Recent Posts

AGES Faculty and Students Present Research at Geological Society of America Meeting

Faculty and students of the IUP Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences Department traveled to Erie, PA to present at the Northeast-North Central Regional Geological Society of America Meeting. Their talks highlighted their ongoing research and demonstrated the diversity and synergy within the department.

Palmiotto and Students Conduct Archaeological Investigations at South Carolina Indigenous Sites

IUP students, including advanced undergraduate and graduate students, joined Dr. Palmiotto in the field with their archaeological colleagues from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) Heritage Trust Program. There the team conducted investigations of sites within Botany Bay Plantation Heritage Preserve in Charleston County, visited the iconic Fig Island Shell Ring complex, and met with representatives of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation (MCN).

Telescope Display and Full Moon Star Party

The IUP Cejka Planetarium will host a chance to view and learn about our telescopes, and if it is a clear night, we’ll also observe the Moon and sky.

Taylor Publishes on Nature of Faunal Turnover, Change in Ocean Chemistry Associated with Latest Cambrian Mass Extinction

Professor Emeritus John Taylor and colleagues published a new study based on faunal collections from a 50-meter interval of the Jones Ridge Limestone in easternmost Alaska. The study provided new, detailed faunal range data across the base of the North American Ibexian Series and geochemical data that confirm an associated shift in ocean chemistry.

Professor Emeritus Taylor Publishes New Insights Into Fossil Record from Northern Laurentia

Professor Emeritus John Taylor published a new study on the taxonomy and stratigraphic distribution of Lotagnostus (Agnostida: Agnostidae) and associated trilobites and conodonts with IUP alumni James D. Loch ’83 and John E. Repetski ’69.

Flores Honored as National Hispanic Institute’s College Student of the Year

The National Hispanic Institute has recognized IUP student Marisol Gonzalez Flores as one of its College Students of the Year 2024.

AGES Seminar: Antarctic Paleoclimate

Molly Patterson, Binghamton University, will present a seminar on the “Catchment Sensitivities of the West and East Antarctic Ice Sheets to Orbital Forcing During the Mid- to Late Pliocene” at the Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences Seminar on Friday, March 28, in Kopchick 102 from 11:15 to 12:15.

Free “Back to Venus” Planetarium Show, March 6

Ken Coles will present “Back to Venus” at the Cejka Planetarium. Come explore Venus!

Cejka Planetarium Announces Spring 2025 Schedule

IUP's Cejka Planetarium has announced the Spring 2025 schedule.

Coles Presents AGES Seminar: “A Paleozoic Jackpot in Nevada”

Ken Coles will present a seminar, “A Paleozoic Jackpot in Nevada: Starved Deposition Can Feed Us a Lot of Information,” at the Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences Department Seminar Series on Friday, February 14, in Kopchick 102 from 11:15 to 12:15.

John Benhart on the Evolution of Knowledge—Meet Our Faculty

There are laws of science, but true science changes. That’s what excites John Benhart, a professor in IUP’s Department of Anthropology, Geospatial, and Earth Sciences. Learn more about him in this Meet Our Faculty feature.

AGES Students Named Provost Scholars

The Department of Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences congratulates our students named as Provost Scholars. To be named a Provost Scholar, students must have earned a minimum of 45 semester hours at IUP with a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher. Provost Scholar recognition is given only once during a student’s time of study at IUP.

AGES Students Named to Fall 2024 Dean’s List

The Department of Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences congratulates our students for being named to the Dean’s List for fall 2024. Students receive this recognition for each semester in which they earn a GPA of 3.25 or higher while taking a minimum of 12 credits.

IUP Students Present at the Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative Conference in Washington, D.C.

A team of IUP students presented their research at the Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative (ACRI), a grant-funded program of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The 2024 ACRI conference, held December 6–7 in Washington, D.C., featured projects from students representing 15 colleges and universities. These projects addressed a range of pressing regional issues, from economic revitalization to environmental sustainability, showcasing innovative, community-centered solutions.

Poole Presents at African Studies Association Annual Meeting

Dr. Amanda Poole, Professor of Anthropology, Department of Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences, recently participated in the 66th African Studies Association (ASA) Annual Meeting, held in Chicago, Illinois, from December 12–14, 2024. The ASA Annual Meeting, the largest gathering of Africanist scholars in the world, is the flagship event of the association and brought together over 2,000 scholars and professionals under the theme Global Africa.

Jonathan Warnock’s Rock-Star Life—Meet Our Faculty

Jonathan Warnock has always been into rocks. But that interest led him to a curiosity about the Earth, what affects it, and why it is how it is. Learn more about him in this installment of Meet Our Faculty.

IUP Selected for 2024 Educational Award by Pennsylvania Drone Association

The Pennsylvania Drone Association selected Indiana University of Pennsylvania for its 2024 Ellie Education Award, recognizing IUP as “an educational institution that has helped to elevate the drone industry in our commonwealth in a meaningful and significant way. “

IUP Cejka Planetarium Offering Program About Planet Nine as Final Show for Fall Semester

IUP’s Cejka Planetarium in John J. and Char Kopchick Hall will host the final show for the fall semester on December 16 at 7:00 p.m., “How Many Are There? Planet Nine.” The program is free and open to the community.

Allard Awarded Research Grant for Foreign Scholars, Gives Invited Lecture

Francis Allard has been awarded a Research Grant for Foreign Scholars by the Center for Chinese Studies in Taiwan.

Day of Service with IUP Anthropology

Twelve IUP archeologists participated in service events at Historic Hanna’s Town in Westmoreland County and at the historic Lebanon Cemetery in York, PA, on Saturday, October 26.

"Untold Stories of Pennsylvania Parks and Forests" Launched

"Untold Stories of Pennsylvania Parks and Forests" launched with a new website and presentations at the Pennsylvania Historical Association annual meeting.

IUP Cejka Planetarium Offering Programs About Stars and Planet Nine

Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Cejka Planetarium in John J. and Char Kopchick Hall will host two programs during the fall semester: “Magical Lights: Stars” and “How Many Are There? Planet Nine.” These programs are free and open to the community.

Poole Discusses New Book at Emerging Scholars and Scholarship on Eritrea Event

Amanda Poole, Department of Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences, joined colleagues around the world for a virtual panel discussion on October 16 focused on her cowritten ethnography, "Hosting States and Unsettled Guests: Eritrean Refugees in a Time of Migration Deterrence."

Anthropology Research Article on Skeletal Commingling Featured by American Academy of Forensic Sciences

IUP Anthropology faculty recently published research about the resolution of skeletal commingling in an invited issue of the Journal of Forensic Sciences.

Anthropologists Give Public Lectures on Research

Francis Allard and Ben Ford, both anthropologists in the Department of Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences, recently presented their research as public lectures.