Big Cave Entrance, China
Cave formation in Mammoth Cave
Crystal Cavern, Kentucky
Water Sampling
The Hoffman Environmental Research Institute is a research center housed within the WKU Department of Geography and Geology. The mission of the Institute is to be a leader in basic and applied research that aims to better understand landscape, atmosphere, water, and human interactions
------------------------------
The Hoffman Environmental Research Institute, established in the 1980s, is one of twelve research centers at Western Kentucky Universiy (WKU). It is housed within the Department of Geography and Geology at WKU. At the time of its establishment, it was among one of the first centers dedicated to research and education about environmental problems, particularly those related to cave and karst environments, in the United States and internationally. It has continued this initial mission through its history and has now been involved in virtually all aspects of basic and applied cave and karst research.
The Hoffman Institute, is comprised of three full-time faculty members, a graphics designer, laboratory manager, environmental research specialist, and multiple student employees who work on a variety of research projects, maintain the technological interfaces for the Institute, and assist in the Institute’s Crawford Hydrology Laboratory. Although it is supported by WKU, it is dependent on external funding provided through grants and other awards to support its projects.
The mission of Hoffman Environmental Research Institute is to be a leader in basic and applied research that aims to better understand landscape/atmosphere/water/human interactions. The Institute involves post-doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students in all aspects of this work to increase their critical thinking skills and technical expertise in the environmental discipline, and, through extensive international collaborations, prepare these students for success in a global society. The Institute has attracted outstanding undergraduate and graduate students from around the world, including multiple regions of the United States. Past center research associates have been very successful in obtaining positions with both government agencies and private firms throughout the United State and internationally.
------------------------------
Hoffman Environmental Research Institute
Department of Geography and Geology
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd., #31066
Bowling Green, KY 42101
270-745-3252
hoffman.institute@wku.edu
