BATESVILLE, Arkansas — Lyon College will continue its spring 2025 Convocation speaker series with a presentation on “Exploring a Biological Frontier” by science journalist and caver Michael Ray Taylor on Thursday, April 3, at 4 p.m. in the Nucor Auditorium of the Lyon Business and Economics Building, located at 2300 Highland Rd. in Batesville.
The event is free and open to the public.
Taylor has explored unusual cave systems worldwide and will discuss three ongoing projects that shed light on how large mammals survived past climate changes, the existence of a deep hidden biosphere and the potential for microbial life on other worlds in the solar system. He will share images from recent cave discoveries not yet made public.
The lecture will precede the 108th annual meeting of the Arkansas Academy of Science, scheduled for April 4-5 at Lyon College. The Academy aims to promote and disseminate scientific knowledge while fostering collaboration among researchers in the state. The conference will feature more than 120 research presentations and poster sessions. Taylor also will be a featured speaker at the conference.
Taylor, a professor emeritus of communication at Henderson State University, is an acclaimed writer specializing in caves and cave science. His books, “Cave Passages,” “Dark Life” and “Hidden Nature,” explore the world beneath Earth’s surface, with “Hidden Nature” being a 2021 finalist for the Reed Environmental Writing Award. His cave-related articles have been featured in The New York Times, Audubon, Sports Illustrated, National Parks and numerous other publications.
A fellow of the National Speleological Society, the Cave Research Foundation, and The Explorers Club, Taylor has spent years investigating exotic microbes deep within Tennessee caves with biologist James Engman of Rhodes College. This research is detailed in “Hidden Nature.”
For more information, please contact Carol Langston at Carol.Langston@lyon.edu or (870) 307-7075.
Karin Huffman is an Independence County native who graduated from Cushman High School in 1996. Traveling throughout the state is one of her passions, along with writing about her adventures.
Taking over as travel writer for the Ozark Gateway Region is a dream come true for Huffman who lives in the region with her two daughters, Grace and Stella.
As a family, they enjoy canoeing the Poke Bayou, Salado Creek and the many waterways along the White River in Independence County. Camping and hiking throughout the region is a must for them in the spring and fall as well.
Huffman is an avid nature photographer who will do just about anything to find the perfect waterfall shot, and has visited many in the great state. From Twin Falls and the Richland Creek area in Northwest Arkansas to little known places off the beaten path, waterfalls will be found.
Huffman has been a travel writer for the Eye on Independence Magazine as well as a staff writer for the Batesville Guard, and is looking forward to devoting her time to traveling throughout the eight county region that the Ozark Gateway offers.
If you would like to contact Huffman about an adventure or would like to know how to get more information out about your area, contact her at 870-307-5473, karinhuffman78@gmail.com or karinozarkgateway@sbcglobal.net.