Nick Zentner


Nick Zentner is a geology professor at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington. Outside of his work with the university, he is known for his online videos covering the geology of the Northwestern United States and his series Nick on the Rocks.

Life and career

Nick Zentner was born in 1962 in the state of Wisconsin. He is the maternal grandson of inaugural Chicago Cardinals guard Clyde Zoia. Inspired during a 1983 trip to the Pacific Northwest on break from college, Zentner decided to study geology to find out more about the dynamic geology of the region. Zentner earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1986. Next, he earned his Master of Science in 1989 from Idaho State University. He then moved to Oxford, Ohio, where he taught geology at the Miami University from 1989 to 1992. After that, Zentner took on his current position teaching geology at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington.
He is known for his work in making online videos and public lectures covering the geology of the Northwestern United States. Starting in the mid-2000s, he gave lectures to the public about local geology topics, such as one on the Columbia River Basalt Group. These led to the production of a series of shorts he made called Two Minute Geology. He then produced the series Nick on the Rocks that is aired on KCTS-TV to the Seattle metropolitan area.
During the COVID-19 pandemic Zentner created live streaming lectures on various geology topics in a series called Nick From Home. In the Nick From Home series he focused on trying to provide an educational environment for children who might be out of school and to viewers from around the world.
Zentner is a practicing Catholic and is married to a high school science teacher at Ellensburg High School, together they have had three children.

Honors and awards

In 2015, he won the James Shea Award presented by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers for his work in presenting the geology of the Pacific Northwest to a broad audience.

Publications