UTSA Endowed and Named Chairs and Professorships   Profiles   Amy Shelton and V.H. McNutt Distinguished Professorship in Geology
UTSA Endowed and Named Chairs and Professorships
Yongli Gao, Ph.D.
Amy Shelton and V.H. McNutt Distinguished Professorship in Geology
The Amy Shelton and V.H. McNutt Distinguished Professorship in Geology was established in 1999 by the V.H. McNutt Memorial Foundation. The Distinguished Professorship honors Amy Shelton and V.H. McNutt for their science leadership and entrepreneurial excellence. Vachel H. McNutt was a pioneer petroleum and mining geologist, and most famous for his discovery in 1925 of the first commercial potash deposits in this country. The primary purpose of this endowment is to support the study and research in hydrogeology.

Yongli Gao, Ph.D.

Amy Shelton and V.H. McNutt Distinguished Professorship in Geology

Associate Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences

Yongli Gao's research interest is in Karst hydrogeology and geomorphology; paleoclimate and environmental reconstration and fossil records; GIS and database management; sinkhole hazards and water resources; and basin-scale hydrologic simulations. His teaching interest is in Physical Geology, Geochemistry, GIS Applications, and Geomorphology.  

Gao is a faculty researcher with the UTSA Institute for Water Research, Sustainability and Policy, which brings together faculty from various disciplines across five colleges to collaborate in the areas of water quality, water quantity, flood control and water policy. He was also involved with the former Center for Water Research at UTSA, which was established as the Center for Groundwater Research and Technology in 1987 by a grant from the National Science Foundation. 

Gao earned his Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Minnesota. He taught at East Tennessee University before arriving at UTSA in 2012.