Office Hours
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
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, 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.
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
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
Course Information
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)