UK Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Alumni Advisory Board
 
 

Elizabeth Haynes (Chair, 2008 - 2011) Under the direction of her advisor, Dr. David Moecher, Elizabeth received her M.S. in Geology from UK in August of 2000 using stable isotope methods to determine crystallization and cooling rates of carbonatites from Jacupiranga, Brazil; Oka, Canada; and Magnet Cove, AR, USA. Elizabeth was an active student in the department including membership in the geology honor society, editor of the geology newsletter, and graduate student representative to the faculty. Elizabeth has been Vice-President of the Denver, Colorado chapter of the Association for Women Geoscientists (2003-2004), a member of the Geological Society of America’s (GSA) Education Committee (1999-2002) and GSA’s Professional Development Committee (2007 - 2010). Since graduation she has worked for the USGS Mineral Resources Team studying orogenic gold deposits in the Fairbanks, Alaska area, as a consultant for the Denver-based environmental group Harding ESE, and is currently working as a regional geologist for BHP Billiton Petroleum in SE Asia and deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

 
    William Foley (Member 2006 – 2009) is President of Petroleum Evaluation Associates LLC, a consulting firm based in Louisville, KY.  He received his B.S. in Geology (1979) from the University of Kentucky, and his Masters in Geology (1982) also from UK.  He was employed by Chevron, Inc starting in 1981, and continued his work there until 1998.  His work at Chevron included assignments in exploration and development geology, as well as geophysics, probabilistic reserve estimation, risk estimation, and economic evaluation.  These assignments covered sedimentary basins in the southern U.S., the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea, Northwestern Australia, as well as Angola.  Since leaving Chevron, he has worked as a consultant to several oil exploration companies, including Mobil, PEMEX, Chevron, and Texaco.  Additionally, he has done work for the engineering firm of Netherland, Sewell, and Associates.  Work for these firms has spanned Norway, Mexico, Chad, Nigeria, Morocco, and Equatorial Guinea.   He is an AAPG Certified Petroleum Geologist, and a member of the Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists.  He is married to Linda, and father of two children, Jeffrey and Rebecca.
   

 

Jay Henthorne
    Curt Hull
    Jon Konkler
 

Sarah Mardon (Secretary, 2005 - 2008) graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2003 with a B.A. in Geology and a B.S. in Economics. After graduation, Sarah worked for Pearson Petrographic Services as a Coal Petrographer in Beckley, WV. In September 2004, she returned to Lexington to work as an Admission Counselor for the University of Kentucky, and then returned full time in Fall 2005 as a graduate student in the department. Sarah was on the 2005 TSOP (The Society for Organic Petrology) annual meeting planning committee. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, cooking, whitewater rafting, local music, ballet, and hiking, and fundraising for charities. The latest book that she is reading is titled “Blood Diamonds” by Greg Campbell.

 
 

Rodney Metcalf (Member 2006-2009) received his B.S. degree in Geology from the University of Kentucky in 1979 and his M.S. degree from UK in 1984. His M.S. thesis, supervised by W. H. Blackburn, dealt with U and Th geochemistry in a Grenville-age granite from the Virginia Blue Ridge. In 1990 he completed a Ph.D. at the University of New Mexico; his dissertation research dealt with the origin and evolution of Proterozoic migmatites and related plutonic rocks in the central Santa Fe Range, northern New Mexico. Since 1990 he has be a member of the faculty at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and is currently an Associate Professor. His research draws on the tools of igneous and metamorphic petrology to understand the origin and evolution of the earth's crust. Most recently he has worked in the Klamath Mountains, California in the Northern Colorado River Extensional Corridor south of Las Vegas. During his time at UNLV he has served as both Department Chair and as Associate Dean for the College of Sciences. He spent six years as an Associate Editor for the Bulletin of the Geological Society of America and is currently Secretary/Treasurer for the Cordilleran Section of GSA. His spare time is spent reading, hiking, camping, kayaking and whitewater rafting, interests he shares with his wife Tracey (UK Pharmacy '78). Married for 32 years, Rod and Tracey have three children and one grandchild.
   



Dave Moecher
Link to web page: http://www.uky.edu/AS/Geology/faculty/moecher.html
 

Wendell Overcash (member 2008 - present) received his bachelor's degree (BS) in Geology in 1977 and his professional degree in law (JD) in 1980, both from the University of Kentucky. Wendell worked for Ashland Oil, Inc. and Ashland Coal, Inc. during college. After graduation in 1980, he worked for Exxon Minerals, Co. in Denver, CO and Tucson, AZ as a landman tasked with acquiring base and precious metals properties for its nationwide exploration program. In 1989 he began as a staff attorney with the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Natural Resources Cabinet. His duties involved programmatic enforcement, research and general legal counsel primarily for the Division of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement and the Division of Water. Wendell is registered as a Professional Geologist in Kentucky (no. 339) and has been licensed to practice law in Kentucky since 1980. He currently serves as Assistant General Counsel for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, an admitted diversion from his prior resource related positions. He contracted an incurable case of "Rock Pox" as a young man and remains an avid mineral collector. He resides in Goshen, Kentucky with his wife, Joanne; they have two children, Holly (an undergraduate at Centre College) and Erin (an undergraduate at the University of Colorado -Boulder).
   



Dhananjay Ravat (Dept. Chair), ex officio
Link to web page: http://myprofile.cos.com/ravat
   

Tom Spalding (Member 2006 – 2009) received his BS (1980) and MS (1982) in Geology from the University of Kentucky.  He spent fifteen years with Mobil Oil working as an exploration and production geologist in areas including the Gulf of Mexico, Permian Basin, East Texas Basin, West Africa, and the Northern Black Sea.  Tom has spent the last eight years with Pioneer Natural Resources in Dallas, Texas, first working Brazil, then as Exploration Manager for the Gulf of Mexico Shelf, and currently as Vice President North America Exploration.  Tom met his wife of 24 years, Linda, at the University of Kentucky.  They reside in Flower Mound, Texas and have five daughters: Jenny, Katie, Hannah, Rachel, and Emma. 

 
 

Stephen Sullivan (Member 2005-2008) received his bachelor’s degree in Geology from the University of Kentucky in 1979 and his master’s from UK in 1983.  His graduate work concentrated in karst hydrogeology under the direction of Dr. John Thrailkill.  Steve is currently the Chief Financial Officer of The Corradino Group, Inc., which is a professional consulting services firm providing transportation planning, engineering and environmental services to clients throughout the midwest and south.  In addition to serving on UK’s Department of Geological Sciences Alumni Advisory Board, he serves on the Kentucky Geological Survey Advisory Board, UK's College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Advisory Board, the American Cave Conservation Association and Museum Board, and on the West Louisville Economic Alliance Advisory Board.