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University of Kentucky geologist and cave diver Stephanie Schwabe recalls her 1997 dive into the Mermaid's Lair, on the south side of Grand Bahama Island quite plainly.

Schwabe is not one to embellish or exaggerate. A simple account of her late August dive is captivating of its own accord.

Schwabe, a renowned cave diver of international acclaim, will share the story of her nearly fateful dive on National Geographic Explorer's Angel Effect at 10 p.m. Tuesday, April 26, on the National Geographic Channel.

Angel Effect delves deep inside the mysterious phenomenon of the "Third Man Factor," as detailed in John Geiger's

 

An exhibition on the results of the excavations by University of Kentucky faculty of an ancient Greek fort will debut at the Lexington Public Library - Central Library before moving to Italy, where it will remain on permanent display.

"A Greek Mountain Fort in Southern Italy. University of Kentucky Archaeological Investigations at Monte Palazzi (Passo Croceferrata, Grotteria, Calabria)" will be on exhibit March 26 through May 1, in the library’s gallery.

Paolo Visonà, adjunct associate professor of art history in UK’s Department of Art, will give a lecture on the Monte Palazzi archaeological project at 6 p.m. Monday, March 28, in the library's theater. A gallery reception will also be

When the University of Kentucky's Environmental Studies program director position opened up last summer, chemistry Professor David Atwood enthusiastically submitted his application.

But UK's resident expert on the removal of metal contaminants from water wanted to see something more.

 

"In working with others across campus, I was hearing more and more about the need for an interdisciplinary environmental studies major at UK," Atwood explained. "I thought that in order to really make the director position worth it, we should expand what we already had."

 

So, Atwood met with Dean Mark Kornbluh with argument in hand.

 

But to Atwood's surprise, Kornbluh "basically described exactly what I had hoped to do," Atwood laughed. "I guess

Ashley Barton and Donny Loughry

Graduate Student Spotlight

Back to "Doing" Science

by Guy Spriggs

photos by Richie Wireman




Earth & environmental graduate students Ashley Barton and Donny Loughry took separate but similar paths to their graduate education at the University of Kentucky.



Both are natives of West Virginia. Both completed undergraduate degrees in education and have experience as teachers. Both had an interest in science and nature from a young age, and both relished the opportunity to be interviewed outside on a sunny day.



Most importantly, however, both Barton and Loughry decided that graduate study in UK’s Earth and Environmental Science (EES) Department was the right outlet for the

Ganesh Tripathi

Graduate Student Spotlight

by Jessica Fisher

photos by Shaun Ring

Most people in Kentucky associate the relationship between the state’s water and its limestone geology with world-famous bourbon and strong competitive thoroughbreds.

For Ganesh Tripathi, a graduate student in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Kentucky, it was his interest in groundwater systems, and how limestone affects such systems, that brought him to Lexington, Ky., from Nepal in 2007.

So, besides unique groundwater systems, top-rated horses and the best bourbon in the world, just what is so great about limestone? As Tripathi’s research indicates, it is not always as picturesque as the Kentucky landscape may suggest.

Tripathi first became fascinated with karst groundwater systems after receiving a master’s

Earth & Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Trevor Strosnider

by Sarah Vos

For work this summer, Trevor Strosnider, a junior majoring in geology, donned a hard hat and descended into a Nevada gold mine. He identified rocks and fault lines, measured how far mining tunnels had been extended and used that information to help the Newmont Mining Corporation find gold.

Before he left for Nevada, Strosnider had no idea what he would be doing at the mine. He learned of the internship after a representative from Newmont, one of the world’s largest gold producers, made a presentation at UK. A professor encouraged him to apply, even though Strosnider didn’t think he was qualified. He had studied geology at UK, but did not specialize in gold mining and mineral extraction.

But a few weeks later the offer came: $20 an hour, 40 hours a week, to work in the

 

Susan (Camenisch) Eriksson started her studies at UK as a music major, with a focus on piano. But when she took an honors section of geology during her junior year, she was hooked.

“After one exam, I went up to the TA and said, I love this, I love, this, I love this!” she recalls. “I was so excited. I said I wished I had found geology as a freshman.”

Eventually, her UK professors—particularly Dr. Bill Blackburn—helped Eriksson make the switch to majoring in geology as a junior, and she was able to graduate with just one extra semester of work, in the summer of 1971.

“I was the only woman undergraduate in geology at UK when I was there,” she recalls. “That was quite a big thing. It’s traditionally a very male-dominated field.”

Professors and graduate students in the department, who became her colleagues and friends, encouraged her studies, and

 

Was it destiny or some predisposition that led John Yozwiak to the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences? Or maybe it simply was a matter of finding a great opportunity.

Yozwiak, whose grandfather was the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Youngstown State University, was born in Binghamton, N.Y., but found himself relocated with his family to Lexington, Ky., when he was six.

Upon graduating from Lexington Catholic High School in 1990, Yozwiak, who comes from a long line of college graduates, knew that college was certainly the next step. He used his experiences from visiting friends at UK as well as his desire to stay close to home in choosing his collegiate destination.

“My family has always valued education. Therefore, attending college was very important to me,” Yozwiak said. “In part, I decided to attend the University of