Michael C. Rygel
Professor
I earned a B.S. in Geology from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in 2000 and a Ph.D. in Earth Science from Dalhousie University in 2005. From 2005-2006, I worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I arrived at SUNY Potsdam in August 2006, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012, and became Department Chair in 2014.
I regularly teach Physical Geology, Historical Geology, Sedimentary Geology, Geographic Information Systems, and a variety of other upper-level electives.
My research focuses on the sedimentology and stratigraphy of terrestrial and shallow marine clastic successions. My projects have largely focused on Late Paleozoic rocks in the Maritimes Basin (Atlantic Canada), Appalachian Basin (eastern USA), Anadarko Basin (Texas and Oklahoma), and numerous basins in eastern Australia. Most of the undergraduate research projects that I supervise have a field component where students measure and describe rocks in the field and a lab component where they examine samples under the microscope and/or send them in for geochemical analysis.
I worked as a consultant for Devon Energy from 2011-2013 and spend my summers (since 2011) co-teaching Indiana University's Field Geology in the Northern Rocky Mountains (G429). I also serve as the President of the New York State Council of Professional Geologists (2015-present) and as an Associate Editor for the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences and the Journal of Sedimentary Research.