Introducing New EAS Faculty
Will Stuble, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Geomorphology and Surface Processes
Dr. Struble is a hillslope and tectonic geomorphologist who studies how landscapes evolve in response to tectonic, climatic, seismic, and anthropogenic perturbations. His research spans a range of temporal and spatial scales, addressing socially relevant questions such as earthquake and landslide hazards, as well as deep-time processes that shape long-term landscape evolution. His approach integrates topographic analysis, remote sensing, field observations, and numerical modeling.
Dr. Struble’s work explores key geomorphic questions about how surface processes of varying magnitudes and timescales interact to shape landscapes. Some of his current research highlights include:
- How do the resonant properties of trees and forests impact hillslope stability during large earthquakes?
- How are climate and tectonics encoded into landscape morphology over millennial timescales, and can shorter timescale processes — including coseismic subsidence during megathrust earthquakes — be extracted from topographic form as well?
- How does organic carbon move and become stored in steep landscapes, and what topographic signatures serve as reliable carbon-stock proxies?
While much of his work has focused on the Pacific Northwest, the process-based questions he addresses are broadly applicable to other rapidly evolving landscapes. During his postdoctoral research at the University of Arizona, Dr. Struble also studied landscapes in southern California.
In his free time, he loves spending time outdoors hiking, trail running, and cycling (and often trying to convince others to join him), and he is super excited to spend time discovering the coffee, food, and beer scene in Houston!