LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky Geological Survey at the University of Kentucky will host its fifth annual Paul Edwin Potter Internship Showcase on Wednesday, July 29, celebrating six geoscience students from across the region.

The showcase runs from 9 to 11 a.m. in UK's Mining and Minerals Resources Building, featuring five-minute lightning talks and research posters on projects ranging from tufa characterization to flood modeling. This year's interns — Jillian Bales of Ohio University, Mamie Clark and Kendall McGarvey of the University of Kentucky, Noah Jennings and Grant Keyton of Western Kentucky University, and Breana Pollard of the University of Cincinnati — spent 10 weeks conducting individual research projects alongside KGS mentors.

The students completed collaborative research at Floracliff Nature Preserve, a 346-acre sanctuary in southern Fayette County. The preserve, located in the Kentucky River Palisades region, features Elk Lick Falls, a 61-foot waterfall with significant tufa deposits — porous rock formations created when mineral-laden groundwater precipitates on the surface.

Keyton said the internship provided "the chance to develop both professional and technical skills in a safe and welcoming environment." McGarvey noted her work on tributary flooding has strengthened her abilities as a "geologist and environmental scientist."

The internship program, established in 2022 through a gift from the late Dr. Paul Edwin Potter, a former geology professor at the University of Cincinnati, aims to expand geoscience training opportunities for Kentucky students. The event is open to the campus community and public, providing networking opportunities with faculty and regional geoscience professionals.