By Richard LeComte 

Alan Fryar

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Alan Fryar, professor of earth and environmental sciences in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts and Sciences, will serve as the James B. Thompson Jr. Distinguished International Lecturer for 2024-2025 with the Geological Society of America. 

The lectureship funds a researcher who will present stimulating and cutting-edge geoscience research on world tours. Fryar will give his first lecture at the GSA annual meeting in Anaheim, California, on Sept. 24. He will travel to India in March 2025 and to Turkey and Kyrgyzstan in May and June 2025.  

His lecture topic is “Checking the pulse and taking the temperature: how do springs respond to environmental stresses?” His presentation provides an overview of more than 20 years of studies with students and colleagues in Kentucky, Morocco, India and China.  

Fryar earned a doctorate in geology from the University of Alberta, Canada, in 1992. Following his doctoral studies, he was a research associate in the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin from 1992 to 1995. He joined the University of Kentucky as an assistant professor in 1995 

His teaching portfolio includes classes in hydrology, hydrogeology and environmental geology. His research includes work on groundwater and stream interactions, mass transport in karst (limestone) watersheds, chemical evolution during groundwater recharge and flow, natural attenuation of contaminants and water resources in developing countries. He has written or co-written 76 journal papers and 19 book or proceedings chapters. 

Fryar is a fellow of GSA and has served as chair of its Hydrogeology Division. He has also been a Fulbright specialist in environmental science in Pakistan and India, a Fulbright research scholar in Morocco and a Fulbright-Kalam climate fellow in India. He received the International Service Award from the U.S. National Chapter of the International Association of Hydrogeologists in 2016. 

“This honor reflects well on the University of Kentucky and quality of our geoscience program," said Ed Woolery, chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. “Moreover, it is a significant recognition of Alan’s scholarly achievements.”