Department of Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences

The Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences is proud to welcome Professor Meredith Hastings, the George Ide Chase Professor of Physical Sciences, as the new Department Chair. Hastings has been a member of the Brown faculty since 2008 and steps into this new role as the first woman to chair the department.

Rhode Island Superior Court Associate Justice Brian Stern has issued a temporary restraining order after a fire at Rhode Island Recycled Metals LLC. The fire released smoke and potentially harmful chemicals detected throughout the city and into Pawtucket by Breathe Providence sensors, according to expert testimony from Meredith Hastings, DEEPS Chair and project lead for Breathe Providence.

Weeks after a massive fire at a metal recycling business on Allens Avenue in Providence sparked environmental concerns, the NBC 10 I-Team discovered dozens of complaints made against businesses on that same street. Professor Meredith Hastings spoke with investigators about Breathe Providence and her ongoing research on local air quality. “Our project is really dedicated to try and understand patterns of air pollution across the city,” Hastings said.

NBC 10's Mark Searles and Dan Jaehnig were joined by a panel of experts, including DEEPS Professor Meredith Hastings, to talk about climate change's impact in Rhode Island and possible solutions.