Rate My Professor Steven Lundblad

Steven Lundblad is Professor and Chair of Geology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. He holds a B.A. in Geological Sciences from Harvard University (1985), an M.S. in Geological Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1988), where his thesis involved mapping sedimentary rocks near Glacier National Park, and a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1994), with a dissertation on the isotopic geochemistry of limestones in Central Italy examining sedimentation and faulting relationships. Lundblad joined UH Hilo in 2003 in a temporary position and was appointed Assistant Professor in 2007, advancing to his current role. Initially focused on sedimentary geology, he shifted to volcanic geochemistry upon arriving in Hawaiʻi, leveraging the region's active volcanism for research and teaching.

A geochemist, Lundblad directs non-destructive analyses using Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) at the UH Hilo Geoarchaeology Laboratory, co-operated with anthropologist Peter Mills for nearly two decades. His research traces prehistoric exchange networks through geochemical sourcing of Hawaiian stone tools, especially from the Maunakea adze quarry complex, the largest known prehistoric quarry in the Pacific Basin, and monitors active lava flows on Hawaiʻi Island. During the 2018 Kīlauea lower east rift zone eruption, he co-led real-time geochemical sampling and analysis, identifying interactions between stored and intruding magmas, the first andesite lavas from Kīlauea, and enabling rapid hazard assessments; this work was published as 'The tangled tale of Kīlauea’s 2018 eruption as told by geochemical monitoring' in Science (2019). Other key publications include 'Science and Sensitivity: A Geochemical Characterization of the Mauna Kea Adze Quarry Complex, Hawaiʻi Island, Hawaiʻi' (American Antiquity, 2017), 'Trace element and Pb isotope analyses highlight decentralized inter-island exchange in American Sāmoa (Polynesia)' (Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2022), and 'The patterning of volcanic glass transfer across eastern Oʻahu Island, Hawaiʻi' (Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2023). Lundblad received the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents Award for Excellence in Teaching (2018) and the Koichi and Taniyo Taniguchi Award for Excellence and Innovation (2019, shared with Cheryl Gansecki). He mentors undergraduates and graduates, fostering co-authorships, conference presentations, and advancements in geoarchaeology and volcanic monitoring.