Earth and Environmental Sciences Stories & News

Students standing in front of a white frozen waterfall

Students experience breathtaking sights of Iceland during study abroad

For most students, winter break is a chance to relax, catch up with family and indulge in tasty holiday treats, but for 17 UNI students, winter break meant escaping to one of the most interesting and beautiful countries in the world – Iceland.
Students experience breathtaking sights of Iceland during study abroad

Students experience breathtaking sights of Iceland during study abroad

 For 17 UNI students, winter break offered an escape to one of the most interesting and beautiful countries in the world - Iceland.
Brittany Costello being crowned Miss Scott County

UNI student and Miss Iowa contender creates coloring book to raise environmental awareness

UNI student Brittany Costello is taking submissions for her watershed-themed coloring book to raise awareness about the importance of water quality.
UNI Alumna Katie Hund stands in front of a many windowed building

Finding fulfillment at a state park: one alumna's story

Every day, Katie Hund wakes up ready for the next adventure at her dream job. Some days, she might be getting her hands dirty as she removes fallen trees, and other days, she might be giving a tour to a group of schoolchildren. The best part of working at a state park is that no two days are the same.

Windmills

UNI awarded more than $800,000 for energy-focused projects

The Iowa Energy Center announced more than $800,000 in grant funding to two University of Northern Iowa projects working to boost energy efficiency in underserved rural areas and educate the next generation about career opportunities in an ever-evolving energy market.

The IEC awarded $418,696 to the Developing an Iowa Energy Curriculum for Secondary Classrooms project proposed by UNI’s Earth and Environmental Sciences department, which will develop and disseminate an energy curriculum for Iowa middle and high school students that incorporates career connections into each topic.

An image taken by UNI's new petrographic microscopes.

New UNI microscopes unveil geological world to students

At first glance, it looks like something sprung from the mind of Jackson Pollock.

But the vibrant colors strewn across the image represent not the paint strokes of an artist, but the tiny, mineralogical components of a rock. And they were produced by a new set of scientific instruments at the University of Northern Iowa that will give students a deeper, more detailed look into geology than was previously possible.