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Tours

1. Focus on Field Research

   Explore exciting field research being done by Boise State around the world with Focus Magazine.

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   1. Out of the Classroom, Into the Field

      In 2017, Boise State geosciences assistant professor Brittany Brand and Ph.D. student Nicholas Pollock led a team of students and volcanologists from across the globe to study Mount St. Helens, which in 1980 became the United States' deadliest and most economically destructive active volcano.

   2. Yellowstone – Exploring in the First National Park

      Boise State’s Department of Geosciences teaches students about geology, hydrology, geophysics, and interactions between humans and earth systems. Many classes, including "Yellowstone Geophysics," use the natural environment and student field trips as an integral component of the classroom.

      
      

      In September 2017, geoscience students spent four days camping in Yellowstone and exploring the geology of the national park. The weather is invariably brisk during the early fall, but it is an ideal time for students to visit; crowds are diminished and students have time before the trip to do background research on the geologic history of Yellowstone.

       

   3. Living the "Rock Star" Dream at Boise State

      Boise State professor Brittany Brand and her Ph.D. student, Aaron Marshall, spent five weeks collecting data at Llaima volcano in Chile in December 2016.

      
      

      Brand's research explores the eruption dynamics of volcanoes. She is trying to determine what eruption factors control the extent and hazard potential of such flows, and apply what she learns to other volcanoes worldwide. Brand works with volcanologists internationally combining field data, experiments and computational modeling to better predict the risk associated with future eruptions.

   4. Faulkland Islands Research

      In February 2018, Boise State biology students Gretel Care and Lauren Young embarked on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Falkland Islands as part of a research project to determine the effect of avian predators on albatross populations during the breeding season.

   5. Raptors of Kenya

      In 2017, Boise State raptor biology professor Marc Bechard teamed with Munir Virani, director of Africa programs for the Peregrine Fund, to take 11 Boise State students to Kenya’s Masai Mara National Wildlife Reserve as part of a 3-credit course titled East African Raptors.

       

      This is the fifth time Bechard has taught the class. “I feel that it is important for Boise State students to learn about global issues,” he said. He wants his students to understand the serious problems Africa is grappling with in regard to raptor conservation.