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A Letter from the Department Chair
1999-2000 was a relatively spectacular year for the Department of Geography and Geology. We reached a peak of 184 majors during the past year. As a result of teaching excellence on the part of what has become a truly outstanding faculty, 50 students in our courses decided to major in geography and geology. In addition, 15 students declared minors in geography, geology and planning and four were added to the associate degree programs in meteorology and cartography. We now have nearly twice the number of majors as the University of Kentucky, the state's second largest program, and produced twice the number of graduates
Technology has increasingly become a part of the student learning process for virtually all of the courses offered by the Department. During the past year, the Department offered three web-based courses and major internet instructional components were added to seven others. Other courses require internet-based investigation with respect to special projects and the preparation of research papers.
State-of-the-art equipment and software, funded in large part by grants secured by the faculty, are employed in laboratory and field instruction. Most notable among these is a National Science Foundation grant which, for the 2000 fall semester, will transform the meteorology laboratory from lab manual-based to computer-based.
Probably the best indicator of the teaching and learning effectiveness of the Department's programs involved student research and publication activities. Twenty-nine students presented papers at regional, national and international professional meetings and ten published articles in professional journals. Both were all-time records for the Department.
Our Master's Degree program, which had been in a state of pronounced decline for the past three years, has been rejuvenated. Early in the fall of 1999, a proposal was submitted to change the name of the program from a Master's in Geography to a Master's in Geoscience so as to attract students with a Bachelor's Degree in Geology into the program. An analysis of graduate programs nationwide indicated that those universities offering an M.S. in Geoscience were flourishing. Our proposal was approved by the university in January of this year.
This, in conjunction with a major revision and re-design of our Graduate Program brochure by Dr David Keeling, has produced a remarkable turn-around. As of June 30th, fourteen new graduate students had been admitted into the Master's in Geoscience program, in contrast to only three who were admitted for the fall semester, 1999.
Another initiative which is nearing completion is a proposal for a Certificate program in Geographic Information Systems. As many of you know, the employment potential of geography and geology majors and geoscience graduate students will be considerably enhanced by possessing expertise in this highly sought-after skill.
In addition to their outstanding teaching contributions, the faculty were also highly productive with respect to research activities and the securing of external grants. Faculty members published 27 articles and book chapters, as well as 27 technical reports, four book reviews, and three professional editorials. Collectively, this represents by far the highest level of research productivity for the decade of the 1990s. In addition, faculty members presented 45 papers at regional, national and international professional meetings--also the high for the decade.
External grant funding for Department activities reached an all-time high of $699,256 in 1999-2000. Six grants were awarded by federal agencies (Environmental Protection Agency, National Park Service, National Science Foundation, Fish and Wildlife Service). Three were received from state and regional agencies. The remaining grants were derived from local sources and private corporations.
The students and faculty of the Department of Geography and Geology have done exceedingly well during the past year. We have each and every one of you to thank for helping to build the Department into what it has become--the best in the state and one of the very best in the nation.
Conrad Moore (conrad.moore@wku.edu)
Interim Department Head
FAREWELL TO COLLEAGUES
Drs Jon Castro and Mace Bentley say Goodbye
Dr Mace Bentley also moved on after one year of Departmental service. Mace came to us from the University of Georgia to be part of our meteorology and climatology program. His easy laugh and wide-eyed approach to the science made him popular among students and faculty. Mace has moved on to accept a tenure-track position in the Meteorology program at Northern Illinois University. All the faculty and students in the Department wish them both every success in their future careers.
Welcome Dr Ronald C. Schott!
Ron's hometown is Oradell, NJ, where in 1987 he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. Four years later he had his B.A. in Geology (with honors) from Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. Graduate studies brought him to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he completed his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Geology. Ron has secondary emphases in geophysics, materials science and mathematics.
Ron's Ph.D. research involved determining the provenance of conglomerate cobbles in the Gualala Basin, in California. The Gualala Basin is located at the northern end of the Salinian Block, a fault-bounded granitic terrane in the central California Coast Ranges. The Salinian Block has been displaced from its location of origin by at least 315 km of right-lateral slip on the San Andreas Fault during the Neogene. His research addressed issues of Cretaceous and Paleogene tectonics as well as the paleogeography of California. In 1998, Ron authored a Field Trip Guidebook for the Pacific Section meeting of SEPM. He also has an article currently submitted to the GSA Bulletin, and over the years has given numerous professional presentations on these topics.
Ron's professional teaching experience includes stints at Northeast Illinois University (1997), the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (1997-98), and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1998-2000), in addition to several years' experience as a teaching assistant. Ron has taught Introductory Geology, Petrology, Mineralogy, Geology of National Parks, and Mountains and Moving Plates. He also has developed extensive web-based resources in support of his courses.
Welcome aboard, Ron! We're glad you're with us!
THE PENNYROYAL PAPERS
A Publication For Student Research
We invite you to subscribe to this and future issues of the Pennyroyal Papers for only US$10 annually. Use the form below to register your subscription, which will help the Department cover the costs of printing and mailing the Journal. We know that you will be as proud as we are of our studentsF research efforts and we trust that you will find the articles informative and educational. Applied and basic research are key elements of the education that our students receive in the Department. Skills learned in research projects are vital to future career success and the articles selected for publication in the Pennyroyal Papers reflect the diversity of student research activities as well as the myriad approaches to addressing human-environment issues. Please feel free to let us know what you think about the Journal. Comments and suggestions can be mailed to the Department or emailed to the editor: david.keeling@wku.edu.
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION TO THE
PENNYROYAL PAPERSName: ____________________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________
___________________________________________
City: ______________ State: _____ Zip: ___________
Country: __________________________________________
Please enclose your check or money order for US$10.00 made payable to the Department of Geography and Geology. Thank You.
Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 42101-3576.
M.Sc. in Geoscience Degree
We are very excited about the possibilities that this change unleashes for our program and for our students. Although we retain a strong and important emphasis on traditional geography research tracks, such as city and regional planning. international studies, climatology, physical geography, and environmental management, we now plan to integrate more forcefully all aspects of the geographic and geologic sciences into the curriculum. The Geoscience program will offer more access to geotechnology courses such as GIS, Spatial Planning, Data Modelling, etc., will offer interdisciplinary approaches to solving human-environment problems, and will provide students with a much broader and more integrated set of study options than ever before imagined. The mission of the Geoscience program is to prepare students with the technical, critical thinking, communication, and research skills they need to compete effectively and successful in a variety of career options.
Over the coming semesters we plan to redesign many of the core courses in the program to provide a more interdisciplinary approach, and we plan to develop new and exciting courses that will challenge students and encourage them to expand their horizons.
As we continue to improve and expand the programs we offer to students, the Department would love to hear your opinions and suggestions about new courses, program content, and other critical issues related to the curriculum. Just drop us a line by email (david.keeling@wku.edu) or phone at 1-270-745-4555 with your ideas and suggestions.
Undergraduate Programs
Outstanding Geography Students, 1999-00
Congratulations to ALL our Outstanding Students!
VISIT THE DEPARTMENT'S WEBWORLD
Around the World Research Activities
by Alan Glennon
Dr. Chris Groves and Dr. Yuan Daoxian Celebrate a Cooperative Agreement between WKU and The Institute for Karst Geology in Guilin, China.
While it was a great year for traveling, Hoffman Environmental Research Institute students also had an amazingly productive year. Here are some of the highlights of the year's research and student activities:
*** Bill Curry, a Geoscience graduate student from Tennessee, was awarded the National Speleological Society's highest graduate student award, the Ralph Stone Award. An included research stipend allowed Bill to travel to Alaska for two and a half weeks and study the effects of timber harvest on soil erosion within Tongass National Forest. Bill collected over three hundred pounds of sediments, which he will be analyzing during the Fall 2000 semester. We are expecting an exceptional Master's thesis from Bill.
Bill Curry Rappeling into Starlight Cave, Alaska
*** David Ek, a long-time natural resource manager with the Park Service, began graduate studies at WKU Geography and Geology. During his residence, David made several significant cave discoveries in the Mammoth Cave area. In particular, David discovered a new creek feeding into MammothFs famed River Styx. Along one of the oldest and most heavily traveled tourist areas within the cave, David made a discovery right along the tourist trail. An overlooked alcove led David and a team of Cave Research Foundation cartographers to a previously unknown series of pits and domes.
*** Johnny Merideth, who graduated with a B.S. in Geology in Spring 2000, spent a month in Oxford, England, under a cooperative research program between the Hoffman Institute and Oxford University's Weathering, Environment, and Geomorphology Research Cluster. Johnny spent time helping with models to measure weathering of England's historic buildings. Also, when he got back, Johnny was a front-page feature of the Glasgow, Kentucky, newspaper for his international travel and research.
*** Bethany Overfield, an undergraduate double major in geography and geology spent the summer interning with the Kentucky Geological Survey.
*** Rhonda Pfaff, an undergraduate student working on the Institute's GIS projects, was able to visit Spain and North Africa over the summer. Rhonda also presented a paper on her work on "Land Use and Water Quality Threats to the Mammoth Cave Karst Aquifer" at the Kentucky GIS Conference in June 2000.
*** Jeff Timmons and Michael Anderson have been assisting with the EPA project to provide technical assistance to rural water supplies in Kentucky. Mike Anderson has been a part of a special state committee to examine pesticide problems in Kentucky rural water supplies. Jeff Timmons is wrapping up his Master's thesis and has been the lead on field sampling for the EPA project.
I am also excited about the talented new students coming to work with the Department and Institute. Joel Despain, a natural resource manager from Sequoia National Park, will start the Geoscience MasterFs program this Fall. He is a well-respected cave expert and author, who recently returned from leading an expedition to the giant caves in Borneo. Geology senior Johnny Merideth has recently graduated and decided to pursue a Master's in Geoscience at WKU. Having worked with the Park Service at Mammoth Cave for many years, he has already been working closely to develop a MasterFs thesis on the water chemistry of Mammoth Cave. A geology alumnus from the department, Katie Seadler, will also be beginning the Geoscience Master's program. During her previous tenure in the Department, she helped organize the Center for Cave and Karst Studies summer field courses. She has been working as an environmental consultant recently, and weFre excited about the organizational and professional expertise she brings to her program.
While we have a number of internal research initiatives, we are particularly pleased with the following projects where we have been able to team up with other organizations, agencies, and institutes:
** Soil erosion from timber harvests with Tongass National Forest, Alaska;
** Limestone dissolution with Oxford University, UK;
** Karst and its related ecosystems with the Institute of Karst Geology in Guilin, China;
** Groundwater Problems in the Hawaii Lavatubes with the Hawaiian Speleological Survey;
** EPA Technical Assistance Center for Water Quality (University of Louisville; Kentucky Division of Water; Kentucky Rural Water Association);
** Karst Hazards from the Arthur Oilfield, Kentucky, for the National Park Service;
** Water Quality at Sinking Spring, Larue County, Kentucky for the National Park Service.
GLEN CONNER writes that it was another busy year. In July 1999, he received funding of $5,713 from the Midwestern Climate Center for another
year of work on the "Development of New Electronic Data Sets." The project is to digitize Kentucky's climate observations from 1896 back to
the earliest made in 1825. Six undergraduate students did the digitizing. They were Meridith Newton, who supervised the project, and Casey
Manion, who did much of the digitizing. Sarah Armes and Jennifer Sheppard worked on the project for a year. The effort is being concluded by
Tricia Zimmerman and Emily Bush. The project is now complete except for some quality control work that continues. Meridith Newton did a review
of the pre-1896 data to complete station history files for the stations represented. This work will be submitted along with the digitized data
to become a permanent part of the national climate record. The daily data we previously digitized from 1896-1948 are now available as TD-3205
from the National Climatic Data Center. The project just completed will be added as another national data set. Kentucky will be the first
state to have all of its daily observations digitized. STUART FOSTER recently made a long
journey to present "The Growth and Decline of Com-munities in Kentucky: An Analysis of the Spatial Dynamics of Retail Sales" at the 2000
Kentucky GIS Conference convened in the University Plaza Hotel and Conference Center, Bowling Green. The study combined methods of exploratory
spatial data analysis with GIS to identify communities that have become dominant retailing centers, often at the expense of surrounding
counties. Dr Foster has been active in the community, serving on the Bowling Green/Warren County GIS Consortium technical and by-laws
committees, as well as participating in the Natcher Elementary School Geography Bee. CHRIS GROVES writes that this past year has
been a particularly eventful one. After several years of planning, he and Deana finally took off in March for their long-awaited spring
semester sabbatical leave. The two primary research projects during the five and a half month trip involved collaborative efforts with Dr
Heather Viles at Oxford University and Professor Yuan Daoxian of the Karst Institute in Guilin, China. The Oxford work involved laboratory
study of deterioration and protection of ancient limestone buildings and monuments in Europe, focussing on a simulation of processes at a
beautiful 13th-century abbey near Oxford. DAVID J. KEELING reports that his seventh
year in the Department brought challenges, excitement, and great students, with several productive research trips, many great classes,
informative conferences, and hard-working students to keep him hopping. Dr Keeling bridged the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 academic years with two months researching, traveling, and lecturing across the length and
breadth of Britain. His primary reseach focus was on continuing analysis of accessibility and mobility issues in the more remote regions of
the United Kingdom. The privatization of Britain's public railroad system has changed the transportation dynamic throughout the country, and
many communities are nervous about the prospect of further route rationalization that could see them lose access to the national railroad
network. DEBRA KREITZER asks "Is there life after Western?" If there is, she hasn't found it yet! After doing most of her undergraduate and graduate
work at WKU, Debbie has now been an instructor at WKU for a year and a half. During that time she has taught most of the introductory level
geography courses and is about to teach her first freshman seminar course. During much of the summer Debra worked part-time at Mammoth Cave
National Park as a guide. Geography has always fascinated her because it includes all facets of life. She finds that she sees the world in a
different way, even driving through southcentral Kentucky. KENNETH KUEHN concluded his term this past
year as Secretary/Treasurer for the Kentucky Society of Professional Geologists (KSPG) but continues in his role as Archivist for The Society
for Organic Petrology (TSOP), an international, scientific organization. He had an article published in the International Journal of Coal
Geol-ogy entitled "Assessment of com-positional variation in duplicate samples of pelletized coal," and he co-authored a paper on the impact
origin of the Middlesboro basin in southeastern Kentucky. The paper was presented in Denver by former WKU student Keith Milam at the annual
meeting of the Geological Society of America. A collaborative manuscript on the topic is underway. Last fall, Dr Kuehn participated in a
professional field conference entitled "Event and Cyclic Stratigraphy of the Cincinnati Arch," which was sponsored jointly by the Society for
Sedimentary Geology and the KSPG. He also attended the North-Central Geological Society of America meeting held in Indianapolis this
spring. MICHAEL MAY has been busy as he completed
his fourth year as a geology faculty member in the Department. Since last year, he has taught aqueous geochemistry, introduction to geology,
physical geology, stratigraphy, and environmental geology. He continues as an adjunct faculty member for the University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill, this year (August 2000) co-teaching the environmental regulations short course in Norfolk, Virginia. He also is continuing his
involvement with the Elderhostel Program at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, teaching a karst related short course and
leading field trips. CONRAD MOORE had a very busy year. In addition to serving as Interim Department Head, he presented three papers at professional meetings,
published four articles, and has just completed a chapter for a book. Dr Moore presented "The Increase in Geography Graduate Programs in the
United States, 1968-1998" at the annual meeting of the Kentucky Academy of Science in Richmond; "Drought and Perceptions of the Great Plains,
1805-1880" at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers in Pittsburgh; and "Drought and Overgrazing by Bison Herds in the
Great Plains, 1805-1860" at the annual meeting of the Association for Arid Lands Studies in San Diego. He published "The Geography of American
Technological Innovation Prior to 1930" and the "Geography Graduate Programs" papers in the Geography and Geology Proceedings of the Kentucky
Academy of Science, and "Hydrological Drought in the Interior Plains of the United States, 1819-1877" and "Nineteenth-Century Processes
Contributing to the Treelessness of the Great Plains" in the Forum of the Association for Arid Lands Studies. "Hydrological Drought as a
Settlement Inhibiting Factor" will appear as a chapter in Water on the North American Plains, Peter Longo and David Yoskowitz, editors, Texas
Tech University Press. Teaching Climate, Soils and Vegetation, Conservation of Natural Resources, and Environmental Planning provided refreshing breaks from the
rigors of Department Head duties. FRED SIEWERS' second year at Western was a
good one, a whirlwind of teaching, research and service activities. On the teaching front, Dr Siewers offered lecture courses and laboratories
in Introductory Geology, Historical Geology, Paleontology and Sedimentology. High points for each semester were field trips: the fall
Paleontology students went to the Falls of the Ohio area near Louisville, and the spring Sedimentology class studied the massive Paleozoic
road cut at Pound Gap along the Kentucky-Virginia border. At Pound Gap, students reconstructed the depositional environments responsible for
the various rock types exposed and then pieced together the geologic history of the section in terms of sedimentary basin development and
Appalachian tectonics. The trip was actually the final exam for the Sedimentology course, an idea conceived by the students and a WKU Geology
first. By all accounts (including student grades), the trip was a resounding success! JAMIE L. STRICKLAND reports a very busy, but very satisfying, first year at Western. A large part of that satisfaction was derived from the
excitement and challenge of teaching World Regional Geography, World Regional Geography (Honors), Human Geography, and (especially) Scope and
Methods of Geography. Jamie maintained an active role in conferences this past year. She traveled to Tampa, Florida, for the 54th meeting of the Southeastern
Division of the AAG (SEDAAG). In addition to serving as a discussant for a paper on Appalachian New Towns, she went on a fascinating field
trip which examined urban growth and preservation efforts in downtown Tampa. Jamie also traveled to Pittsburgh, PA, in April for the 96th
meeting of the AAG, where she presented a paper entitled "Expanding the Boundaries of Retirement: Assessing the Implications of Changing
Employment Patterns on Mobility in Later Life." L. MICHAEL TRAPASSO over the past year has continued his role in teaching most of the meteor-ology and climatology courses in the department.
He still runs the College Heights Weather Station on the fourth floor of the EST Building and is coordinating the new automated weather
station on the northwest side of Bowling Green. Through the past year he has published some of his research as well as presented his work at
professional meetings. His research interests still lie in the field of applied climatology, where he concentrates on the effects of weather
and climate on the human body, a field known as human biometeorology. His work with weather systems affecting the initiation of asthma attacks
was his most recent contribution. He was recently elected as the President of the American Institute of Biomedical Climatology. In this role,
he keeps contact with various bioclimatological research efforts, in other parts of the globe.
WAYNE BURKE (Geography 1971) taught High School History for 10 years prior to going into the insurance business. His wife Gail (Brewer), also
class of 1971, is Lab Director for Baptist East Hospital. Wayne sends a special "hello" to his favorite WKU Professor: Jim Bingham.
Gilbert T. Calhoun (Geography 1955) presently serves a one of seven town planning commissioners for Hilton Head Island. He retired from the
CIA's Directorate for Science and Technology in 1988 and served as an Associate with Booz, Alby, and Hamilton, Inc. until appointed as
Director of Planning and Coordination in 1990 for NATO's SHAPE Scientific and Technical Center in The Hague, Netherlands. Gilbert is also a
retired senior USAF Officer and with spouse Merrillyn moved to Hilton Head in 1995. WILL DAVIS (MS Geography 1997) writes that in his two years as Planning Director at SWRTA he has developed a regional rural transport system
using a flexrouting system. Will also has worked on a technology project where GPS and GIS are used with wireless communications to increase
the effi-ciency of the transit fleet. Over the past year, he has presented the model at four national conferences. Will has also started a
hunting club, which is progressing quickly. Finally, Will thanks the Department, WKU, and Dr Hoffman for all the great skills. WILLIAM M. FOWLER (MS Geography 1976) is employed by ARCO Alaska, Inc., the Alaska-based oil & gas exploration and production arm of Atlantic
Richfield Company. He works as a Senior Permit Coordinator, obtaining federal, state, and local environmental and regulatory permits and
approvals for the new Alpine oil field development in the Colville River delta, on the North Slope of Alaska, and is based out of Anchorage.
William was recently honored by the ARCO company with the 1999 Outstanding Technical Achievement Award. As part of this award, the company
will make a grant of $1000 in his name to the university and Department. V. LEE HAGEE(1979) writes that after graduating from WKU with a degree in Geophysics, she completed a Master's at Vanderbilt
specializing in Geoarchaeology. After teaching for a couple years, she returned to school, at The Johns Hopkins University, to work on a
doctorate in Geophysics and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics. Lee's research was in the area of the magneto-hydrodynamics of the Earth's core,
specifically looking at dynamo waves as a source of cyclic variations in the Earth's magnetic field. She had been introduced to the seminal
work of Walter Elsasser in the field of MHD while at WKU by Dr Ron Seeger, who thought that Lee might find it interesting. Seeger was right!
Lee thought it was the most elegant work she had ever seen and is happy to report that that initial introduction at WKU led not only to a
doctorate in MHD from Hopkins, but also to a friendship with Walter Elsasser, who was a Professor Emeritus at Hopkins when Lee arrived there.
Following the completion of the doctorate, Lee spent time working as a researcher at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris. Upon
returning to the U.S., she continued doing research on the Earth's interior and started doing some consulting on computers. The computer work
rather took over her life, and she moved out into the private sector working in information technology full-time. Recently, however, Lee has
been lured back to the academic milieu and has accepted a position in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences at The Johns Hopkins
University as a combined Computer Guru/Research Manager that is a great way to combine her skills and interests. So far, ahe is thoroughly
enjoying being back in an academic environment. Lee also comments that it looks like the faculty has changed (and grown) significantly since she finished at WKU, but a few familiar faces are
around. She sends regards to Nick Crawford and to Drs Fields and Ahsan. Dr. Fields will be amused to hear that Lee's mother (Gini Hagee)
continues to have an active interest in paleotology. She also took courses at WKU with Dr Fields. CHRIS JACKSON (Geography 1995) has been employed for over 3 years as the Asstistant Planning Director for the City of Franklin. Chris planned
to take the AICP Exam in May 2000. PERRY D. JOHNSON(Geography 1983)
is employed in law enforcement for the U.S. Customs Service in California. LARISA KEITH (Geography 1997) returned from a three-month stay in the Netherlands in August 1999. She also graduated from the University of
Cincinnati with a Master's Degree in Community Planning in August 1999 and then began working full-time at the Northern Kentucky Area Planning
Commission. Larisa is loving every minute of the "real world." CHRISTINA LYNN LOY-JARVIS (Geography 1998) writes that last February, she married a wonderful man by the name of Cary Jarvis. She works as an
Administration Senior and Hiring Consultant for Best Buy. Christaina thought she would never say this, but she really misses all of her
professors, collegues, and classes. MICHAEL SYKES (Geology 1993) has changed jobs from Bhate Environmental of Birmingham, AL, and now practices environmental consulting on the
side. Also, he has recently opened up a new sales division of Bailiff Enterprises of Houston, TX., in north Florida. The company distributes
fiberglass tanks, as well as manufacturing and distributing plastic pipes, valves, tanks and pumps for both industrial and environmental
purposes throughout the U.S. KEN SZYMANSKI (MS Planning 1975) has headed up the Charlotte and North Carolina Apartment Asso-ciations (representing multi-housing
developers, owners, and managers) since 1986, after a 10-year community planning career. Ken holds the AICP certification and is involved with
many land-use and housing issues. He travelled recently to Peru for 10 days, his first time ever in South America. JOSEPH C. THORNTON (Geology 1977)
is a Manager of Environmental Affairs for Brown-Forman in Kentucky.
I predict a fantastic 2001 if you send in your Alumni Information sheet right
away............
Alumni Information
Name of Graduate ____________________________
(include maiden name)
Major_______________ Year of Graduation _______
Current Address ______________________________
City _________________ State _______ Zip _______
Occupation ___________ Employer______________
NEWS: _______________________________________________________________________
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Mail to: Dr. David J. Keeling, GEOGRAM Editor
Department of Geography & Geology
Western Kentucky University
One Big Red Way
Bowling Green, KY 42101-3576