Dr. Jonathan Sleeper, Assistant Professor – Earth Science

My name is Dr. Jonathan Sleeper (he/him), you can call me Dr. Sleeper, Professor Sleeper, or just Professor, or even by my first name, Jon or Jonathan. I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and I’ve had a passion for the Earth and the Ocean from childhood. I started my formal education at San José State University, where I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Earth Science, and learned a lot about California geology. After that I worked as a staff geologist for a geotechnical consulting company in Los Gatos for three years, where I got a chance to work on landslide investigations and other projects all over California. In 2008, I changed gears to the ocean realm and moved to Hawai‘i, where I earned my Master’s and Ph.D. in marine geology and geophysics from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoā. As part of my graduate school research, I participated in four 30+ day marine research expeditions, mostly in the western Pacific Ocean near Fiji, Tonga, Sāmoa, and Guam, along with one expedition in the North Atlantic near Iceland. I also discovered my passion for teaching during my Ph.D. studies, which led me to a lecturer position at the University of Hawai‘i – West O‘ahu following graduate school, where I taught introductory oceanography for six and a half years. Finally, in summer 2023, I came back across the Pacific Ocean to Palomar College to join the Department of Earth, Space, and Environmental Science as an Assistant Professor of Earth Science, where I am helping to teach the oceanography courses. I am teaching Oceanography 100 lecture both in-person and online, as well as in-person Oceanography 100 laboratory. If you have any questions about my courses or about the Ocean or Earth in general, please feel free to send me an email.

 Dr. Jonathan D. Sleeper
Assistant Professor - Earth Science
Department of Earth, Space, and Environmental Sciences
Palomar College
Email: jsleeper@palomar.edu
Phone: 760-744-1150 x2547