Biology

WKU faculty member John All knows what it feels like to be on top of the world and will be sharing his research and mountain climbing expertise during a presentation on Feb. 26.

Dr. John All and University Photographer Clinton Lewis will be discussing their expeditions to Peru as part of a Feb. 26 presentation on “Science in the Death Zone: Studying Environmental Change in the Himalayas and Andes.”

Dr. All, associate professor in WKU’s Department of Geography and Geology and director of the American Climber Science Program, summited Mount Everest in 2010 and will be returning in mid-April for a two-month expedition.

He will be discussing his research expeditions to Mount Everest and Peru in “Science in the Death Zone: Studying Environmental Change in the Himalayas and Andes.” The presentation will begin at 7 p.m. at Mass Media and Technology Hall Auditorium and is open to faculty, staff, students and the community.

Dr. All will be joined by University Photographer Clinton Lewis, who has accompanied Dr. All and his research team on 2011 and 2013 expeditions to Peru.

In the Himalayas, Andes, Alaskan Rockies and other locations, Dr. All and members of the ASCP have been studying the impacts of climate change on high-altitude mountain ranges such as reduced water supplies, lower water quality and altered seasonal patterns for agriculture.

“Mountains are cold and vulnerable,” he said. “As conditions change, they are likely to be impacted.”

In addition to discussing the research, Dr. All and Lewis want to encourage WKU students and others to take advantage of mountain research opportunities. Even though several WKU students are analyzing data from his research trips, Dr. All is hoping that some students will join future expeditions.

Dr. John All will return to Mount Everest this spring. He reached the summit there in 2010 while he was studying climate change in the Himalayas as part of the Fulbright Scholar program.

“We will be showing people what it’s like climbing Everest or the Cordillera Blanca in Peru and living in those conditions,” Dr. All said. “Maybe that will motivate some people to find out more.”

Dr. All also will discuss the impact and opportunities provided by the Fulbright program. His 2010 summit of Mount Everest occurred while he was studying climate change in the Himalayas as part of a Fulbright Scholar program. (Dr. Cecile Garmon is president of the Kentucky Fulbright Association, housed at WKU.)

After he returns from Mount Everest in June, Dr. All will be leading another expedition to Peru this summer. And as part of the expedition to Everest, Dr. All will be blogging for Scientific American.

More: For more about the research, visit www.mountainscience.org or www.johnall.com

Contact: John All, (270) 745-5975.