A History of the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences
Formally established in 1981, the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences was one of the first multi-discipline departments of its kind in the nation. Learn more about the department's nearly 50-year history in this summary by professor emeritus Dave DeMaster.
The following was written by professor emeritus Dave DeMaster.
Early days
In 1960, the School of Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics was formed with Arthur “Buck” Menius, a physicist, as dean. The Department of Geosciences was established in 1967, originating from the Department of Geological Engineering. When the Department of Geosciences was formed, the scope of the department was expanded to include geology, atmospheric sciences, geophysical fluid dynamics, and physical oceanography. Undergraduate degrees and master’s degrees were offered in geology, atmospheric sciences, and marine science.
In 1969, the School of Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics evolved into the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (PAMS). By the mid-1970s, Jay Leith was the head of the Department of Geosciences.
In 1977, the physical oceanographers in the Department of Geosciences moved to the Center for Marine Science and Coastal Studies, joining a marine biologist and several coastal engineers. As a result of the physical oceanographer transfer, the Department of Geosciences added several positions in hard-rock geology, geochemistry, boundary layer fluid dynamics, air quality, climatology/forecasting, and also a state climatologist position (housed in the School of PAMS), which was transferred from the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. Jerry Davis was the first state climatologist at NC State.
In 1978, the Center for Marine Science and Coastal Studies evolved into the Department of Marine Science and Engineering, which was overseen by the deans of the School of PAMS and the School of Engineering. The Department of Marine Science and Engineering offered master’s and Ph.D. degrees, but no undergraduate degrees. With the formation of this department, the marine science faculty expanded into chemical oceanography, geological oceanography, and biological oceanography.
A period of growth
In 1981, the Department of Marine Science and Engineering, headed by Jay Langfelder, and the Department of Geosciences, headed by Jay Leith, merged to form the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences (MEAS), which was one of the first multi-discipline departments of its kind in the nation. The merger enabled the marine science program to offer undergraduate degrees and enabled the atmospheric sciences and earth sciences programs to offer Ph.D. degrees. Jay Langfelder was the first head of the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences.
In 1981, Garrett Briggs, a geologist, became dean of the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, which oversaw the departments of Chemistry, MEAS, Mathematics, Physics, and Statistics. Over the next ten years, the MEAS department added tenure-track positions in:
- marine meteorology,
- marine geochemistry,
- physical oceanography,
- biological oceanography,
- geophysics,
- sedimentology,
- tectonics,
- atmospheric chemistry,
- climatology, and
- a specialist studying climate research as it pertained to economic development.
During this era of growth, the MEAS department head changed from Jay Langfelder (1981-1985) to geologist Henry Brown (1986-1989), with Pal Arya serving as interim department head from 1982-1983. Len Pietrafesa, a physical oceanographer, then served as department head from 1989-1999.
The Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences was always acknowledged as one of the strongest research departments in the College and University. To help with these research efforts, several research faculty (non-tenure track) were hired over the years, covering all three disciplines (i.e., oceanography, geology, and atmospheric sciences). The MEAS department was housed in Withers Hall on the NCSU campus since its creation, but in 1989, the department moved into Jordan Hall (The Natural Resources Research Center), which also housed the Natural Resources Library on campus.
In 1988, Garrett Briggs retired from the recently-formed College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (no longer the School of PAMS). Les Sims served as interim dean for a year until Jerry Whitten, a chemist, assumed leadership of the College in 1989. Whitten served through the year 2000, and then Daniel Solomon, a statistician, became dean from 2000 to 2015. In 2013, the College of PAMS became the College of Sciences, with essentially the same departmental makeup with the addition of the Biological Sciences Department.
During the 1990s, the MEAS department added tenure-track faculty in marine meteorology, marine biology, coastal sediment transport, hydrology, and synoptic meteorology. These were not all new positions, as several faculty over the previous two decades had chosen to leave the University.
In the mid-1990s, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) and North Carolina State University entered into a joint Ph.D. program in marine science, in which students from UNCW could get their Ph.D. in marine science by working with co-advisers at NCSU and UNCW.
In 1994, the National Weather Service moved into the Research III Building on Centennial Campus, which improved communication between the MEAS department and the federal agency. As part of this effort to improve communication, the State Climate Office was moved to the Research III Building as well. Much of the MEAS computing equipment, plus several faculty offices and labs, also were moved to Research III because of limited space on main campus.
Dick Patty, former chair of the Department of Physics, was the head of MEAS from 1999 to 2002. He was followed by John Fountain, a geologist, who served from 2002 to 2011. During this time, the department hired faculty in:
- marine sedimentation,
- vertebrate paleontology (2),
- geospatial analytics,
- geophysics,
- weather/climatology,
- dynamic meteorology,
- atmospheric dynamics,
- atmospheric physics and chemistry,
- air-sea interaction,
- science education,
- organic geochemistry,
- geomorphology,
- aerosol research, and
- atmospheric dynamics/climate change.
These were all tenure-track positions, but some positions replaced faculty who had left the department. In 2008, many MEAS faculty moved into the Jordan Hall Addition, which provided faculty offices and research and teaching labs, as well as large classrooms. This facility is shared with the College of Natural Resources.
In 2015, Daniel Solomon retired as dean of the College of Sciences and William Ditto took over until 2017. Chris McGahan, who came from the College of Veterinary Medicine, became dean in 2017 and served until 2022, when John Blondin (Physics) became interim dean for a year. In 2023, Lewis Owen, a geologist and former MEAS department head, became dean of the College of Sciences and is currently serving in that capacity.
In the department of MEAS, John Fountain retired from the head position in 2011, and then Walt Robinson, an atmospheric scientist, became MEAS head from 2011 to 2016. Subsequently, Jay Levine from the College of Veterinary Medicine served as Department Head from 2016 until 2019, when Lewis Owen, a geologist, took over and served four years (2019-2023). When Lewis Owen became dean of the College of Sciences in 2023, Gary Lackmann, an atmospheric scientist, became interim MEAS department head and now is the permanent department head (2024-2025).
Present day
Tenured-faculty hires between 2011 and the present in MEAS included a micro/macro plankton specialist, a physical oceanographer, a climate paleontologist, a climate scientist, a volcanologist, a tectonics expert, a marine chemist, a micro-meteorologist, an atmospheric chemist, an Earth-system modeler, and a marine ecologist.
In order to continue excellence in research and lighten teaching loads for tenure-track faculty, five lecturers have been hired in MEAS during the last eight years, and all five are still teaching courses. At the time of this summary (March of 2025), the MEAS department has 28 tenure-track faculty, five professional-track faculty, one lecturer and 12 research faculty. As of Fall 2024, the total number of graduate students in the program is 102. At present, one of the department’s former Ph.D. students, atmospheric scientist Neil Jacobs, has recently been appointed by the President of the United States to be the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Jacobs received his master’s degree and Ph.D. degree (2005) from the Department of MEAS.
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Resources Useful in Developing the History of the Department of MEAS:
- https://historicalstate.lib.ncsu.edu/timelines/department-of-marine-earth-atmospheric-sciences#d1970
- https://historicalstate.lib.ncsu.edu/timelines/college-of-physical-and-mathematical-sciences
- Memory, Jasper. History of the College of PAMS: 1960-1999. DH Hill Library (NCSU) Call #: LD3928.M45 1999.
- Parker, John. Geology at North Carolina State University: A History. (1979)
- Janowitz, Jerry. Recollections of the Dept. of MEAS. Given to Gary Lackmann June 27, 2011.
