South Dakota Mines & Partner Institutions

Field Camp Faculty

Meet the geologists and geological engineers who lead our programs

SD Mines Faculty

Nuri Uzunlar

Professor; Director, Black Hills Natural Sciences Field Station

Field geologist specializing in mineral deposits, hydrothermal and geothermal systems, and active tectonics in Anatolia. Ph.D., South Dakota Mines.

Arden D. Davis

Professor, Geology & Geological Engineering

Geological engineer specializing in groundwater modeling and contaminant migration. Ph.D., P.E., South Dakota Mines.

Alvis L. Lisenbee

Professor Emeritus, Geology & Geological Engineering

Structural geologist specializing in tectonics of the northern Rocky Mountains. Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University.

Foster Sawyer

Associate Professor, Geology & Geological Engineering

Specializes in sedimentology, petroleum geology, and groundwater. Ph.D., South Dakota Mines.

Kurt Katzenstein

Assistant Professor, Geology & Geological Engineering

Specializes in remote sensing, engineering field applications, and rock mechanics. Ph.D., University of Nevada-Reno.

Larry D. Stetler

Professor, Geology & Geological Engineering

Geological engineer specializing in earth surface processes, eolian dynamics, and environmental and groundwater applications. Ph.D., Washington State University.

Umit Yildiz

Faculty, Geology & Geological Engineering

Coordinator for the Türkiye and Arizona Field Camps. Specializes in active tectonics and structural geology.

Chris Pellowski

Instructor and Coordinator, Geology & Geological Engineering

Ph.D., South Dakota Mines.

Perry Rahn

Professor Emeritus, Geology & Geological Engineering

Engineering Geology. Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University.

Partner Institution Faculty

Jaakko Putkonen

Assistant Professor, University of North Dakota

Geomorphologist specializing in landscape evolution and Quaternary climate change. Ph.D., University of Washington. Coordinator, Himalaya Field Camp.

Brennan Jordan

Associate Professor, University of South Dakota

Igneous petrologist specializing in the petrology and tectonic origin of volcanic rocks. Ph.D., Oregon State University. Coordinator, Iceland Volcanology Camp.

Jon R. Rotzien

Basin Dynamics, SD Mines

Coordinator, New Zealand and California Field Camps. Specializes in deep-water depositional systems and basin analysis.

Yann Gavillot

Montana Tech

Coordinator, France Field Camp. Specializes in Alpine tectonics and active fault systems.

Jérôme Nomade

Université Grenoble Alps

French program coordinator for the France Field Camp.

William W. Little

Coordinator, Utah Field Camp

Specializes in sequence stratigraphy and petroleum geology.

James Sears

Coordinator, Montana Field Camp; Geosciences, University of Montana

Specializes in Rocky Mountain tectonics and Belt Supergroup stratigraphy.

John Caskey

Coordinator, Death Valley Camp; Associate Professor, San Francisco State University

Earth & Climate Sciences. Specializes in Basin and Range tectonics and active faulting.

Joseph Hill

Coordinator, Spain Field Camp

Specializes in Alpine and Pyrenean geology.

Harry Filkorn

Assistant Professor, Pierce College, California

Paleontology and invertebrate stratigraphy.

Field Camp Photos

Dr. Arden Davis, BHNSFS Faculty — Geology Field Camp instructor

Dr. Arden Davis, Faculty

BHNSFS faculty member — Geology Field Camp instructor

BHNSFS Faculty

BHNSFS faculty member — Geology Field Camp instructor

BHNSFS Faculty

BHNSFS faculty member — Geology Field Camp instructor

BHNSFS Faculty

BHNSFS faculty and students in the field

Faculty and students in the field

BHNSFS faculty member leading a field instruction session

Field instruction, BHNSFS Faculty

BHNSFS faculty member at a geological field site

BHNSFS Faculty — field site

BHNSFS faculty member leading a field camp session in the Black Hills

BHNSFS Faculty — field session