Geosciences Professor Derek Schutt focuses his work on geophysics and seismology, mainly examining the temperature of the Earth’s plates to understand the forces that create mountains and the strengths that resist deformation.

Schutt has spent a great deal of his time exploring the western U.S. and Canada’s tectonics, paying close attention to hotspots, plumes and disturbances, with acute focus on the Yellowstone hotspot. Most recently, he’s been working to understand the formation of Canada’s Mackenzie Mountains.

Schutt earned his B.S. in mathematics and his Ph.D. in geological sciences at the University of Oregon, as well as a B.A. in physics from Kalamazoo College.