
Tasha Dunn
Associate Professor of Geology; Chair of Geology
At the basic level, the world is essentially geological, and geologists play a central role in understanding the structure and function of Earth.
Department of Geology
5800 Mayflower Hill
Waterville, Maine 04901
P: 207-859-5800
F: 207-859-5868
Colby’s Geology Department originated in 1833 and is one of the oldest in nation. Geology majors and minors study different disciplines within geology as well as biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics to better understand the natural history of Earth. Faculty members have broad and deep research interests including paleoecology and climate change, glacial and Quaternary geology, structural geology and plate tectonics, the geology of meteorites, sedimentation and stratigraphy, and paleontology. Extensive laboratory facilities and research-grade equipment, including tools for coring samples, a scanning electron microscope with an x-ray diffractometer, an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer, an elemental analyzer, and tools for rock and sediment processing, are available for student use in research collaborations with the faculty.
The Geology Department offers majors in geology and geoscience and a minor in geology. Students planning to pursue graduate study or employment in the field are encouraged to select the major in geology, while those who are interested in teaching or who discover an interest too late to complete the geology major have the option of geoscience or the geology minor.
Learn more about the members of the department
Associate Professor of Geology; Chair of Geology
Whipple-Coddington Professor of Geology, Emeritus
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
Assistant Professor of Geology
Administrative Assistant, Department of Geology; Department of Physics and Astronomy; Science, Technology, and Society Program
Visiting Assistant Professor of Geology, 2003-; Senior Lab Instructor
The Whipple-Coddington Associate Professor of Geology
- Donald B. Allen, M.A. ’82, Ph.D., 1967-2007, Professor of Geology, Emeritus
- Robert A. Gastaldo, M.A. ’99, Ph.D. (Gettysburg, Southern Illinois), 1999-2020, Whipple-Coddington Professor of Geology, Emeritus
- Robert E. Nelson, M.A. ’96, Ph.D. (San Francisco State, Washington), 1982-2018, Professor of Geology, Emeritus
Engage with the department