Geology Department

While Pluto has not been an official planet since 2006, it will be stealing the spotlight when a NASA spacecraft makes the closest-ever encounter with it on Tuesday, July 14.

The Spark Museum of Electrical Invention will be hosting Pluto Revealed, a free event from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday to…

Kim Malcolm talks to Doug Clark, associate professor of geology at Western Washington University, about the different types of ice caves, how they are formed and their risks.

Pete Stelling, assistant professor of geology at Western Washington University, is working to make the Alaskan island of Akutan less dependent on diesel fuel by tapping the island’s renewable geothermal energy.

Don J. Easterbrook, emeritus professor of geology at Western Washington University, where he was department chairman for 12 years, shares his new book, “Cruising Through Geologic Time in the San Juan Islands,” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 26, at Village Books, 1200 11th St.

You might call him the late-blooming old man of Northwest geology.

Or call him Whatcom County’s unofficial “geology laureate.”

Either way, Dave Tucker’s lifelong interest in the rocks of the region has found a new outlet with his first book, “Geology Underfoot in Western Washington…

Melissa Rice’s career revolves around answering a question that continues to entice the human imagination: Can life evolve elsewhere in the universe?

Rice, an assistant professor at Western Washington University, thinks the answer may be found on Mars.