News

The award recognizes individuals who go above and beyond their role to create a more inclusive, just, and welcoming community at the Stanford School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences.

More than any class before, the 2022 graduates of the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences are prepared to navigate uncertainties in the pursuit of a life that brings happiness and meaning, according to Dean Stephan Graham.

So-called small modular reactors are promoted as less expensive and cumbersome than conventional light-water reactors. Research led by former postdoctoral scholar Lindsay Krall with Stanford nuclear security expert Rodney Ewing suggests the volume and chemistry of the waste they produce may pose safety challenges.

Small modular reactors, long touted as the future of nuclear energy, will actually generate more radioactive waste than conventional nuclear power plants, according to research from Stanford and the University of British Columbia.

A new certificate program provides a framework for Stanford Earth graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to learn new skills, gain practical experience, and produce portfolio pieces that will broaden their professional preparedness. The program will be carried into the new school focused on climate and sustainability.

After modeling Titan's landscape, researchers led by Stanford geologist Mathieu Lapôtre found the moon exhibits a special type of sedimentary process called sintering, which means neighboring grains smash together and fuse into a bigger, stronger piece that's less destructible by wind.

California has rolled out plans to protect plant and animal life across 30 percent of the state’s most critical land and water by 2030. Biologists Elizabeth Hadly and Mary Ruckelshaus and environmental law expert Deborah Sivas discuss keys to its success, potential impacts, legal precedents, and more. (Source: Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment)

A new hypothesis reveals that a global sedimentary cycle driven by seasons could explain the formation of landscapes on Saturn’s moon Titan. The research shows the alien world may be more Earth-like than previously thought.

Geologist George Hilley comments on the approach taken by scientists who simulated landslide risks in the Austrian Alps under various climate scenarios in order to better prepare and adapt for future landslides.  

A Stanford University study suggests the weight of snow and ice atop the Sierra Nevada affects a California volcano’s carbon dioxide emissions, one of the main signs of volcanic unrest.

Stanford Earth professor George Hilley and coauthors write about a new initiative bringing together scientists to address fundamental questions about subduction zone geohazards, using the latest advances in observation technology and computational resources.

By analyzing the chemistry of over 200 geothermal springs, researchers have identified where the Indian Plate ends beneath Tibet, debunking some long-debated theories about the process of continental collision.

Research by Page Chamberlain and PhD student Tyler Kukla presents a new hypothesis for the cause of a major forest dieback episode in the western U.S. It shows forests depended on winter moisture for millions of years. 

"Clearly, a nuclear reactor is not a nuclear bomb – reactors are designed to avoid runaway chain reactions," Stanford nuclear security expert Rod Ewing writes in an op-ed. But there are three vulnerabilities that can have serious consequences, he explains.

“We are in the middle of a war with great devastation and human suffering and deaths and adding a nuclear event – even if it is minor releases of radioactivity – to the present situation, that is really a heavy burden,” says Stanford Earth professor Rod Ewing.

Stanford geologist George Hilley discusses the process and purpose of creating a computational model to demonstrate mountain formation.