The Wheaton College Dept. of Geology and Environmental Science has over the last several years taken on certain characteristics of a "globalized" program. Of course, the name, geology refers to study of the earth without geographic exception. Many academic geology programs in the USA do tend to focus on our own nation. However, in spite of long-utilized field education venues in regions surrounding Illinois and in the Black Hills of South Dakota, research and service among department faculty and students at Wheaton are now international.

Locations of recent, current and anticipated faculty projects include the following.

• Water-resource exploration and well drilling: Tanzania, Chad, and Nigeria (J. Clark)
• Geological investigations in conjunction with archeological research: northern Sinai, Egypt and Askelon, Israel (S. Moshier)
• Integrated sanitation and waste-water abatement: Eastern Cape Province, RSA; Land-use and water supply analysis, and geological mapping in mineral district, northern Tanzania; Community development planning, sanitation, alternate energy, stream restoration, and geological resource inventory, Kosovo (J. Greenberg)
• Geophysical surveying and mapping of geological structures as support for groundwater exploration and well drilling, La Gonave and other areas of Haiti (J. Clark and J. Greenberg)
• Invention and field testing of low-cost geophysical instruments for the exploration of groundwater by global NGOs (J. Clark)
• Geological mapping and exploration for local building materials, Rwanda (J. Greenberg)

Note that the above efforts represent both basic and applied research. In most cases, the studies have been and will be conducted with faculty and Geology majors as junior research associates. In all cases, the projects are conducted in partnership cooperation with other academic groups (local and otherwise), NGOs and local community members.