What is distinctive about our Geosciences Department compared to many around the country is that we span the social and physical dimensions of environmental and resource issues, particularly in the urban context, and we conduct research and offer undergraduate and graduate degrees that reflect this important socio-physical approach. We have expertise in the social and environmental dimensions of water, environmental geochemistry and global climate change. We are also expanding our Geographic Information Science research and teaching to better represent and describe the complexity of social and environmental concerns.