Colloquium Lectures

The Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences hosts a weekly colloquium series during the Spring and Fall academic semesters. The series features scholarly talks by scientists from within and outside the university which promote ongoing research, and foster academic discussion.

The lectures generally take place on Thursdays during the academic year at 11:30 AM in Rudolph Hall, Room 301. Light refreshments are served beginning at 11:15 AM. Please check our department events page for the most up-to-date schedule and timing.

EEPS Colloquia are made possible by the William C. Ferguson Fund.

Fall 2026 EEPS Colloquium Schedule

October 22, 2026

EEPS Colloquium: Adam Forte

Does It All Average Out? Impacts of Short-Term Variability in Climate and Tectonics on Long-Term Topography

Topography represents a rich archive of both the hydroclimatic and tectonic forces that shape it, but we often consider extremely simplified versions of these drivers when interpreting or numerically simulating topography. In detail, many typically assume that short-term spatiotemporal variability effectively “averages out” to a mean or representative value and that the variability is either not important to represent in process models or not interpretable from landscapes. Work over the last two decades have challenged this assumption for erosional processes, showing that temporal variability in stream flow, when considered in the context of erosion thresholds, makes fundamentally different predictions for the evolution of topography than an assumption of a representative discharge. Here I build on this concept by considering the importance of spatiotemporal variability in both hydroclimate and tectonics, in the form of discrete runoff events and variable individual earthquake sequences, in building high relief topography. In both cases, I show that short-term variability on daily to decadal scales in climate and tectonics fundamentally alter topography developed over geologically relevant timescales in ways that are not captured by assuming simple, representative forcing.

October 29, 2026

EEPS Colloquium: Demian Saffer

Talk Title TBD

November 5, 2026

EEPS Colloquium: Jonathan Ajo-Franklin

Talk Title TBD

December 3, 2026

EEPS Colloquium: Ray Arvidson

Earth's Moon and Artemis

Ray Arvidson, professor emeritus in the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, will deliver a colloquium which goes over the origin and evolution of the Moon, the Apollo Program, and emerging plans associated with the Artemis Program.