Susorney on her Dwornik Award for Best Graduate Poster. Hannah won the award for her poster presentation at the 2015 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, entitled "The Surface Roughness of Mercury: Investigating the Effects of Impact Cratering, Volcanism, and Tectonics."


Naomi Levin Selected as a Catalyst Award Winner

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Naomi Levin, who is one of 37 early-career Johns Hopkins faculty members chosen to receive up to $75,000 from the university's new Catalyst Awards program to pursue their research and creative endeavors. Prof. Levin's project is titled, "A Million Years of Climate Change in East Africa." [...]


Dr. Kathy Szlavecz Now Research Professor

Dr. Kathy Szlavecz Now Research Professor
Dr. Kathy Szlavecz has recently been promoted to research professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Kathy is a renowned soil ecologist and an expert on biodiversity, composition, and abundance of soil communities, and how they link together to yield a functioning soil system. Kathy leads departmental teaching in ecology and soil science and runs a thriving research group.


Treatise on Geophysics, 2nd Edition

Treatise on Geophysics, 2nd Edition
The Treatise on Geophysics Second Edition, including Peter Olson's volume 8 "Core Dynamics," is scheduled for release on June 12. Learn more.


Research Positions in Ocean Modeling

The Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, invites applications for postdoctoral research associate or assistant research scientist positions. The successful candidate(s) will join a team that is developing and applying ocean circulation models to understand mechanisms of exchange across continental shelves, particularly at high latitudes. Other opportunities in Arctic/Subarctic and Southern Ocean […]


Why Do We Care So Much About Mars?

Why Do We Care So Much About Mars?
The JHU Gazette interviewed Assistant Professor Kevin Lewis for an article on Mars. Lewis works with images and topography of sedimentary rocks to evaluate the Martian landscape and geological features, all in an effort to determine the planet’s past climate. Read the full article here.


Summer 2014 Department Newsletter

Summer 2014 Department Newsletter
Read the latest news from the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences in the Summer 2014 newsletter, now available online.


Earth’s Hottest June Follows Hottest May. The New Normal?

This June was the warmest one since record keeping began in 1880, a NOAA center reports. Same was true for May. It’s more evidence the planet is heating up, climate scientists say. Read the article in The Christian Science Monitor.