Dr. Brandon Karchewski
Positions
Associate Head (Undergraduate)
Faculty of Science, Department of Earth, Energy, and Environment
Associate Professor (Teaching)
Faculty of Science, Department of Earth, Energy, and Environment
Contact information
Phone number
Office: 403.220.6678
Location
Office: ES108
Background
Educational Background
Doctor of Philosophy Civil Engineering, McMaster University, 2015
Bachelor of Engineering and Management Civil Engineering and Management, McMaster University, 2011
Biography
Dr. Brandon Karchewski is an Associate Professor (Teaching) and Associate Head (Undergraduate) in the Department of Earth, Energy, and Environment at the University of Calgary. His work focusses on advancing undergraduate education through curriculum development, work-integrated and experiential learning, and evidence-based teaching practices in quantitative geoscience disciplines.
Dr. Karchewski has over 15 years of post-secondary teaching experience. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in geophysics, computational methods, engineering geology, and field-based education, integrating applied mathematics, physics, and programming. His teaching emphasizes active and team-based learning, communication, and applied problem-solving, with consistently strong student engagement.
As Associate Head (Undergraduate), he leads undergraduate program strategy, curriculum governance, and student academic experience across geoscience programs. His work includes curriculum review and renewal, learning outcomes alignment, and initiatives that support student success. He is particularly interested in scalable models of work-integrated learning (WIL) that connect academic programs with industry and applied contexts.
Dr. Karchewski is active in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), with research on active learning, team-based learning, and virtual and field-based experiential education. His work includes contributions to geoscience education research on virtual field experiences.
Courses
| Course number | Course title | Semester |
|---|---|---|
| ERTH 390 | Geoscience Field School | Spring/Summer 2026 |
| GOPH 547 | Global and Mineral Exploration Applications of Geophysics | Winter 2026 |
| GLGY 571 | Engineering Geology | Fall 2025 |
| GOPH 419 | Computational Methods for Geophysicists | Fall 2025 |
Awards
- Teaching Excellence Award (Nominee) (2019, 2022, 2023), University of Calgary Students' Union. 2023
- Geoscience Teaching Award, Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary. 2019
- Team Teaching Award of Excellence, Faculty of Science, University of Calgary. 2016
- Governor General’s Gold Medal for Doctoral Thesis (Nominee), McMaster University. 2015
- Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, McMaster Engineering Society. 2013
Publications
- Virtual field experiences in introductory geology: Addressing a capacity problem, but finding a pedagogical one. G. Dolphin, A. Dutchak, B. Karchewski, J. Cooper. Journal of Geoscience Education, 67(2). 114-130. (2019)
- Initialization of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical models of permafrost terrain using the frozen-ground-fem package. A. Pekinasova, J. Hayley, B. Karchewski. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 242. (2026)
- Frozen-ground-fem: A practical and open Python 3 package for thermo-hydro-mechanical coupled modelling of soils in cold regions. A. Pekinasova, J. Hayley, B. Karchewski. SoftwareX, 31. (2025)
- Mathematical and numerical modelling of copper transport in yeast. A. Wilkins, M. L. Sosa Ponce, V. Zaremberg, M. Wieser, B. Karchewski. Journal of Physics Communications, 6(5). (2022)
- Investigation of hybrid polygonal finite element formulation for confined and unconfined seepage. B. Karchewski, A. Pekinasova, D. Stolle, P. Guo. International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, 40(12). 1643-1661. (2016)
- Green Guide #15: Place-Based Education: An Inter- and Multi-Disciplinary Approach. B. Karchewski, D. Bateman, R. Moore (Eds.). Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE). (2017)
- Metaphor in Geoscience: Categorizing Direct, Indirect, and Implied Metaphors to Understand Teaching and Learning. G. Dolphin, J.C. Droboth, B. Karchewski, C. Moldo-veanu Constanti-nescu, B. Sasko. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 53(6). (2021)
- Metaphor in Geoscience: How Does the Use of Conceptual Metaphor Affect Communication Between Experts and Novices?. B. Karchewski, G. Dolphin, C. Moldo-veanu Constanti-nescu, J.C. Droboth, B. Sasko. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. (2021)
- Use of active team-based learning in the geophysics classroom: A case study. B. Karchewski. GAC-MAC 2016: Margins Through Time. (2016)
- Geophysics field school: A team-based learning experience for students and faculty. B. Karchewski, K. Innanen, R. Lauer, A. Pidlisecky. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. (2016)
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