|
Members
- Roster
Page
- Member's Biographies
- Member's
Books and Videos
- Awards
- Student
Members
- Past
Members
Expeditions
- Member
Expeditions
- Media Coverage
- Historic Greater
Piedmont Explorers
Events
- Future
Outings
- Past
Outings
- Future Meetings
- Past Meetings
Explorers
Club Resources
- Expedition
Planning
- Expedition
Funding
- Field Science Sites
- Field Research Centers
Join
The Explorers
- Become
a Member
-
About the Club
- Chapter Leadership
- Club Chapters
History
- Chapter
History
- The Explorers Club Journal
Contact
Us
- Explorers
Club
- Explorers
Club HQ
|
2016
Meetings
November
Speakers: Clover Robichaud, Frank Knowlton, John Hodge
Topic: Mini-Talks
Student
member Clover Robichaud will be presenting research she did in the
Philippines on the Tarsiers. She received a Junior Science award for
this work from the University of South Carolina. In 2015, Clover (in
only the 10th grade) graduated with honors from Cardinal Newman
High School. She is now in her second year at Columbia College. Clover
attends many Chapter meetings and has taken part in several Chapter
projects including the Granby dig and the "Fort Congaree II Dig" Flag
Expedition.
Climber Frank Knowlton will be talking about the
Matterhorn. Frank received a B.A. in History from Washington & Lee
University (1977-81) and while there wrote numerous articles and papers
on Archaeological Field Research. In 1984, he received a Juris Doctor
degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. In his law
career, he has been recognized by several editions of "The Best Lawyers
in America" and as a “Midlands 2011 and 2013 Legal Elite” by the
Columbia Business Monthly magazine.
John Hodge will talk about a
behind the scenes tour of the Smithsonian Meteorite Collection that he
recently took. John is a NASA volunteer in the Solar System Ambassador
Program and is a frequent speaker on astronomy and planetary science
topics. He is a partner in The Bethune Observers Group, private
observatory complex. John is an active pilot and a Registered
Professional Geologist. John is a leader in aviation and environmental
law. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in Environmental Law.
He has taken part in several Explorers Club Flag Expeditions including
"The Lake Murray B-25 Rescue Project”, “Exploration of the Effects of
Climate Change on the Central Coast of Chile”, and "The Fort Congaree
II Dig".
October
Speaker: Jeffrey W. Hall, MD
Topic: Ten years after the tsunami: The role of humanitarian aid in developing a stable society in Aceh, Indonesia
Jeff Hall has served as an assistant professor in the Department of
Family and Preventive Medicine since 2008. He directs the department's
Maternity Care curriculum, and also supervises several of the School of
Medicine's global health projects, including the M-4 student
international electives, the Traveler's Health clinic, and a Global
Health Fellowship program. He holds a certificate of knowledge in
Clinical Tropical Medicine (CTropMed) from the American Society for
Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and also the Certificate in Travel
Health (CTH) from the International Society of Travel Medicine. Dr.
Hall has spent time living and working in Latin America, Asia, Africa,
Europe and the United States. He can order lunch in 4 languages, but is
never sure exactly what ends up on his plate.
Dr. Hall graduated
from the University of Florida School of Medicine and completed his
Family Medicine residency at St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City in
2003.
About the topic:
The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004
killed nearly 150,000 people in the Indonesian province of Aceh. This
complex humanitarian emergency brought an abrupt end to three decades
of a guerrilla separatist campaign in the region. Following tsunami,
these formerly violent insurgents transitioned to diplomatic methods
and use of democratic political processes. Such positive reactions to
catastrophes are not the norm, and the tsunami recovery is an excellent
study on factors that contribute to a beneficial response.
Dr.
Hall and his family spent a year in Sumatra partnering with Philippine
and Indonesian health workers to reconstruct primary care and public
health in a post-conflict zone.
September
Speaker: David Brinkman
Topic: Where is the Truth and Justice? A Search for Charleston’s 1850 John C. Calhoun Statue
A
top 19th century sculpture, the first woman foreign correspondent, the
inspiration of the epic poem Aurora Leigh, South Carolina's most famous
son, the Great Triumvirate, the first South Carolina State House, the
underground tunnels of Columbia, SC, and the inspiration of the
American Civil War......What do all these have in common?
In
1843, American neoclassical sculptor Hiram Powers produced "The Greek
Slave" which was one of the best-known and critically acclaimed
artworks of the nineteenth century. The statue inspired Elizabeth
Barrett Browning to write a sonnet on it and it would be used in the
abolitionist cause as copies of it appeared in many Union-supporting
State Houses.
Powers, whose move from America to Florence, Italy
was financed by John Preston of Columbia, SC, would followup (starting
in 1844) with a masterpiece statue of South Carolina's most famous son,
two-times Vice-President and US Senator, John C. Calhoun. Under the
design direction of Calhoun himself, the finished Roman toga covered
(and larger than life) marble image of Calhoun would go through an
amazing journey as the nation headed toward civil war (as Calhoun had
predicted years before.)
In 1850, just following the death of
John C. Calhoun, the newly finished statue would be lost at sea with
Margaret Fuller, (the first woman foreign corespondent). The tragedy
would be the inspiration of another Elizabeth Barrett Browning piece:
Aurora Leigh.
Under national attention through the news media,
the City of Charleston, SC spared no expense in finding and recovering
the Calhoun statue. The statue would finally take its place in
Charleston's City Hall in 1858. It soon became the inspiration of the
Secessionists of 1860 and its image would later appear on the Secession
banner and many Confederate dollar bills. Expecting a Union invasion,
Charleston hid the statue in Columbia during the war but it disappeared
in the attack and burning of Columbia in 1865.
After being
completely forgotten with the passing of the Civil War generation,
David Brinkman began what has been six years of on-and-off research on
the statue capped off by recent significant discoveries by Brinkman and
historian Tom Elmore. The discoveries have now led to very involved
research on the Old South Carolina State House and what may have been
buried in the rubble of its basement after the Union Army burned the
structure in 1865. Come hear this forgotten story and witness a full
range of evidence (circumstantial, physical, and even a DNA connection)
as we explore and ultimately solve multiple history mysteries.
About the speaker:
David
Brinkman is just now finishing his four-year term as Chair of the
Greater Piedmont Chapter of the Explorers Club. David was born in
Myrtle Beach, SC but has spent most of his life in Columbia. He
graduated from the University of South Carolina with a B.S. in Computer
and Electrical Engineering and from Midlands Technical College with an
A.S. in Electronics Technology Engineering. For almost 30 years, he has
worked as a software engineer for NCR, AT&T, and Intel
Corporations. He current serves on the Industry Advisory Board of
Midlands Technical College.
Exploration Work:
* Extensive research of Columbia's River history (1700's to early 1900's):http://dobrinkman.net/bridge/
* Specialized work with computer overlays of old surveys and maps onto today's
maps (This work helped: Find the lost Broad River Confederate Bridge and
General Sherman's pontoon crossing site; Find the site of Jacob Geiger’s Mill on the
Congaree river; Verify the location of Friday's Ferry (at Granby) with that of
remains found in 2007; Find the location of the 1748 Fort Congaree in 2013.
* GPS mapping and photography of hundreds of South Carolina Ferry and Bridge sites.
* Creation of Smartphone GPS enabled tours for Android and iPhone smartphones (You do the
walking and your phone does the talking): http://historysoft.com/ :
Phone apps created:
-Columbia's Three Rivers History Tour (150 points of interest over 15
miles).
-Midlands' Historical Markers App (140 markers).
-Riverbanks Zoo Tour App (70 points of interest including Saluda Mill
Ruins).
-Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum App: The first smartphone
museum app that has automatic detection of a person's location in a
museum.
-Charleston 3D Tour App (350 markers and over 400 stereoscopic images
of Charleston
from the Civil War and today.
-Clarendon County Tour App featuring the Swamp Fox Murals
* Finding Granby project: Team leader over a Historical and Archaeological project to
find the remains of the old South Carolina town of Granby. The dig has produced over
16,000 artifacts from the Granby period.
Awards:
2009: The Historic Columbia Foundation’s Helen Kohn Hennig Award
for Historic Preservation to David Brinkman for the PBS History
Detectives
“Civil War Bridge” nationally television episode.
2011: Columbia, SC Chamber of Commerce Pillar Award finalist: Pillar of
Technology
in the Arts for David Brinkman’s South Carolina Confederate Relic Room
and
Military Museum Smartphone Application which uses phone sensors to
determine a visitor’s position in the museum.
July
Speaker: Phil Bartlett
Topic: Recent adventures in Nepal and walking Spain's Camino
Phil
Bartlett has been instructing courses in the Moore School of Business
at USC since 1999. He has been instructing courses for eighteen years
in the areas of management, economics and finance.
In 2001 he
was awarded Professor of the Year by the Moore School of Business.
While being at USC he has twice been the recipient of the Mortar Board
Excellence in Teaching Awards by the Honor’s College for 2009-10; and,
2011-12. At present, he serves as the Faculty Advisor for AKPsi in the
Moore School of Business.
Mr. Bartlett is retired as an
Administrative Director from the Dean's Office of the USC School of
Medicine. He served in local, state and federal law enforcement for
eighteen years, where he was awarded the Medal of Honor and twice
awarded the Medal of Valor by the Association of Chiefs of Police in
addition to 16 commendations for bravery. Mr Bartlett also served
on active and Reserve duty in the US Army for over ten years.
Mr
Bartlett has visited over 81 countries - living with indigenous
people's in the jungles of Brazil, completing the Tour Mont Blanc in
Europe in six days; and, the Way of St James across northern Spain, a
trek of 500 miles. Climbs in Africa, Central and South America.
He also guides adventure trips around the world. He is an avid
mountaineer, climber and kayaker.
Mr. Bartlett has two
undergraduate degrees in Criminal Justice and Human Resource Management
and two graduate degrees in business. He also speaks Spanish and
Portuguese.
His latest accomplishment was completing the 2016 Murph Challenge in 38 mins; 29 seconds.
For
the Explorers Club, Phil will be talking about his recent adventures in
Nepal and the 100 mile long walks he guided on Spain's Camino.
June
Speaker: John Cely
Topic: Bird Movements and Migration
John Cely
is a native of Columbia and graduated from AC Flora High School in
1965; Clemson University, 1969 (BS, Biology); and 1978 (MS, Wildlife
Biology). He was employed for 26 years as a wildlife biologist with the
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources where he specialized in
bird studies and surveys for various species including the red-cockaded
woodpecker and swallow-tailed kite.
After leaving DNR he served
for five years as the land protection director for the Congaree Land
Trust where he worked with private landowners to establish conservation
easements on working farms and forests, wetlands, and other significant
rural properties.
Since being fully retired in 2012 John has
enjoyed travel, camping, hiking, and volunteering at the Congaree
National Park. He currently serves on the COWASEE Basin Focus Area task
force.
May
Speaker: Jay Coles
Topic: The Carolina Wildlife Center
Jay Coles,
Executive Director of the Carolina Wildlife Center, will be presenting
at our meeting the how and why we need to preserve wild animals, even
ones we think we don't like. Carolina Wildlife Center began in 1989
when five Columbia residents recognized a growing need for a local
organization dedicated to the care of wildlife in distress. Working in
a garage, we received less than 100 patients that first year. Today
Carolina Wildlife Center takes in over 3,500 injured and orphaned
wildlife animals each year with a mission to raise, rehabilitate and
release these animals back into their natural habitats. Carolina
Wildlife Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and in the decades since
treating our first fledgling blue jay, we've raised and rehabilitated
more than 60,000 animals representing 200 species. As human populations
across South Carolina rapidly encroach upon animal habitats, we fulfill
a need for increased education about our eco-community and how to care
for and protect the wildlife living here.
Carolina Wildlife
Center is devoted to the rehabilitation of injured and orphaned animals
and the preservation of wildlife through education.
April
Speaker: Dr. Daniel Abel
Topic: "From Winyah Bay to the Streets of Casablanca: My Life With Sharks"
Sharks
are among the most magnificent and, unjustifiably, most feared beasts
on the planet. This presentation will focus on my personal experience
with sharks and will include: my work at Scripps Institution of
Oceanography studying shark hearts; the 15-year Coastal Carolina
University shark census; encounters with sharks at the Bimini
Biological Field Station and while teaching with Semester at Sea; and
my most recent project on adaptations of deep-sea sharks. In the
process I’ll discuss our relationship to sharks, aspects of their life
history, their importance in ecosystems, biomedical use of sharks,
threats to their survival, and whether 2015 really was the Year of the Shark.
Daniel
C. Abel is Professor of Marine Science at Coastal Carolina University
in Conway, SC. He earned his M.Sc. in marine biology from the College
of Charleston and his Ph.D. in marine biology from the University of
California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and was a
postdoctoral fellow in marine biomedicine at the Medical University of
South Carolina. His research focuses on the physiology and ecology of
sharks and rays. He is co-author of the textbooks Environmental Issues:
Looking Towards a Sustainable Future (4th ed, Pearson.), Environmental
Oceanography (Jones and Bartlett), and Environmental Geology (Jones and
Bartlett). He has been an award-winning environmental columnist, was
founding director of CCU’s Sustainability Initiative from 2006 – 2012,
and served on the board of directors of the Dogwood Alliance, a forest
protection organization. He has significant international teaching
experience, which includes his annual Biology of Sharks course held at
the Bimini Biological Field Station in the Bahamas for the last 20
years. He taught at sea and in > 30 countries on the M/V Explorer
with Semester at Sea in spring 2010 and summer 2012, 2013, and 2014.
Dr. Abel is a Senior Fellow of the U.S. Partnership for Education for
Sustainable Development. He resides in Pawley’s Island, SC.
March
Speaker: John Adams Hodge FN'74
Topic: "WHAT ASTEROIDS & DWARF PLANETS REVEAL ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM: CERES, VESTA, & PLUTO"
The topic:
NASA’S
Dawn spacecraft visited Vesta, the largest asteroid in the Solar
System, and Dawn is now orbiting the dwarf planet Ceres. These
two objects are an odd couple of opposites. We’ll look at Dawn’s
exploration of both objects and consider what each can tell us about
the history of our Solar System. We’ll also survey Pluto, another dwarf
planet, as studied by New Horizons during its flyby last July.
The small bodies of the Solar System continue to reveal many surprises
that are startling and suggest that numerous dynamic processes have
shaped these bodies into the objects that we observe today.
About our speaker:
John Hodge
is a leader in aviation and environmental law. He is listed in The Best
Lawyers in America® in Environmental Law. He is the principal of Hodge
& Associates, LLC in Columbia, South Carolina that practices
exclusively environmental and aviation law.
Mr. Hodge is also a
Registered Professional Geologist. His interests are in coastal
geology and geomorphology, environmental applications of geology, and
planetary geology.
He is a NASA volunteer in the Solar System
Ambassador Program and is a frequent speaker on astronomy and planetary
science topics. He is a partner in The Bethune Observers Group, private
observatory complex. One of his astronomical photographs appears in the
April 2016 issue of Sky and Telescope.
He is an active pilot
and has logged over 19,000 hours of flight time and currently flies a
1946 Aeronca Champ and an Airbus A-330.
He has participated as
a principal in two Explorers Club Flag Expeditions: “The Lake Murray
B-25 Rescue Project” with Bob Seigler and Bill Vartorella, and
“Exploration of the Effects of Climate Change on the Central Coast of
Chile” with Brian Helmuth. Mr. Hodge was also awarded the Order of the
Palmetto for the Lake Murray B-25 Rescue Project. The endeavor was
featured on the History Channel. He is past Chair of the Greater
Piedmont Chapter and currently serves on the Explorers Club Legal
Committee, the Chapter Relations Committee, and the Student Grants
Committee.
Mr. Hodge recently coauthored a report published by the
Transportation Research Board entitled “Sovereign Immunity for Public
Airport Operators,” and he also published an article in the American
Bar Association, Air and Space Lawyer entitled, “General Aviation
Security: Risk, Perception, and Reality.” Other recent publications
include Climate Change: Developing Adaptive Strategies in a Changing
Environment in the American Bar Association, SciTech Lawyer and Oil and
Chemical Spill Prevention: How Environmental Regulators Can Address
Human Factors in Oil Spill Prevention Using Crew Resource Management in
The Environmental Law Reporter.
He is an Adjunct Professor at
the University of South Carolina in the Environment and Sustainability
Program, and he formerly taught a graduate course, “Environmental
Regulations and Planning” for over 18 years.
EDUCATION
• Duke University, B.S., Geology
• University of South Carolina, M.S., Marine Science (Geology)
• University of South Carolina, J.D.,
• Birkbeck College, University of London, Certificate in Planetary Geology,
FAA CERTIFICATES
•
Airline Transport Pilot with Type Ratings on Boeing 737, 757,
767 and Airbus A-320 and A-330.
• Instructor Certificates: CFII, MEI, and AGI
• Single Engine Sea and Glider
• Flight Engineer –Turbojet
February
Speaker: Rudy Mancke
Topic: "A history of natural history in SC. Early naturalists and natural history today in SC."
About our speaker:
From The University of South Carolina:
Rudy Mancke
grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and spent his childhood roaming
the woods and meadows of the Piedmont, observing the natural world,
identifying flora and fauna, and asking himself questions about what he
saw. When he was not exploring the outdoors, he was in the library
seeking answers to these questions while forming new ones. Rudy’s
education at Wofford College and graduate study at the University of
South Carolina broadened his interest in natural history, an enthusiasm
that he tried to give to his students at Spartanburg High School and
later to the public while a Curator of Natural History at the South
Carolina State Museum. Rudy is happy to have founded the South
Carolina Association of Naturalists, an organization that continues to
thrive. Rudy’s work at the museum brought him into contact with
producers at South Carolina Educational Television and led to the
television series NatureScene (1978-2002) that is still being aired on
public television. With hosts Beryl Dakers and later Jim Welch (Greater
Piedmont Chapter member and former Chair), Rudy led viewers on nature
walks in many locations in the United States as well as to sites
abroad.
You can view 53 NatureScene episodes at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teQ1lvxMiqE&list=PL1063572C27BEE8D3
Rudy
Mancke retired at the end of 2008, but we are very fortunate that he
will still be linked with the School of Environment as Adjunct faculty
and teaching ENVR J200 - Natural History of South Carolina course.
RUDOLPH E. (RUDY) MANCKE
Naturalist in Residence
Office of the Provost
University of South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Married, two children
Education
Undergraduate, Wofford College, Phi Beta Kappa, B.S. 1967
Graduate School, University of South Carolina, Zoology, 1967-1969
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, College of Charleston, 1990
Honorary Doctor of Science, Wofford College, 1992
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Winthrop College, 1993
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Coker College, 1998
Honorary Doctor of Science, Presbyterian College, 1999
Honorary Doctor of Science, Clemson University, 2007
Experience
• United States Army, Germany, 1969-1972
• Teacher, Spartanburg High School, Biology and Geology, 1972-1975
• Curator of Natural History, South Carolina State Museum, 1975-1985
• Founder of SCAN (South Carolina Association of Naturalists), 1976 to present
• NatureScene Series: South Carolina Educational Television, 1978 to present
• Teacher: Workshops/Lesson Plans for Instructional Television, 1978 to present
• Director of Science and Nature Programming, South Carolina Educational Television,
1985-2002
• Distinguished Lecturer in Natural History, University of South Carolina, School of the
Environment, 2002 to 2009
• Naturalist in Residence, University of South Carolina, 2010-present
Awards
Southern Educational Communications Association Award for NatureScene, 1980 and 1982
Environmental Education Association Award for NatureScene, 1982
Special Achievement Award, National Wildlife Federation, 1987
Daughters of the American Revolution Medal of Honor, 1989
Phi Delta Kappa Friend of Education Award, 1990
Governor’s Award for Excellence in Science, 1991
South Carolina Environmental Awareness Award, 1992
Order of the Palmetto, 1993
Margaret Douglas Award, The Garden Club of America, 1995
South Carolina Hall of Science and Technology Inductee, 1997
Best Friend of Libraries, 1998
Lucy Hampton Bostick Award, Richland County Library, 1999
Charles H. Townes Award, 2000
S.C. Broadcasters Association Masters Award, 2001
William C. Everhart Award, 2001
Regional Director’s Conservation Award, US Fish and Wildlife Service, 2003
Stewardship Award, Carolina Nature Photographers Association, 2009
South Carolina Annual Literacy Leader Award, 2012
Governor’s Award in the Humanities, 2015
January
Speaker: Alan Shoemaker
Topic: "An African Adventure"
Alan Shoemaker is
a graduate of Furman University (1967) in Biology; in 1972 he obtained
a M.S. degree in Biology from the University of South Carolina.
Mr. Shoemaker worked at Riverbanks Zoological Park from 1972 until his
retirement in 2002. During his tenure at Riverbanks, he held the
position of Curator of Mammals and Collection Manager.
After
retirement, he was named an Honorary Member of the America Zoo
Association (AZA). Alan has authored 125 professional
papers. Prior to attending graduate school, he served in the U.S.
Army for two years, including a five-month of tour of duty in Vietnam
as a platoon leader with the 9th Infantry Division where he was
decorated with the Army Commendation Medal and the Bronze Star.
A lover of travel, Shoemaker has visited all 50 states and 45 countries.
We
will take our members up the Sousavlei Dunes, over to Walvis Way,
across the Namib desert and finally to Etosha National Park. This
is the largest park in southern Africa and larger than Kruger and
other, better known parks. All transportation is by small plane
and was an incredible adventure. Many of the large animals are
not ones members who have been to the Serengeti have ever seen and the
secenery is fabulous.
|
