Robert Mitchell

Robert John Mitchell is a geologist who holds the Digges Distinguished Professorship in engineering geology at Western Washington University. From 2002 to 2018, he was a Washington Licensed Hydrogeologist (L.HG.).

Mitchell received a B.S. in geology (Math minor) from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls in 1983, and an M.S. in geophysics from Michigan Technological University in 1986, followed by an M.S., in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1990. He received his Ph.D. in environmental engineering from Michigan Technological University in 1996.

Mitchell holds the Robert H. and Kathleen Digges Distinguished Professorship in the Geology Department at Western Washington University. His research is largely on the effects of geologic events and climate change on hillslope processes, including landslides.

Mitchell served on the Washington Geologist Licensing Board in 2014, and also served as the chair of the Environmental & Engineering Geology Division of the Geological Society of America (2020–21).

Mitchell was a 2019 inductee into the UMD Swenson College Academy of Science & Engineering. In 2022, he won an EEGD Meritorious Service Award from the Geological Society of America.