Portrait image of Nicholas Lang
Nicholas Lang

Chair, Department of Geology, Co-Director Environmental Science, Professor

Contact Information

OFFICE: Zurn 205B
PHONE: 814-824-3646

I am a geoscience educator and researcher who is fascinated by processes that produce (e.g., magmatism), modify (e.g., tectonism), and sculpt (e.g., water-and ice-related processes) planetary crusts wherever they exist in the solar system. Consequently, my research interests are in planetary-scale geologic processes with the ultimate goal of understanding the external and internal workings of solid-surface planetary bodies. My work has emphasized geologic mapping and morphometric characterization of volcanic and tectonic landforms on Earth, Venus, and Mars using remote sensing techniques and field-based campaigns. My teaching experiences have emphasized undergraduate students and have included significant field components (including our department's field methods course in the Mojave Desert), and advising >35 undergraduate capstone projects. I have also co-organized and led two geology courses to Costa Rica and Italy/Greece (~30 students/class). I feel strongly that STEM opportunities should be available to all individuals of all backgrounds, and I have spent considerable time to help cultivate an inclusive atmosphere with my teaching and research; I look forward to continuing to support diversity and inclusiveness in the science community. 

About Dr. Lang
    • University of Tennessee, Postdoctoral Researcher, 2006 – 2008 
    • University of Minnesota, Geology, Ph.D., 2006
    • Vanderbilt University, Geology, M.S., 2001 
    • Whitman College, Geology, B.A., 1999
    • GEOL 215/216: Geomorphology/Lab
    • GEOL 350/351: Structural Geology/Lab
    • GEOL 360/361: Volcanology/Lab
    • GEOL 455: Field Methods in Geology
    • Geological Society of America
    • National Association of Geoscience Teacher
    • Lang, N.P. (2020), The effectiveness of model rocketry to teach science and quantitative content to students in a non-science majors course at the college level: An example from a planetary geology course; Open Journal of Statistics, 10, 139-153. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojs.2020.101011