School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews

08/09/2026

🏔️ Back from the Alps! 🇮🇹🇨🇭

Our 4th-year BSc and MGeol students have just returned from our iconic Alps field trip! 🪨⛺

Two weeks of camping across Italy and Switzerland, following a spectacular transect through the Alpine orogen and exploring the minerals, rocks, and structures that tell the story of mountain building. 🔨🧭🏔️

A few highlights from an unforgettable two weeks in the field! 📸

07/09/2026

🌍🪨 Welcome to St Andrews and the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences!🌋🌊

A huge welcome to all our new students! 👋 We’re looking forward to meeting you and kicking off the year together. 🎉

📍 Thursday, 12 pm – ES1001 Intro Talk & Welcome Lunch, Lecture Theatre A, Bute Building 🥪
🔥 Friday, 4 pm – School & GeolSoc BBQ, Secret Garden 🌭🌿

You’ll find all the details on the Orientation app.

Come along, meet your classmates and the SEES team, and get your St Andrews Earth Sciences adventure started! 🌎🧭💚

06/09/2026

A huge thankyou to everyone who took part in SEES' annual Sunflower Growing Competition! 🌻🌻🌻

Today we celebrated sunflowers that survived against the odds, bloomed in weird and wonderful ways, and are somehow still growing! The awards ceremony included incredible cupcakes from Fawn and scones from Kayleigh; a perfect addition to our 11am coffee. And, of course, massive congratulations to our grand victors!

🌻 Tallest (in a pot): Isla Farrell at 2.35m
🌻 Tallest (in the ground): Luca Schmidt at 2.86m(!) ft. Partial parental care by Helen Innes.

Well done everyone! And get ready for next year...

04/09/2026

🌍 Research spotlight: Professor Phil Renforth 🌍

Meet Prof. Phil Renforth, our new Chair in Earth Sciences!👋

Phil’s research focuses on geochemical carbon dioxide removal — exploring how natural reactions between CO₂ and rocks, minerals and industrial materials can help remove carbon from the atmosphere and lock it away. 🌱🪨

Find out more about Phil, his research and his ambitions at St Andrews 👇
🔗 Read the Research Spotlight https://intheloop.newsweaver.com/intheloop/pmelbaty7vh167xqexq84d?email=true&lang=en&a=2&p=4647301&t=1306346

04/09/2026

Good luck to SEES alumnus and former School President Andrew setting off on this incredible 35,000 km cycling expedition around the Pacific Ring of Fire with fellow St Andrews student Katie! 🌍🚲

A fantastic adventure exploring the connections between nature, mental health and natural hazards. Wishing them both the very best of luck — we’ll be following their journey! 🌋👏

28/08/2026

💙🌍 A lovely feature on St Andrews alumni Patrick and Anne Foster, who have generously supported Earth Sciences for many years!

From supporting fieldwork 🥾⛰️ to enhancing our teaching 🔬, their generosity has made a real difference to generations of our students.

A huge thank you to Patrick and Anne! 👏💙

Read more about their St Andrews story and why they give 👇
https://alumni.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/2026/07/28/why-we-give-patrick-and-anne-foster/

24/08/2026

🌋🎙️ Missed it at the weekend? You can still catch up!

Our very own Dr Will Hutchison features on BBC Radio 4’s Rare Earth, talking all things volcanoes 🌋 — including some of the fantastic research happening here at St Andrews.

An eclectic mix of volcanoes from scientific, artistic and environmental perspectives 🧑‍🔬🎨🌍

🎧 Listen now on BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0030cgv

Enjoy! 🌋🔥

Helen Czerski and Tom Heap investigate the environmental impact of volcanoes.

29/07/2026

Our 2026 Geology Field Camp in Scotland wrapped up a few weeks ago! Here are some of our favourite moments from across the field camp. A huge thank you to all of our staff and students for making it such a fun and memorable five weeks! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🌍

Keep an eye out for details of our 2027 Field Camp coming soon!

15/07/2026

🎉 Fantastic news from SEES! 🎉

A huge congratulations to our colleagues on their well-deserved promotions in the 2026 promotion round! 👏

🎓 Eva – Professor
🎓 Sami – Professor
📚 Nick – Reader
🔬 Tim – Senior Research Fellow

A fantastic achievement—well done to you all! 🌟🥳

13/07/2026

🚀✨ Tune in to BBC Four’s The Sky at Night tonight! 🌌

We're excited to see Dr Claire Cousins talking about how the rocks at North Berwick 🪨 are helping scientists search for signs of life on Mars! 🔴🧬

The programme also features SEES alumnus Dr Mark Fox-Powell, who'll be sharing his fascinating research on icy moons at The Open University.🧊🌕

Don't miss this brilliant showcase of planetary science! 📺🔭