School of Earth, Environment and Society
The School of the Earth, Environment and Society (SEES) offers both natural and social science courses and programs, including undergraduate degrees in Environmental Science, Environmental Policy and Analysis, Geology and Geography. The School also offers graduate programs in Geology and Applied Geospatial Sciences. By bridging the natural and social sciences, SEES prepares students for a variety of careers relevant to important societal issues, including water and energy resources, climate change and sustainability. Many of our students take advantage of our extensive course options in geospatial sciences, important technologies broadly utilized in a variety of disciplines.
FEATURED
Renovated Moseley Hall Re-opens as Science Complex
Moseley Hall contains laboratory classrooms for the departments of Geology, Chemistry, Biology and Medical Lab Science.
News and Stories
Vázquez-Ortega Receives OHIO EPA Grant
Bowling Green State University’s Drs. Shannon Pelini, Louise Stevenson and Angélica Vázquez-Ortega and Dr. Megan Rúa of Wright State University are teaming up on two Ohio EPA grants to study the effects of dredge on crops. Each grant is worth $50,000 and funded through the Lake Erie Protection Fund. Read More About The Lake Erie Protection Fund
Blasko Receives Distinguished Thesis Award
Congratulations to SEES alumnus Cole Blasko (MS in Geology '20) on being selected as recipient of the BGSU Graduate College's Distinguished Thesis Award for 2020! The Selection Committee found Cole’s thesis, “Assessing Hydrologic Impacts of the 2013 Rim Fire on the Tuolumne River Watershed in Central Valley, California”, to be an outstanding and sophisticated example of scholarly research. Having obtained a B.S. degree in geology from the University of Akron, Cole was admitted to BGSU’s Geology graduate program in August 2018 and obtained his M.S. degree in May 2020. During his time at BGSU, Cole studied under the supervision of Dr. Ganming Liu, conducting research related to wildfires, hydrology and geospatial analysis and modeling. Wildfires have become a very hot topic recently and Cole's thesis study on a wildfire in a Central Valley watershed in California was innovative and had significant scientific and societal impacts. By integrating hydrologic modeling and remote sensing technologies, Cole's work led to a better understanding of the impact of wildfires on watershed hydrologic systems and water resources. Results from his interdisciplinary study have valuable implication for land and water resources management as well as prioritizing funds and mitigations efforts when facing the threat of forest fires under changing climate.
Johnson-Webb on Team Studying Infant Mortality
Ohio ranks third in the nation for high mortality rates for Black children, behind Mississippi and Louisiana. Locally, the statistics are equally concerning. In Lucas County between 2015-2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported mortality rates for Black infants were nearly three times higher than for white infants. A team of Bowling Green State University researchers from political science, geography and the Center for Research and Development and several community partners are working together to reduce the infant mortality rates in northwest Ohio and beyond. BGSU, the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio (HCNO), its Northwest Ohio Pathways HUB and ProMedica Health Systems have been awarded an Ohio Third Frontier grant to improve infant mortality rates in the state. The $270,000 grant is authorized by the Ohio Department of Higher Education in support of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s initiative to “highlight the importance of home visitation programs to improve infant mortality rates in Ohio.” read more