Biology

When a sinkhole opened Feb. 12 at the National Corvette Museum‘s Skydome area, faculty, staff and students from WKU’s Department of Geography & Geology and WKU’s Department of Engineering responded to the scene to assess the damage and provide their expertise. Above: The Engineering Department’s remote-controlled quadrotor was used to provide video from inside the sinkhole that swallowed eight Corvettes. The WKU Engineering quadrotor is a four-rotor flying machine carrying a camera. The quadrotor is controlled by a pilot using a standard RC (radio-control) handheld unit with two joysticks. The camera is controlled by a different operator who is wearing a headset that displays whatever the camera is seeing. The pan and tilt of the camera follows the operator’s head; for example, if the operator looks to the right and up, the camera does that too.

The sinkhole swallowed eight Corvettes on Feb. 12 at the National Corvette Museum (Photo from National Corvette Museum)

Here are some links to reports from numerous media outlets locally and around the globe that covered the story and talked with WKU faculty members:

• Bowling Green Daily News: Museum structurally sound after sinkhole, will re-open Thursday; Local contractor will help remove reported $1 million in Corvettes from sinkhole at museum
• WBKO-TV (Bowling Green): Sinkhole Caused Estimated $1 Million in Damage to Corvettes; Experts Say Sink Holes Aren’t Uncommon in South Central Kentucky
• WKYU-FM: Corvette Museum To Re-open Thursday After Sinkhole Swallows Eight Cars
• CNN: Sinkhole swallows pricey Corvettes at hallowed museum
• Los Angeles Times: Sinkhole swallows priceless Corvettes
• USA Today: Sinkhole swallows 8 cars at Corvette museum
• ABC News: Sinkhole Collapses Part of Corvette Museum in Ky.
• Louisville Courier-Journal: No repair timetable for National Corvette Museum sink hole
• Tennessean (Nashville, Tenn.): Corvette museum sinkhole causes car enthusiasts to collectively cringe
• The Norman (Okla.) Transcript: Sinkhole swallows Corvettes
• Electrical Engineering Journal: Eight vintage Corvettes swallowed by 40-foot sinkhole inside National Corvette Museum
• Engineering News-Record: Drones Inspect Sinkhole at National Corvette Museum
• WDRB-TV (Louisville): Sinkhole swallows eight cars at Corvette Museum
• WHAS-TV (Louisville): 8 Corvettes swallowed by sinkhole; new dramatic video released
• WAVE-TV (Louisville): Corvette-eating sinkhole being monitored
• WEHT-TV (Evansville, Ind.): Sinkhole Hits National Corvette Museum
• WNCT-TV (Greenville, N.C.): Sinkhole swallows 8 vehicles at National Corvette Museum
• KVVU-TV (Las Vegas): Sinkhole at National Corvette Museum swallows 8 vehicles
• WKYT-TV (Lexington): Sinkhole swallows 8 Corvettes at Kentucky museum
• Oregon Public Broadcasting: Sinkhole Swallows 8 Cars At National Corvette Museum
• Evening Telegraph (United Kingdom): Sinkhole swallows Corvettes