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Weisenfluh Named Associate Director of Kentucky Geological Survey  

Lexington, KY. (September 4, 2008) - A seventeen-year veteran of the Kentucky Geological Survey at UK, Jerry Weisenfluh, has been named the Survey’s associate director, effective September 1.  Weisenfluh, who has headed the Geospatial Analysis Section of KGS since 2000, has been heavily involved in the development of the KGS web services, which provide a wealth of geologic, mineral, water, mapping, and energy information to the public at no cost.

“Under Jerry’s direction, KGS built one of the finest data delivery systems using the internet of any Survey in the U.S,” says KGS Director and State Geologist Jim Cobb. “Jerry has been a leader in the digital geologic mapping area together with other state and USGS geologists.”

Weisenfluh’s new duties will include oversight and monitoring of KGS research programs and strategic planning for the Survey.

“Researchers at KGS do so much important scientific work which benefits Kentucky in fields such as energy, water resources, and geologic hazards,” says Weisenfluh. “One of the things I want to focus on is insuring that we share the results of our work with the general public and carefully archive our research reports so that they are easily available when people need to see them.”

Weisenfluh, who earned a Ph. D. in geology from the University of South Carolina, has done research and published or co-published findings on coal resources and coal availability in Kentucky. Earlier in his career, he conducted field geology work for private companies to evaluate mineral deposits in Montana, Wyoming and the southeastern U.S.  In 1980, when he first came to UK as a research associate in the Department of Geological Sciences (now Earth and Environmental Sciences) he prepared research proposals, taught applied geology courses to private industry employees, and managed databases for the department.

He joined KGS’ Coal and Mineral Section in 1991, as a principal investigator and served an instrumental role in the development of the Survey’s geographic information system.  Through contacts developed with state agencies, particularly the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, he has helped to promote KGS’ capabilities to help the state on a variety of tasks, including data retrieval and management.  His new duties will also include continuing as a liaison with state agencies and other state geological surveys as well as advising the KGS director on issues important to the Survey’s mission.

KGS is a research entity at the University of Kentucky whose sixty employees serve Kentucky through research to understand the mineral, energy, water resources, and geologic hazards of the state.  The Survey has offices in the Mining and Mineral Resources Building on the UK campus in Lexington and an office in Henderson, Ky.