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WKU Students, Faculty Attend October 20, 2003 Geoscience graduate students Pat Kambesis and Beth Ann Robb presented the results of projects under way in WKU's Center for Water Resource Studies and Hoffman Environmental Research Institute, where students and faculty are studying ways to assist rural water suppliers, with funding provided through the efforts of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). "The work that we are able to do in this program thanks to Sen. McConnell is not only aiding the health of Kentucky's citizens by helping them have safe drinking water, but simultaneously is increasing the technical experience and critical thinking skills of our students," says Dr. Chris Groves, Hoffman Institute director. "Having them give presentations at national conferences also gets the word out about the dynamic and growing water, Geographic Information Systems and karst research programs here." Presentations also were made by Rick Fowler and undergraduate student Rolland Moore detailing work from the Biotechnology Center using techniques to study DNA to better understand how microbial communities participate in the evolution of cave systems at Mammoth Cave and in South Dakota's Wind Cave. This work highlights the growing cooperation in multidisciplinary research between WKU's departments of Biology and Geography and Geology. Dr. David Keeling, head of the Geography and Geology Department, noted that "doing collaborative work is increasingly important for students and faculty alike, as human-environment problems are not one-dimensional. Finding solutions to these problems requires a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach that can incorporate myriad perspectives and scientific points of view. In Ogden College, we are continually striving to build collaborative research relationships that can enhance the learning experiences of our students." Presentations included: Pat Kambesis: "A Systems Approach for the Understanding of Agricultural Contaminant Sources and Transport within a Karst Groundwater Drainage Basin." Elizabeth Robb, Chris Groves, John All and Pat Kambesis: "The Western Kentucky University Source Water Protection Program: Educating Water Resource Managers and the Public about the Vulnerability of Rural Karst Drinking Water Supplies." Rick Fowler and Shivendra Sahi: "Quantitative Real-Time PCR Assays of Bacterial DNA in Sediments of the Flint-Mammoth Cave System with Evidence for Nitrospira Spp. at Sites Undergoing Limestone Dissolution and Karst Aquifer Evolution." Rolland Moore: "Survey of Microbial Diversity within Wind Cave Using DNA Analysis, Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota."
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