EPS Special Seminar: Geoff Plumlee, USGS

Transdisciplinary Earth System Science Is Vital for a Secure Future

The complex challenges facing our nation and world cannot be solved by the tools of any single field — they require transdisciplinary science. As the retired USGS Chief Scientist, I’ll share compelling examples from colleagues and my own career that integrate a broad range of disciplines, including engineering and the natural, social, and health sciences. I’ll also highlight emerging challenges where transdisciplinary earth system science is urgently needed to inform public policy. A recurring theme will be how the earth sciences serve as a perhaps surprising foundation for addressing challenges well beyond their traditional boundaries.

Geoff Plumlee received his PhD in geochemistry from Harvard in 1989 and spent the next 42 years at the USGS, retiring in late 2024 as Chief Scientist. His research career centered on environmental geochemistry and what he calls “solution science” — transdisciplinary work linking earth, health, social, and engineering sciences to problems that matter beyond the discipline. Early on, he developed geoenvironmental models of mineral deposits to better anticipate the environmental consequences of resource extraction. He later led USGS science responses to some of the most consequential environmental health events of the past two decades, including the World Trade Center collapse, major hurricanes, wildfires, and mine tailings spills. As Chief Scientist and previously as Associate Director for Environmental Health, he shaped the strategic direction of an agency with hundreds of research scientists. He is the author of more than 140 papers. 

Geoff received his PhD in geochemistry from Harvard in 1989.