Over the course of the past century and a half, physics, chemistry, and mathematics have evolved into interdependent but separate intellectual disciplines. This development is reflected in the departmental structure of the School of Physical Sciences. In the same period, these fundamental disciplines have moved into domains of abstraction unimagined by early scientists.

This trend to abstraction with its concomitant increase in understanding of the physical universe provides the major challenge to the student of the physical sciences. Mathematics, physics, and chemistry, while providing the foundation of the technology that dominates contemporary civilization, underlie to an ever-increasing extent the new developments in the biological and social sciences. Earth system science is grounded in the traditional physical sciences while breaking new paths in the quantitative study of changes in the global environment.

The Gulf Oil Spill. Global Climate Change. Drought and Water Supply. Each of these topics illustrates the need for students to understand many dimensions of earth and environmental issues, including natural science, policy, and social science. In the Fall, 2011 quarter, ESS will welcome the first incoming freshman in the Earth and Environmental Studies program. This Bachelor of Arts program provides students with a foundation in earth system science, along with other disciplines in the natural and social sciences to make a real difference in society.