Extraordinary Women Leaders in Speleology (EWLS)

On August 19 th the NSS Board of Directors elected Dr. Katherine Crispin (NSS51841) unanimously as interim Administrative Vice President. Besides this, she holds a Ph.D. in geological sciences from Case Western Reserve University, and a B.Sc. in chemistry from Cedar Crest College. Crispin is also a Fellow of Carnegie Institute of Washington Geophysical Laboratory. She specializes in studies of diffusion in lower mantle minerals.  Prior to joining Carnegie, Crispin examined the effects of crystal field stabilization energy on diffusion rates of transition metals in periclase.  At the Geophysical Laboratory, she collaborates to further high-pressure and high-temperature experiments on diffusion in mantle and core minerals.  #ewls #womencavers #speleology

On the 1st day of the 2015 All-Grrs-Cave-Trip the ladies visited Chubby Buddy Cave. #womencavers #ewls #AGCT2015

"This job is a great scientific adventure. But it's also a great human adventure.” Fabiola Gianotti, Higgs Boson physicist #ScienceWomen #WLeadership #ewls

Photographer and 2013 EWC, Ruth Stickney found many colors in the rock of Chubby Bunny Cave at the 2015 AGCT. Featured here is Rebekah Bauman, 2013 EWC. #AGCT2015 #ewls #womencavers

Cynthia Hauser works as a biologist for the PA Game Commission and does all kinds of work with bat surveys but she also supports the caving community. She was even a presenter for Northeast Bat Working Group in both 2013 and 2014.  Hauser loves bats. She always has since she was introduced to them as a teen while caving in Pennsylvania. One article that featured her explained her relationship with the creatures well: "The work isn’t glamorous and the hours aren’t great, but when Cynthia Hauser gazes into the eyes of a bat, the ticks, the mosquitoes and the ever-present danger of Lyme disease seem to just fade away." SOURCES goo.gl/SDJmY7  http://www.speleobooks.com/NEBWG/ #speleology #ewls #womencaver #ScienceWomen

On the first day of 2015 AGCT early arrivals had the treat of visiting Pillars of Fire Cave, which enters through a well-like structure built by local grottos on private property. What a great day! Thank you all for coming out to celebrate women cavers with us. #womencavers #ewls #AGCT2015

"When you put the helmet on, it doesn't matter if you are woman or man … the important thing is your ability, your intelligence and your determination.” Milka Duno, Race Car Driver #WLeadership #ewls

Here for this week, here is a photo I took on a cave trip to the Lava Beds National Monument in Catacombs Cave. #ewls #womencavers

For the 4th year Conrad Foord has preformed his fantastic fire dances during All-Grrs-Cave-Trip Saturday Ceremonies. Thank you Conrad for being awesome and supporting women in science and speleology! #womencavers #ewls #AGCT2015

Bethany Gregory, BS in wildlife science at Virginia Tech (VT), has been working as a Bat Field Technician for GAI Consultants for over a year. But her work in science has been noticed since she was an undergraduate student at VT. In 2012,  her undergraduate project titled “The influence of the bacterial endophyte Burkholderia phytofirmans (strain PsJN) on growth, leaf gas exchange and drought tolerance” was one of the 15 featured at the seventh annual ACC Meeting of the Minds Conference. Selection for this honor was competitive too. Fifty-two students from multiple  colleges submitted applications to the Office of Undergraduate Research and only 15 were chosen. SOURCES  http://m.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2012/03/032912-uged-accmeetingoftheminds.html www.ewls.org #womencavers #speleology #ewls #ScienceWomen

Check out these great pins from the EWLS Pinterest page. Enjoy more here . #ewls #womencavers #speleology Making Fossils Materials Needed A small natural object (shell, leaf, bone, etc.) Petroleum jelly Plaster of Paris Water Small disposable dish Directions here Growing Stalactites Materials Needed Epsom salts water 2 identical glasses string or paper towel 2 paperclips or weights spoon and bowl or pot Directions here Growing Crystal Geodes Materials Needed Alum powder Eggshells or plastic eggs Glue Paintbrush Directions here Making Cave Paintings Materials Needed Old looking paper Acrylic Paint Paint Brushes or que tips Ideas here Making a Play Cave Materials Needed A refrigerator box Brown paper Hot glue gun (12+) Box knife (adults only) Clear packing tape Directions here Making a Light Table Materials Needed table plastic acrylic Circular Saw router light source Direc

Practice your cave photography by starting with night photography. Night photography is a great way to work with a blank canvas. You won’t have whole lot going on at night so it makes it a little bit easier to work with; especially if your one for star photos. Before you start, remember long exposure shots will drain your battery faster, so always bring a backup battery. These four tips will help you get to know your camera better and get a feel for long exposure shots. 1. Setup times are best at dusk or dawn and the best times to start taking long exposure photos; aka “sweet lighting.” 2. Three factors affect the exposure: shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Put your camera setting from auto to manual. This gives you full control over all settings. Widen your aperture and slow down your shutter speed. Then, raise your ISO a bit but don’t go pass 800 ISO otherwise you will have a lot of grainy and noise in the background.   3. To get a clear image, always use a

Wendy Shirah works security at 2015 NSS Convention #speleology#ewls #womencavers   Photo credit: here

In May officials hired GAI Consultants Cynthia Hauser, Bethany Gregory, Amy Schneider, and Lisa Sinclair to survey bats for the construction of the $5.8 billion rail line where northern long-eared bat, recently declared “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act had to be considered.  This group of leaders became interested in bat survey work because of their influence from caving. Hauser, for example, said she loves bats. "She always has — starting from her days as a teenage spelunker in Pennsylvania. And it’s that passion that has brought her and three colleagues" to survey projects like this. By the end of the first week, the team caught and released 61 bats, two squirrels and a small number of disturbingly large moths but no northern long-eared bats. When the survey is complete, results will be sent to officials at U.S. Fish and Wildlife for review. If the project is not likely to adversely affect the bats, it will be cleared to move forward. Nice work ladies.

I am all about trying to save money so check this out! I was informed about this really cool site where you can rent your lenses before you buy them to make sure they are what you are looking for in a camera leneses. #ewls #womencavers #speleology Lense Rentals: http://goo.gl/REXNgP

 Mary Rose, founder of Salamander Caving Gear, is coming to be a vendor at this year's AGCT and we are so excited and honored to have such an amazing leader in caving visit our event. Mary was born in Vancouver, WA but she moved to he San Francisco Bay Area where she completed her BA in Clothing/Textiles at SFSU. She has 20 years experience in fashion. The first 10 years she was a European fashion spy and another 10 years she worked in the sports fashion industry in Hong Kong with brands like REI, Eddie Bauer, Land'sEnd, EMS, and NorthFace. Six years ago she became a caver and since then, Mary has been very active. She headed the founding of Redwood Grotto and has been caving in the US, Slovenia, Czeck Republic, Italy and the cenotes of the Yucatan. Her work with the CRF at Carlsbad Caverns, the Lava Bed National Monuments, and encouragement of a fellow grotto member inspired her to combine forces and start Salamander Caving Gear in Sonoma county to provide

This year four EWC's are attending AGCT! Read more about them online or in our annual publication ... http://www.ewls.org/ewls-publication.html