Former names | Amalgamation of the Department of Geology, Department of Geodesy and Geophysics and the Department of Mineralogy and Petrology |
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Established | c. 1731 |
Head of Department | Marie Edmonds (2024- |
Location | Cambridge , United Kingdom 52°12′11″N 0°7′20″E / 52.20306°N 0.12222°E |
Website | www |
The Department of Earth Sciences at Cambridge is the University of Cambridge's Earth Sciences department. First formed around 1731, the department incorporates the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences.[1]
The department's history can be traced back to 1731 when the 1st Woodwardian Professor of Geology was appointed, in accordance with the bequest of John Woodward. The present Department of Earth Sciences was formed by an amalgamation of the Department of Geology, Department of Geodesy and Geophysics and the Department of Mineralogy and Petrology in 1980. When the three departments were amalgamated the Chair of Geophysics and Chair of Mineralogy and Petrology, along with the Woodwardian Professorship, were assigned to the newly formed Department of Earth Sciences.
The main location of the department is at the Downing Site, Downing St. The Bullard Laboratories, located in West Cambridge on Madingley Rd is a satellite department of the main building. The department incorporates the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences[2] and the Godwin Laboratory.
The department is the home of the Sedgwick Club, which was founded in memory of Adam Sedgwick in 1880, and is the oldest student run geological society in the world.[3]