WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., Nov. 15, 2017 — Internationally-known National Geographic photographer and creator of the PhotoARK Joel Sartore recently visited West Liberty University to photograph crayfish in the laboratory of Dr. Zachary Loughman, professor of biology. Sartore then added the photographs to his PhotoArk, which he founded to document more than 6,000 species, some of which are at risk in the wild.
Photographer, speaker, author, teacher, conservationist and National Geographic Fellow Joel Sartore photographs crayfish with his assistant in Dr. Zachary Loughman’s lab.
Sartore is a big name in conservation biology, and currently has millions of followers on social media, has published several books and has a show on PBS. He is considered one of the world’s leaders in boots-on-the ground conservation, according to Loughman.
“To date, he has completed two crayfish shoots, one in Charleston with our students, and another in Cincinnati. This is his first time visiting my crayfish laboratory here at WLU, and my hope is it won’t be the last,” said Dr. Loughman.
“Joel is very dedicated to his work and I’m honored by his visit. Our students enjoyed meeting him and learning about his work first-hand. He actually loves West Liberty and speaks of my lab when he gives lectures as an example of how a small group of dedicated people can make a difference,” said Loughman, who was selected as West Virginia’s 2014 Professor of the Year by the Faculty Merit Foundation.
Joel explains his work to President Stephen Greiner (at right). Standing behind him is Dr. Zachary Loughman.
Loughman is well known for his crayfish research and this past spring he and his colleagues had two articles published describing four new species in the past three months.
Loughman’s crayfish conservation lab attracts students seeking a chance to build a career in biology and many of his former students are now enrolled in graduate programs pursuing either masters or doctorates in organismal biology.
The College of Science is a student-focused teaching, learning and research environment dedicated to excellence in undergraduate and graduate education. It offers many choices for science majors, including the Zoo Science program.
‘We believe we offer the strongest undergraduate basic and Health Science Program in the state of West Virginia and perhaps the nation and we are also the only West Virginia state assisted institution that offers a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies,” said Dr. Robert Kreisburg, Dean of the College of Science.
West Liberty University also started the new MA/MS in Biology recently. For more information, please call 1.866.WESTLIB.
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