Graduate

Weatherng Moss — Weathered mudstone from Connecticut’s Mesozoic Rift.

When I began teaching at UConn in 1984, I was committed mostly to science literacy courses. As the only surface-process geologist on the faculty, I did not feel that the program was strong enough for me to supervise Ph.D. students. So, prior to 2003 I ran a funded lab with a string of M.S. students who have gone on to successful careers.

At present, my teaching commitments to the Honors Core Curriculum and our department’s enrollment does not leave room for stand-alone graduate courses. Instead, I teach ERTH 5210-Glacial Processes and Materials in conjunction with ERTH 3210-Glacial Processes and Materials, sharing field trips, lectures, and labs. The expectations, activities, and schedule are a differentiated, with special emphasis on a concurrent graduate seminar. In 2025, the course had seven graduate students from Geoscience, Anthropology, and Environmental Science.

My commitment to the environmental humanities and my advising load for the undergraduate honors does not permit me to maintain a graduate student group focused around a lab. I do advise MS students as major advisor when the fit is right. My current MS student is Michael Patnaude.

I commonly serve as a co-advisor for M.S. and Ph.D. students in geoscience. I have also co-advised graduate students in anthropology, ecology, and history.