Welcome to The University of Texas at Austin Geophysics program. Residing within the Department of Geological Sciences, our program is devoted to the advancement and promotion of geophysical techniques as they pertain to energy exploration, whole earth structure, tectonics, and environmental/engineering applications.

The program currently supports four full-time professors, with auxiliary support from research scientists at the Bureau of Economic Geology and The Institute for Geophysics. BS, MS, and PhD degrees are all offered. Students may pursue research and classroom experience in a wide range of fields--including gravity and magnetics; seismic imaging, migration, and interpretation; rock mechanics and petrophysics; whole earth structure and plate dynamics; and earthquake and engineering applications.

The Exploration Geophysics Program at the University of Texas at Austin was established in 1999, with the hiring of Dr. Robert Tatham as Shell Centennial Chair in Geophysics. The goal of this initiative is to enable academia and industry to collaborate in the field of exploration geophysics. The University of Texas Department of Geological Sciences (DGS) has long been a leader in exploration geophysics (Dr. Milo Backus preceded Dr. Tatham as Shell Centennial Chair in Geophysics) and is closely affiliated with the Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) and the Bureau for Economic Geology (BEG).

The UT-Austin Exploration and Development Geophysical Education and Research (EDGER) Forum is a critical element in the overall Exploration Geophysics program. The EDGER Forum is a collaborative effort between the University and the Petroleum Industry to support the education of graduate students in Exploration Geophysics. The Forum supports focused and directed research in the application of exploration geophysical technology to petroleum exploration, development and production challenges; and encourages industry input into the educational direction of students. Each winter, a technical forum provides the opportunity for graduate students, industry sponsors, faculty and researchers to share project results and new challenges.