Biography
Prof. Marshak was on the faculty in the Department of Geology for 35 years, and became emeritus in 2018. He served as Department Head of Geology for 8 years, and then as Director of the School of Earth, Society, and Environment for 10 years. In addition to research in structural geology and tectonics, he maintains a strong interest in geoscience education. He authors or co-authorrs college textbooks in introductory geology, Earth Science, and structural geology, most of which are published by W.W. Norton & Company. He also has developed a MOOC (massive open online course) offered through Coursera.
Textbooks: http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Author.aspx?id=11563
Research Interests
Prof. Marshak's research involves structural geology, tectonics, and field geology. He has been involved in research projects in the Midcontinent, the Appalachians, and southeastern Brazil, and studies a variety of issues including: the development of tectonic structures and unconformities in cratons; the development of tectonic foliations in rocks; the formation of fold-thrust belts; and crustal evolution during the Precambrian.
Education
- Ph.D. Columbia University (1983)
- M.S. University of Arizona (1979)
- A.B. Cornell University (1976)
Awards and Honors
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Teaching Award
University of Illinois Campus Undergraduate Teaching Award
Luckman award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching
Amoco Award for Innovation in Teaching
Neil Miner Award of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers
Stillwell Medal of the Australian Geological Society
Courses Taught
- GEOL 100: Planet Earth
- GEOL 411: Structural Geology and Tectonics
- GEOL 415/GEOL 515: Field Geology
- GEOL 512: Geotectonics
- ESE 199: Future of Earth's Resources
- GEOL 511: Advanced Structural Geology
Recent Publications
DeLucia, M. S., Murphy, B. S., Marshak, S., & Egbert, G. D. (2019). The Missouri High-Conductivity Belt, revealed by magnetotelluric imaging: Evidence of a trans-lithospheric shear zone beneath the Ozark Plateau, Midcontinent USA? Tectonophysics, 753, 111-123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2019.01.011
Marshak, S., Haq, S. S. B., & Sen, P. (2019). Ramp initiation in fold-thrust belts: Insight from PIV analysis of sandbox models. Journal of Structural Geology, 118, 308-323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2018.11.006
Barklage, M., Stein, S., Stein, C. A., Keller, G. R., Marshak, S., Hickman, J. B., Carpenter, N. S., Persaud, P., Hatcher, R. D., & Elling, R. P. (2018). BARSCOPE - EXTENDING EARTHSCOPE BETWEEN THE APPALACHIANS AND THE ROCKIES. Paper presented at Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, United States. https://doi.org/10.1130/abs/2018AM-320443
Chen, C., Gilbert, H., Fischer, K. M., Andronicos, C. L., Pavlis, G. L., Hamburger, M. W., Marshak, S., Larson, T. H., & Yang, X. (2018). Lithospheric discontinuities beneath the U.S. Midcontinent – signatures of Proterozoic terrane accretion and failed rifting. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 481, 223-235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2017.10.033
Cheng, G., Marshak, S., Monson, C. C., Sweet, D. E., Segvic, B., & Lundstrom, C. C. (2018). Mesoscopic and microscopic deformation in the Glasford meteorite impact structure, Illinois; impact fracking in carbonate bedrock. In Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America (Vol. 50). https://doi.org/10.1130/abs/2018AM-320099