Tim Bechtel Director of F&M Science Outreach & Senior Teaching Professor of Geosciences

Biography

Tim grew up on the Rockdale Run Formation, with a sinkhole in the backyard of his home (which may account for his continued interest in karst).  He has taught Geophysics, Karst Hydrogeology, Geocomputation, Engineering Geology, Petroleum Geology, Environmental Geology, and Elementary Science Teaching at F&M, and formerly at the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University.  Tim is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Sensing and Imaging, and Hydrogeology Journal, and a member of the Karst Commission of the International Association of Hydrogeologists.  He is also a Principle Investigator for international scientific collaborations that are funded by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Science for Peace and Security (NATO SPS) program, and the US-Japan-EU International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) to study novel technologies for humanitarian de-mining. He has also worked on technologies for remote detection of disaster victims buried beneath rubble, avalanches, etc., and non-destructive subsurface testing for historic and cultural preservation.  He was a founding principal (with his wife Felicia) of Enviroscan, Inc., a geophysical contracting firm.  He now lives with his wife and dog (and formerly with three now-launched kids) on the Conestoga Formation (with no sinkholes…yet) in Lancaster.

Education

Ph.D., Geophysics, 1989, Brown University, RI

M.Sc., Rock Mechanics, 1984, Brown University, RI

B.Sc., Geology, 1982, Haverford College, PA

Research

Geophysical and remote sensing methods for karst hydrogeology

Landmine, UXO, IED and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) detection and discrimination

Archaeological geophysics

Marine Archaeology of the Swahili Coast

Non-destructive testing of artworks and historic architecture

Land instability (subsidence, landslide, rock fall, etc.)

Grants & Awards

NATO SfPS Programme Grant 2020-2023

G5731 “Multisensor Cooperative Robots for Explosive Threat Detection”

NATO SfPS Programme Grant 2015-2018

G5014 “Holographic and Impulse Subsurface Radar for Landmine and IED Detection”

F&M Faculty Hackman Grant 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020

NATO SfPS Development Grant 2013-2014

Engineering UK Grant 2011

Royal Society of London Grant 2009-2010

NATO Collaborative Linkage Grant 2006-2009

ISTC Grant 2005-2008

ISTC Grant 2002-2005

Courses

Geophysics

Karst Hydrogeology

Groundwater Resources

Earth, Environment, and Humanity

Global De-Mining

Weapons of War: The Morality of Banned and Un-banned Weapons

Environmental Impacts of War

Geocomputation

Climate Crisis, Human Health and Justice; a Data Science Perspective

Engineering Geology; Geotechnics

Engineering Geology; Rock Mechanics

Engineering the Earth; Human Megaprojects

Geoengineering

Unconventional Petroleum Geology

Petroleum and the Future of Energy

Experiential Elementary Science Teaching (EEST)