Meet the Department Head

Eric Kirby is the department head in Geosciences, effective July 1, 2025.  Most recently, Eric was professor of geological sciences at the University of North Carolina.  He started his academic career at Penn State in 2002 as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 2008. In 2013, he joined the faculty at Oregon State University.

His research focuses on understand the interplay between climate, erosion, and tectonics during the growth and decay of mountain ranges. Research includes assessing dynamics of slip along active fault systems; evaluating mountain building along convergent margins and strain accumulation along megathrust plate boundaries, characterizing landscape response to spatial and temporal variations in rock uplift; evaluating surface deformation and uplift in response to mantle flow; reconstructing uplift and erosion of the Tibetan Plateau; and assessing the interplay among hydrology, soil erosion, rock fracture, and landscape evolution.

Kirby earned his B.A. in geology from Hamilton College, his M.S. in geology from the University of New Mexico, and his Ph.D. in geology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology..