Rate My Professor Liz Safran

Elizabeth Safran, known as Liz Safran, is an Associate Professor of Geological Science at Lewis & Clark College, where she has been a faculty member since 2000. She also directs the Earth System Science Minor and has previously served as Director of Environmental Studies. A trained geomorphologist, Safran investigates the processes that sculpt Earth’s surface, including landslides, floods, and river incision into bedrock. Her research projects have examined bedrock river erosion in varied landscapes, such as the Bolivian Andes, the Laramide region of the continental U.S., the uplifted volcanic plateaus of eastern Oregon’s high desert, and streams in New York’s Finger Lakes region that formed gorges and waterfalls following deglaciation around 14,000 years ago. Safran earned her PhD in 1998 from the University of California, Santa Barbara, her MS in 1993 from the University of Washington, and her BA in 1989 from Harvard University. Her graduate and postdoctoral training occurred on the West Coast, including at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

In recent years, Safran’s work has increasingly addressed natural disasters, with a particular emphasis on earthquakes and the anticipated Cascadia subduction zone event threatening the Pacific Northwest. She collaborates with colleagues in psychology, computer science, and media studies to explore factors motivating young adults to prepare for such disasters. This interdisciplinary effort has produced initiatives like a video game designed to enhance earthquake readiness, supported by grants exceeding half a million dollars. Safran was named Lewis & Clark Teacher of the Year in 2017 by students in the College of Arts and Sciences. She serves as a faculty representative for the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation scholarships and engages in public outreach through lectures on geological hazards, including presentations on Cascadia risks and explorations of Iceland’s natural wonders. Key publications include Safran et al. (2005), 'Erosion rates driven by channel network incision in the Bolivian Andes,' Earth Surface Processes and Landforms; and Riihimaki et al. (2006), 'Longevity and progressive abandonment of the Rocky Flats surface, Front Range, Colorado,' Geomorphology.