June 11, 2008
Bowling
Green, Ky. - Officials of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have given a review panel’s “Excellent” rating to the 2007 efforts of the “Global Study of Karst Aquifers and Water Resources” project led by Western Kentucky University, the organization recently announced from its headquarters in Paris, France.
The major focus of the U.N. funding is to support communication between scientists from countries around the world working on various earth science and environmental issues -- in this case, water resources from limestone karst aquifers, which have been estimated to supply drinking water to 25 percent of the world’s population.
Dr. Chris Groves, director of WKU’s Hoffman Environmental Research Institute within the University’s Applied Research and Technology Program (ARTP), serves as the program’s Project Leader within UNESCO’s International Geoscience Program. The project’s three co-leaders are Yuan Daoxian of China’s Institute of Karst Geology in Guilin, Bartólome Andreo-Novarro of Malaga University in Spain and Heather Viles of England’s Oxford University.
In its comments, the UNESCO review panel cited the project’s “high scientific production in the most important international journals,” support of education and participation of project members in relevant international conferences.
“A key benefit for WKU is that the project provides outstanding opportunities for geoscience students to participate in research projects and to interact with scientists from around the globe,” Groves said.
Over the past eight years, for example, Hoffman Institute graduate students have made more than 20 trips to China to work on U.N.-affiliated projects there. Numerous geoscience students have also participated in, and given presentations at, related U.N.-sponsored conferences, including recent ones in Greece, Spain and Switzerland. Two related conferences in Bowling Green over the same period have brought some 200 scientists from more than 20 countries to the WKU campus.
“This recognition by the U.N. review panel is gratifying as faculty and students in the Hoffman Institute have worked very hard in recent years to build collaborative research relationships around the globe,” said Geography and Geology Department Head David Keeling. “The quality of the research conducted and disseminated over the past five years by Hoffman faculty and students is a testimony to the vision and leadership of Dr Groves and is indicative of the department’s international reach.”
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For information, contact Hoffman Institute at (270) 745-3961.
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