Prof. Timothy D. Bechtel, PhD, PG (he/him) 

HAC P-106 (ground floor, NE corner of building)

Contact: tbechtel@fandm.edu, 717-468-8556
SP2023 Office Hours: MW 10:00-noon, T 4:30-6:00 or by appointment

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, and Environmental Geology and Science Teaching at F&M, and formerly 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 member of international scientific collaborations that are funded by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Science for Peace and Security (NATO SPS) program, the US-Russia-Japan-EU International Science and Technology Center (ISTC), and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) to study novel technologies for humanitarian de-mining, remote detection of disaster victims buried beneath rubble, avalanches, etc., and non-destructive subsurface testing for historic and cultural preservation.  He is a founding principal (with his wife Felicia) of Enviroscan, Inc., a geophysical contracting firm.  He now lives with his wife and dog (and formerly three now-launched kids) on the Conestoga Formation (with no sinkholes…yet) in Lancaster.

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

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

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

Geophysical and remote sensing methods for karst hydrogeology

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

Archaeological geophysics

Non-destructive testing of artworks and historic architecture

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

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

Karst Hydrogeology 

Earth, Environment, and Humanity

Global De-Mining

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

Geophysics

Geocomputation

Groundwater

Climate Crisis, Human Health and Justice

Engineering Geology: Geotechnics

Engineering Geology: Rock Mechanics

Geoengineering

Unconventional Petroleum Geology

Environmental Impacts of War

Petroleum and the Future of Energy

Experiential Elementary Science Teaching (EEST)