Meet Ethan Penner | MS Geology & Geoscience/Geology Communicator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ethan Penner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ethan, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.
By the end of my time as a geoscience communicator, I want to look back and be able to say that I have inspired others. To follow in my footsteps, to surpass my accomplishments, or even just pursue a career or education in geosciences. I never imagined myself as someone who so many would look up to for guidance and support, so hearing that the educational and entertaining content I create helps people with their studies and also their well-being makes it worth all of my long nights and early mornings. I also want to be known as someone who gave everything they had to their field, an expert in geology who chose to spread knowledge and encourage others rather than keep it to themself. But educating others about geology is not as far as I want to go; I pursued a higher level of education so that I may research or work towards bettering the planet and learning more about its geology. By the end of that career, I want to be in a position where I can do really great things for geology; make advances past current knowledge, help to mitigate damage during natural disasters, or even go where no geologist has gone before. But I’m young, I have all the time in the world, and I’m just getting started.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I attended Binghamton University to pursue an education in geology and most recently I achieved my MS in the spring of 2022. But during my senior year, which was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was looking for a way to stay busy. TikTok was increasing in popularity and I thought using my knowledge of geology could make for an entertaining social media series. Little did I know that shortly after I began “What’s Inside That Rock?” my page would explode due to widespread popularity. But I didn’t reach 1.9 million followers and counting across TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube overnight. I took breaks and thought it all over repeatedly since I wasn’t in school for geoscience communication. But eventually I started making videos much more often, and after almost two years I am the most followed geology-specific personality on social media platforms as a whole. Many people on social media will find fossils or talk about panning for gold, but not enough people focus on helping others to understand Earth’s many geologic processes, such as how mountains form or why one mineral is different from another. I’m most proud of how I’ve impacted the lives of others and inspired them to not only pursue geology as an education, but to also look at geology as more than just looking at rocks all day. Reaching this point was not easy, despite loving social media at a younger age. Many people think that all it takes is posting a funny video to go viral, but it often takes twenty videos to see results. Not every rock I break open is spectacular, and I don’t know every mineral in the world. But that uncertainty is what makes my content special. I want people to know that you don’t have to be a geologist to do what I do; go out, explore, and find cool crystals and fossils.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m not one to plan a city-based trip, as I’m more into the outdoors and hiking. But I’d like to mix some socializing and dining out in between camping and rockhounding. I’m based outside of NYC, so I’d make sure we toured all of the best regional mines and coolest rock exposures. During the nights, we’d find a campground in one of the several parks nearby to recover from long days of exploring. But we can’t forget about the sights and sounds of the local towns. There’s a restaurant in Cold Spring called Riverview that I always went to with my family when I was younger and it has a spectacular view of the Hudson River. Speaking of Cold Spring, there are many well-known trails for hiking that are beautiful, including Breakneck Ridge, Bull Hill, Anthony’s Nose, and more! But as a geologist, a visit to downstate NY would be incomplete without taking a day trip to NYC to visit the American Museum of Natural History. I love every part of the museum, but my favorite exhibits are those of the many dinosaur fossils and beautiful rocks and minerals. Going into NYC would allow for some great dining and night life at bars and restaurants, as well as a visit to Central Park.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I wouldn’t be where I am today, regardless of my profession, without the love and support of my family. My mom, dad sister, and extended family have all raised and guided me, and my accomplishments are a testament to everything they’ve provided. My friends have been alongside me in school, sports, and throughout life’s many curveballs, and they’ve been nothing short of amazing. I’ve met countless incredible people during my career, and their spirits are what drive me to create better content and aim for success. I would also like to thank those that ignited my passion for geology and Binghamton University’s Department of Geological Sciences for helping to carve that passion into a career. And finally, on a more casual note, I’d like to recognize James Hutton, considered to be the founder of modern geology, for being one of the first people to look at rocks a little more closely. Without him, I wouldn’t be the Rock Man.

Website: https://linktr.ee/rockmanethan

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rockmanethan/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanmpenner/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rockman_ethan

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rockmanethan

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3O-YzgPIae6a1YIpxpfBUQ/featured

Other: My MS research is also available to read on ProQuest, as long as you are a student or employee of a university or an organization with access to the online database.

Image Credits
Madrid Scientific Films and Triana Sci & Tech (Image 7, giant crystals)