Areas of Expertise
near surface geophysics, volcano morphology and hazards, explosive eruption dynamics, geophysical archeology, cyberinfrastructure, geoscience education, and quantitative literacy
Background
Before accepting her current position at UIndy, Dr. Courtland worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Volcanology and Multiphase Flow research group at GA Tech, investigating the propensity for aggregation of volcanic ash particles in subzero conditions. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of South Florida with emphasis in applying the techniques of near surface geophysics and computational modeling to volcanic processes and hazards. Dr. Courtland's undergraduate degree is from Western Washington University where she majored in physics while minoring in geology, mathematics, and astronomy, and performing research in star formation and galaxy evolution.
Research Interests
Dr. Courtland's research uses field, laboratory and numerical methods to investigate key concepts in near surface geophysics and natural and environmental hazards. Today, human populations are overwhelmingly concentrated in areas known to be susceptible to hazardous geologic and environmental phenomena, including volcanoes, earthquakes, ground contamination and more. By developing a deeper scientific understanding of how Earth systems function with regards to these hazards, Dr. Courtland's work aims to increase our fundamental knowledge of the Earth while at the same time providing both basic and quantitative information and tools directly applicable to hazard mitigation. She specializes in ground penetrating radar, and her multidisciplinary research interests span volcanology, tectonics, hydrology, archaeology, environmental science, and related fields.
See Dr. Courtland's research publications
Education
- Postdoctoral work, Georgia Institute of Technology
- PhD, Geology, University of South Florida
- BS, Physics, Western Washington University
Fun facts
I love cycling, especially long trips with a tent and saddle bags, and once rode my bicycle from Canada to Mexico along the west coast. When not pedaling cross country, I cycle commute to UIndy year round.
Favorite thing about UIndy
The ability to interact with students one-on-one, especially in lower division courses.
Areas of Expertise
Geoscience Education, Biogeochemistry, Geobiology, Paleobiology, Medical Geology, Earth History, Environmental Geology, Sedimentary Geology, Oceanography, Earth System Science, Climatology & Climate Change, Physical Geography & Geomorphology, K-12 Earth Science Education and Teacher Preparation
Background
Dr. Soltis received his Ph.D. in Earth System Science from Auburn University in spring of 2020. While at Auburn, he was a member of the Department of Geosciences Geoscience Education and Geocognition Lab and served as a teaching assistant for courses including Earth and life through time, paleobiology, sedimentary petrology, and field camp. During his PhD work he received numerous awards including the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award from the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT), He also completed additional doctoral coursework in biological oceanography at North Carolina State University. During his Ph.D. work, he had opportunities to study and teach geology in the Bahamas, Iceland, the Pacific Northwest, Central Texas, and the Rocky Mountains.
Prior to his Ph.D. work, Dr. Soltis worked as a middle school math and science teacher for 6 years. During this time he taught in various positions spanning 4th to 8th grade, and spearheaded efforts to improve elementary science education in the district. While teaching full time, he also earned masters degrees in both education and geoscience. Dr. Soltis received his undergraduate degree from Muskingum University where he graduated summa cum laude with a major in middle childhood education with an emphasis in science and language arts and minors in French and English. He is a native of Western Pennsylvania, growing up about 45 minutes north of Pittsburgh.
Research Interests
Dr. Soltis’s research largely focuses on how students develop systems thinking skills in geoscience courses. He employs quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods to characterize instructor practices related to systems thinking in the geosciences, understand student conceptions of complex Earth systems, and develop psychometric tools to measure systems thinking skills. Additionally he has utilized skin biosensors to study student engagement in both geoscience labs and large lecture courses. He also engages in collaborative projects to understand the impact of high school summer field experiences in making the geosciences more accessible to historically marginalized groups. He is enthusiastic about working on projects with students that involve geoscience education, biogeoscience, environmental geology, and/ or geographic information systems & spatial analysis. Dr. Soltis has been published in a wide variety of journals including Geosphere, Journal of Geoscience Education, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, and CBE: Life Sciences.
Education
- PhD Earth System Science, Auburn University
- MS Geoscience, Mississippi State University
- MAEd Talented & Gifted Education and Science & Math Education, Muskingum University
- BA Middle Childhood Education (Science and Language Arts), Muskingum University
Fun facts
I can often be found playing Pokemon Go around campus when I need a brain break.
Favorite thing about UIndy
The ability to work closely with students from a variety of majors and backgrounds and the people in general!
Areas of Expertise
scientific computing, lasers and optics, instrumentation development
Background
Has been teaching physics at UIndy for more than 25 years. From the implementation of "flipped" physics class to the modernization of scientific computing and laboratory instrumentation courses, Steve has brought the strengths of his background in physics, engineering and computer science into the classroom. Steve also does IT and engineering consulting.
Steve is an active participant in several national research initiatives relating to improving physics education. These range from improving materials to help students prepare for class, to tracking student participation using handheld devices in the classroom. Steve is directing an effort to expand the Laser and Optics research in the department and developing a collaborative research program with the Laser and Optics Research Center at the US Air Force Academy, where he was a visiting professor during the academic years of 2011 and 2012. Steve has created a set of software libraries designed to help students make use of parallel computational resources without having to spend many hours learning lots of technical details of networking and task coordination. Finally, along with Dr. Duman, Steve has helped create a thriving Near Space physics research program at UIndy using high altitude balloons to deploy hundreds of experiments over the last five years. We continue to use Near Space Physics and high altitude ballooning as a way of introducing students to collaborative research, instrumentation development and a great deal of fun to boot!
Research Interests
physics education, lasers and optics, scientific computing, near-space physics and instrumentation
Education
- PhD, Physics, California Institute of Technology
- MS, Physics, California Institute of Technology
- BS, Physics, minors in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Rose Hulman Institute of Technology
Fun fact
I love music and theater, both as a performer and a member of the audience. Someday (possibly retirement) I hope to give these both more attention.
Favorite thing about UIndy
UIndy is a wonderful and supportive community of administrators, faculty and students. I love to go to work (almost) every day!