October 23, 2000

Leading Chinese Cave Scientist to Visit WKU

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - One of China's leading cave scientists will be visiting Western Kentucky University this week.

Dr. Jiang Zhongcheng, a top researcher at the Karst Dynamics Laboratory in the Institute of Karst Geology in Guilin, is involved in a major environmental effort by the Chinese government directed at aiding economic development in rural areas.

"As part of China's economic reform plan, the government recognizes that rural areas are lagging behind the larger cities," said Dr. Chris Groves, director of Western's Hoffman Environmental Research Institute. "The Chinese government recognizes that if farmers are going to prosper they need environmental improvements."

Part of Dr. Jiang's research focuses on developing crops and herbs that are more suited to the karst terrain and that would provide more income for farmers.
"Environmental Restoration in the South China Karst Region" will be the topic of a lecture by Dr. Jiang at 2:30 p.m. Friday in Environmental Science and Technology Building, room 337.

Another economic boost could come from the tourism potential of the South China cave region, Dr. Groves said. Two tourism officials will accompany Dr. Jiang on the trip to Bowling Green and will visit Mammoth Cave, Lost River Cave and other tourist attractions in the region. "The area around the Karst Institute has a lot in common with southcentral Kentucky and the tourism efforts can make a huge difference in the local area's economy," Dr. Groves said.

Increasing the standard of living for 800 million people in rural China would have an enormous impact on the global economy and would create demand for more products, Dr. Groves said.

That's where Western's increasing emphasis on internationalism is important, he said. "I appreciate very much Western's intent and efforts toward development of international programs," Dr. Groves said.

Dr. Jiang's visit is part of an exchange program between the Hoffman Institute and the Karst Institute that began five years ago. Dr. Groves visited China in 1995 and earlier this summer, while groups from China have visited Western in 1998 and this week.

"This program is a win-win situation for Western and for China," Dr. Groves said.

Western provides the Karst Institute with assistance on computer mapping of karst regions and with technical and scientific information that will improve Chinese researchers' ability to do their work, he said.

The exchange also provides opportunities for Western geology students to study and conduct research in China. A graduate student accompanied Dr. Groves on his trip to China this year. "In the future, the Hoffman Institute hopes to have Western students travel to China for a few weeks or a semester," he said. More information about the Hoffman Environmental Research Institute is available on Western's website at http://hoffman.wku.edu/

For more information, contact Dr. Chris Groves at (270) 745-5974. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu.