The search for a molecular-scale understanding of chemical reactions and properties of nature underlies the research programs of the faculty.

Department faculty, researchers, and students pursue field and laboratory studies of geological and environmental problems.

The department's facilities include biogeochemistry, hydrogeology, isotope geochemistry, micropaleontology and stratigraphy, remote sensing/spatial analysis, river science, and sea ice studies.

It offers undergraduate and graduate students research opportunities in four principal areas: Aquatic Science, Conservation and Restoration Ecology, Natural Resources and Wildlife Management, as well as Plant Biology.

The department offers undergraduate and graduate students research opportunities in two principal areas: Cell and Molecular Biology and Neuroscience.

The department has active research in a variety of areas including Astrophysics and Cosmology; Biophysics; Computational Physics; Experimental and Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics; Materials Science; and Nanotechnology and Ultramicroscopy and collaborate with scientists from the Space Science and Engineering Division at Southwest Research Institute.

Allowing students to participate in the growth of their fields through research enables them to succeed both in academia as well as in the applied sciences.