WKU News

WKU’s Department of Geography and Geology has been awarded a MOVE software grant for $3.7 million from Midland Valley Exploration Ltd., Glasgow, U.K., to support Assistant Professor of Geology Dr. Nahid Gani’s tectonics and structural geology research and teaching.

Dr. Nahid Gani

Midland Valley Exploration Ltd., the world’s leading structural geology experts, lives by its founding principle is: “by geologists for geologists.” WKU is now an active member of Midland Valley’s ASI group. This software donation includes “MOVE suites of analytical geological software” with support and maintenance, which is the most complete and comprehensive geological industry standard structural modeling software.

The newly acquired software is housed in the LeGo Lab (Landscape Geodynamics Lab) in the Department of Geography and Geology, which is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities including dual monitor high-end PCs, thermo-chronologic and satellite image-processing software, a high-resolution mineral picking scope, and much more.

Graduate and undergraduate students and faculty members are gearing up to use this MOVE software to integrate quantitative 3D modeling from remote sensing data, digital elevation models, seismic data and GPS-based field mapping to develop advanced structural and tectonic models to better understand geological evolution, particularly tectonic, stratigraphic and structural evolution in the context of geological explorations.

This noteworthy grant provides geoscience faculty and students an exposure to top-of-the-line methods and tools available in geoscience data modeling, validation and uncertainty quantification.

“Cutting-edge software applications are crucial in the geosciences for training students to be competitive for professional opportunities,” said Geography and Geology Department Head David Keeling. “With technology changing at such a rapid pace, it is critical that faculty and students have access to the most up-to-date software to conduct research that can help to address society’s most pressing challenges.”

Contact: Nahid Gani, (270) 745-2813.