SCHOOL OF SCIENCE
The Value of Studying Geoscience
In Northwestern
PA
Our region has a very strong heritage in the earth sciences. Pennsylvania was once powerhouse in the coal-extraction and steel industries (and remains a significant player), is the birthplace of the commercial oil industry, and was the first state to produce energy with nuclear technology.
Thanks to recent Ice Ages, the state has a dynamic aggregate and building-stone industry (sand, gravel, limestone, sandstone, etc.) that helps the construction and road-building sectors of the economy.
Just a few miles away in western New York is the site of the first commercial gas well in the United States. A few miles in the other direction, the first use of wind to produce electricity economically occurred outside of Cleveland.
We also sit on the United States'
"fourth coast" -- the shores of the Great Lakes, the largest
reservoir of liquid fresh water on the planet. We have unique
coastal features (such as Presque Isle) that allow us to study
geologic features that are ordinarily accessible only on the
Atlantic, Gulf, or Pacific coasts.