Kentucky Geological Survey seminar to explore ‘Geology in the Modern World’

Article | Rebekah Frazier (Kentucky Geological Survey) | May 22, 2025

Kentucky Geological Survey at the University of Kentucky will host its 64th Annual Seminar on June 10. Graphic courtesy of KGS.

Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) at the University of Kentucky will host its 64th Annual Seminar 8:15 a.m.- 4 p.m. June 10.

This free public event, themed “Geology in the Modern World,” will be in the Don & Cathy Jacobs Science Building with afternoon workshops at the William T. Young Library and off campus at the Earth Analysis Research Library.

The seminar will spotlight new technologies and approaches to managing Kentucky’s water resources, including a keynote address, interactive sessions and hands-on workshops.

Sarah Jon Gaddis, director of the Kentucky Division of Water, will deliver the keynote presentation, “Rocks, Rivers and Responsibility: A Reflection on Kentucky’s Water Resources.”

Morning presentations will include the use of Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) and machine learning to monitor sinkholes in the Barren River Area Development District, as well as drone-based thermal imaging and subsurface sensors to study groundwater flow and elevation changes.

The session will conclude with a moderated panel on the Kentucky EPSCoR CLIMBS initiative and EPSCoR-supported research facilities.

A complimentary lunch will follow, along with a poster session highlighting current water-related research projects.

New this year, participants may choose between two afternoon workshops. The landslide hazards workshop, led by Matt Crawford, Ph.D., KGS landslide geologist, at Young Library, will focus on using landslide data for mitigation planning. The aquifers and core analysis workshop, held off campus at the EARL, will explore techniques for characterizing limestone aquifers. This session includes a core analysis led by Charles Taylor, hydrogeologist, and Angela Torres-Zamora, KGS geologist, followed by a borehole tool demonstration at the Kentucky Horse Park with Glynn Beck, KGS geologist and hydrogeologist, and Junfeng Zhu, Ph.D., KGS hydrogeologist.

The seminar is free and open to the public, but registration but required via EventBrite by June 5.

For more information, visit www.uky.edu/KGS/.