Matthew Lachniet

Dr. Lachniet’s research focuses on understanding the controls on Earth’s climate on time scales ranging from seasonal to 100s of thousands years, with a particular focus on tropical and arctic past climates. These data inform understanding of modern and anthropogenic climate change. He is co-director of the Las Vegas Isotope Science (LVIS) Lab in the Science and Engineering Building. Dr. Lachniet has an active research program in which he uses light stable and radiogenic isotope geochemistry, hydrology, speleology, glacial geology, geomorphology, and the sedimentary record to answer questions of paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic change. His primary research areas are Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, Alaska, and the Great Basin.

 

Steve Rowland

Dr. Stephen Rowland is an Emeritus professor in the Department of Geology. He received his Ph.D. at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1978. Professor Rowland’s primary studies are in the areas of paleontology, paleoecology, stratigraphy, and the history of geology.  My students and I study the history of life on Earth as recorded in the fossil record, especially the paleontology of Southern Nevada and adjacent regions. Our research ranges from the earliest (late pre-Cambrian) animal fossils, to Jurassic dinosaur tracks (and those of co-existing animals) in Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire State Park, to Ice-Age fossils of the Tule Springs area. My history of geology research focuses primarily on the 18th century, especially in Russia.

Ganqing Jiang

Dr. Jiang received his B.A. in Engineering from Xiangtan Mining College in Hunan, south China. After graduation, he started to work on the stratigraphy and tectonics in north China and received a M.S. in Geology from China University of Geosciences (Beijing). Following graduation, he worked as a lecturer at the China University of Geosciences for five years. He continued his education at Columbia University and completed his Ph.D. in 2002. He worked as postdoctoral associate at the University of California, Riverside from 2002 to 2004. Ganqing joined the Geoscience faculty in August of 2004.