Topic In this public talk, Dr. Ángel A. García Jr., Assistant Professor of Geosciences at James Madison University, will introduce the relevance of cave and karst science to society. In addition, he will be discussing why caves are excellent places to explore the intersection between geology and community using examples from his own research around the world.

Dr. Ángel A. García Jr. is a Boricua (Puerto Rican) geologist who is interested in ethnogeology, cave and karst science, and place-based education. (Ethnogeology is the study of how different cultures understand and interpret their physical homelands. This area of science combines geology,geography, and anthropology.) Dr. García earned his undergraduate degree in Puerto Rico at Universidad Ana G. Mendez(formerly known as Universidad Metropolitana), majoring in Environmental Sciences with a minor in Marine Biology. He earned an MS degree in Geology, focusing on geochemistry, at the University of Vermont and his doctoral degree in Geological Sciences at Arizona State University, focusing on ethnogeology among long-term residents in the Dominican and Puerto Rican karst regions. In 2020 Dr. García was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Geology and Environmental Science at James Madison University in Harrisonburg,VA. During the same year he won the GSA’s Karst Division Early Career Scientist Award.

Dr. García has collaborated with Austin Shank, Grottoes Parks and Tourism Director, to work on making Grand Caverns a geo heritage site, which would preserve the history and character of the caverns, and create additional educational and research opportunities. In spring 2021, Dr. García and his students began work to map and create a 3D model of the caverns. Dr. García has active collaborations in Puerto Rico, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru.

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