KARST WATERS - Key Persons
Dave Decker is the CEO and principal geologist for Southwest Geophysical Consulting, LLC, a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business specializing in geophysical cave and karst location services, karst monitoring, and cave mapping. Dr. Decker holds a Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the University of New Mexico with emphasis in hypogene karst, and a M.Sc. in applied physics from the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, California. Decker started his career in the U.S. Navy as an enlisted Fire Controlman, during which time he operated, maintained, and repaired missile and gun fire control radars on board several different ships. During his first shore tour, he completed a B.Sc. in adult education and then applied for Officer Candidate. He was quickly accepted and advanced to Ensign upon completing Officer Candidate School. Dave then finished out his Naval Career as a Naval Flight Officer flying a variety of aircraft from various aircraft carriers, retiring as a Lieutenant Commander. On his off time, he went caving all over the world. He has been a caver since his introduction to wild caving at Buckner's Cave in Indiana while in high school. He has been a member and officer of many different grottos around the country, served a term as a director with the National Speleological Society, and is currently a director with the Karst Waters Institute. Dr. Decker's goal at KWI is to broaden public knowledge about cave and karst processes and bring together the many different cave and karst entities so that each may complement the other in the work that they do to bring caves and karst to the forefront in the many disciplines which are impacted by these diverse processes.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Geology at West Virginia University
Dorothy J. Vesper is a Professor of Geology at West Virginia University. She has a B.S. degree (Geology) from Juniata College, and M.S. (Environmental Pollution Control) and Ph.D. (Geosciences) degrees from Penn State. She's broadly trained as a geochemist and hydrogeologist with a focus on applied problems. Her perspective stems from a combination of geochemistry research and more than 10 years in the environmental consulting industry. Dr. Vesper's current research is focused on aqueous and sediment geochemistry in both karst settings and coal mines. Active projects look at contaminant fate and transport in karst terrains, the geochemistry of cave sediments, temperature as a proxy for sustainability of spring waters, carbon and rare-earth element fluxes from coal mines, and springs in the Appalachian Valley and Ridge Province. Her previous involvement with KWI includes coordinating a focus group at the Frontiers of Karst Research workshop and co-leading the planning committee for the Karst, Groundwater Contamination & Public Health Conference. She is currently on the planning committee for an upcoming conference related to karst and sulfate weathering.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Geological Society of America
- Professor of Environmental Geoscience at Western Kentucky University
Dr. Jason Polk is a Professor of Environmental Geoscience at Western Kentucky University. He serves as Director of the Center for Human GeoEnvironmental Studies (CHNGES) and HydroAnlaytical Lab. Dr. Polk earned his doctorate degree from the University of South Florida in Geography and Environmental Science and Policy and his current research investigates groundwater resources, isotope hydrology and geochemistry, karst resource management, and global climate dynamics. Dr. Polk is passionate about the integration of human-environmental research and community development through applied research. He has technical expertise in karst geoscience, hydrologic monitoring, water quality and quantity assessments, groundwater resource management, and solution-based approaches to resilience and adaption planning for communities. Dr. Polk conducts research throughout the world, including the Caribbean, Vietnam, Iceland, and Europe and has worked in the longest, largest, and deepest caves in the world.
Dr. Polk is an active member of the Geological Society of America (past Chair of the Karst Division), American Geophysical Union, National Speleological Society, National Ground Water Association, and serves as faculty advisor of the WKU Water Professionals Chapter of the AWWA/WEA. He is a Board Member of the Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute and is a Fellow of the National Speleological Society, co-Director of the North Atlantic Climate Change Collaboration Project (NAC3), Member Representative for the UArctic Council, founder of the UnderBGKY real-time monitoring and continuous data network for public outreach and education, and serves on the Advisory Board of the internationally renowned The $100 Solution™ non-profit service learning organization. He enjoys traveling, basketball, caving, and photography and seeks new ways to learn about and experience our natural environment and communicate science toward solutions. Dr. Polk is also currently on the Board of Directors of the Karst Waters Institute and his goal at KWI is to support efforts to improve knowledge about cave and karst landscapes and work to drive positive change by increasing the visibility and cohesiveness of the many different cave and karst efforts underway around the world. Additionally, he hopes through KWI to enhance accessibility and interactions among cavers, scientists, nonprofits and governmental agencies toward the improved understanding and protection of karst areas and their vital resources.
Julian J. "Jerry" Lewis, Ph.D., and his wife Salisa L. Lewis, M.S., own and operate a biological consulting company that deals exclusively with the evaluation of subterranean habitats and fauna, with particular focus on rare and endangered species. Projects vary from environmental assessments associated with large-scale engineering projects (e.g., construction of interstate highways or municipal water plants) as well as work for state and federal agencies and private organizations (e.g., The Nature Conservancy). Jerry's education includes an M.S. and Ph.D. in aquatic biology, plus B.S. degrees in photography and, most recently, French. He has published over 100 manuscripts on subterranean biology in peer-reviewed journals and a variety of books. He has been a member of the National Speleological Society (NSS) for 50 years, where he and his wife are the Associate Editors for Biology and Conservation for the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies. He received the NSS Science Award for lifetime achievement and is a Fellow of the NSS. Jerry retired from 13 years as President of the Indiana Karst Conservancy to accept a seat on the Board of Directors of the Karst Waters Institute.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Dr. Rai Bosch is a member of the Board of Directors for the Karst Waters Institute and has served as the Outreach Coordinator in the past. Rai holds a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Cincinnati, where their dissertation research focused on the landscape evolution of the Central Kentucky Karst. They also earned an M.S. in Geosciences from Penn State University and a B.A. in Physics from Wesleyan University. Rai is a Fellow of the Cave Research Foundation, Treasurer of the Karst Division of the Geological Society of America, and a founding Steering Committee member and Associate Editor of the diamond open-access journal Geomorphica. They are passionate about environmental justice and stewardship. Rai is currently a Geologist at AECOM in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Dr. Sarah K. Carmichael is a Professor in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Appalachian State University of Boone, North Carolina. Her training in mineralogy and petrology gives her analytical expertise that supports her investigations of the origin of cave manganese oxide deposits, the impact of human tourism on caves in the southern Appalachians, as well as porosity development in carbonate reservoirs and the geochemistry of mass extinctions. Her work involves chemical analyses, mineralogical characterizations, and biomineral analyses. She has served as a Councilor for the Mineralogical Society of America, is a Fellow of the Explorers Club, is a National Geographic Explorer, and was recently named one of the Explorers Club 50 ("Fifty People Changing the World that the World Needs to Know About").
Her contributions to the scientific understanding of cave biomineralogy as influenced by human-introduced organic matter have been made in publications in Environmental Microbiology Reports, Biogeochemistry, Geomicrobiology Journal, the Life in Extreme Environments series, and the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies. Sarah is a truly interdisciplinary scientist with a special commitment to public outreach and education. In addition to her involvement in KWI specialty conferences, she is in charge of the KWI website and online conference registrations. She won the KWI Distinguished Service Award in 2020.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor in the Department of Geology at Bucknell
Ellen K. Herman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geology at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA. Ellen joined the faculty of Bucknell in 2006 after graduate work in karst hydrology with Dr. William B. White at Penn State University. Her karst work focuses on springs and cave systems in the Appalachians with particular emphasis on sediment transport and storm flow behavior. She works with a variety of professional collaborators as well as undergraduate students to consider theoretical and applied problems in karst hydrology.
Janet S. Herman is the current President of the Karst Waters Institute, and has served as a Board member in the past. She is also the 2009 Karst Award recipient. Dr. Herman received her Ph.D. from the Pennsylvania State University under the direction of William B. White. Her general research interests focus on low-temperature aqueous geochemistry, whereby she studies problems in water-rock interactions, kinetics of geochemical reactions, and the evolution of groundwater chemistry in various hydrogeological environments, including caves and karst. She and her students have studied saltwater intrusion into coastal limestone aquifers in Spain and in Florida, the rates of calcite precipitation in travertine-depositing streams in the Appalachian Mountains, and the role of colloids in facilitating the transport of surface-applied chemicals in agricultural watersheds underlain by limestone.
Janet is Professor Emerita in an interdisciplinary Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia. She is the past recipient of the Association for Women Geoscientists Outstanding Educator Award, the Geological Society of America Hydrology Division's Distinguished Service Award, and the Presidential Award of Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. She has served her profession as Chair of the Hydrogeology Division of the Geological Society of America, as Councilor of the Geological Society of America and of the International Association of GeoChemistry, and as Program Director of Hydrologic Sciences at the National Science Foundation.
John "Jack" W. Hess retired as President of the Geological Society of America Foundation in Boulder, CO in June 2020. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2015, he served as the Executive Director of the Geological Society of America (GSA) for 13 years. Before joining GSA in 2001, he was Executive Director of the Division of Hydrologic Sciences and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Desert Research Institute (DRI) in Nevada. In 2000-2001, Hess served as a Congressional Science Fellow in the office of Senator Harry Reid (D-NV). Hess is Past Chair of the Board of the Karst Waters Institute and the American Hiking Society. He serves on the Board of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute. He served on the Karst Commission of the International Association of Hydrogeologist. He is Past President of the Longs Peak Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Jack served on the US National Committee for Geological Sciences and the US National Commission for UNESCO. He currently serves as a member of the Finance Committee of the International Union of Geological Sciences. Hess is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America, the National Speleological Society, the Cave Research Foundation and an Honorary Fellow of the Geological Society of London. Hess is a Pennsylvania State University Centennial Fellow and Alumni Achievement Award recipient from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Jack received the KWI Distinguished Service Award in 2019. He holds a bachelors and doctorate in geology from The Pennsylvania State University and attended the Stanford Executive Program, Stanford University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Paul Joseph "PJ" Moore is a member of the Board of Directors of KWI. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Florida, where he worked on understanding how caves develop in Florida and the Bahamas. His research interests span karst geology, carbonate geochemistry, and carbonate reservoir characterization. He has been a member of the NSS since 2000. Since 2009, PJ has worked at ExxonMobil as a carbonate geologist, working numerous fields in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia.
William "Bill" K. Jones is has served continuously on the KWI Board since its inception. Bill holds a B.S.F. degree in Forest Management from West Virginia University and an M.S. degree in Environmental Science (Hydrology) from the University of Virginia. He was an adjunct professor of hydrology at the American University, Washington, D.C. He is a Fellow of the National Speleological Society. He studies physical hydrology of surface and ground-water resources with an emphasis on areas underlain by carbonate (karst) aquifers. He has studied karst areas across North America, France, Eastern Europe, China and Southeast Asia. Bill is the author of over twenty papers on karst hydrology and water tracing. He is the author of the "Karst Hydrology Atlas of West Virginia" (1997) and served as the guest editor for a special issue of the National Speleological Society Bulletin on water tracing using fluorescent tracers (1984). He wrote the chapter on water tracing for the "Encyclopedia of Caves" (2005). He is the first author of "Recommendations and Guidelines for Managing Caves on Protected Lands" (2003), prepared for the U.S. Department of the Interior. He is a consultant to the US Army Environmental Center on the remediation of hazardous wastes in karst aquifers on military bases. He also studies ground-water movement in fractured aquifers and statistical characterization of water resources. Current research projects include the problems of instrumenting small catchments for measuring precipitation and flows for water balance studies. He and his wife Lee Elliott reside in Chimney Run Farm in Bath County, Virginia, where he runs his own hydrology consulting firm, Environmental Data.
William B. "Will" White has been a member of the KWI Board since the its formation, and has served as the Vice President for Research and is the Executive Vice President. Will holds a B.S. degree (Chemistry) from Juniata College and a Ph.D. (Geochemistry) from Penn State. Will's research interest span a range of topics in materials science and geoscience. The former includes crystal chemistry, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, structure and properties of glass, and phosphors and other optical materials. The geosciences include application of condensed matter physics to mineralogy and various environmental issues including nuclear waste and mine land remediation as well as, of course, problems dealing with caves and karst. Cave and karst research includes both field and laboratory investigations with field work mostly in the Appalachians and the Mammoth Cave area. Will has published more than 400 papers in the technical journals and is author or coauthor of 17 books. He is a fellow of the AAAS, the Mineralogical Society of America and the NSS. Will spent 40 years on the Penn State faculty (1962-2002) and has been emeritus professor since his retirement.