2016 Show Speaker Bios
Ken S. Carlsen graduated from Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio in 1967 and began a career teaching Earth Science at Mt. Anthony Union High School in Bennington, Vermont. While doing graduate work at Michigan Tech University in Houghton, Michigan, he was involved with exploring the many mines of the region and cutting and polishing material found in the mines. From his studies at Michigan Tech, Ken realized that if students could experience science first-hand and travel to the sources of earth science topics, they would have a better understanding of the subject matter. Upon returning to Mt. Anthony he introduced rock cutting and polishing as part of the earth science program, and he started a lapidary club where students were able to cut cabochons, polish slabs, tumble, and facet semi-precious stones as an after-school activity. The club also put on a gem and mineral show at the high school. For many years, Ken organized field trips during which many of his students were able to study the active volcanoes of Hawaii, Costa Rica, and Iceland and to experience earthquake activity at those locations. They dug for gem topaz in the Outback of Australia and studied corals and life on the Great Barrier Reef. They were able to study astronomy on Mauna Kea in Hawaii and collect minerals at Belvidere Mountain in Vermont and at other locations in the northeast. Since his retirement in 2005, Ken has authored or contributed to articles in Rocks and Mineral Magazine, UK Journal of Mines and Minerals, and the book American Mineral Treasures. He and his wife Rose continue to put on mineral and rock programs in schools in Vermont and surrounding states.
Carl A. Francis earned his A.B. in Geology from Amherst College in 1971 and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. His professional interests include systematic mineralogy and the geology of pegmatites. He retired in 2011 after 34 years as the Curator of the Harvard University Mineralogical Museum. He also taught museum studies in the Harvard Extension School for 20 years. He is currently the Curator for the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum, a new museum in Bethel, Maine. He received the Carnegie Mineralogical Award from the Hillman Foundation of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in 1992. He is a Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America and served as Chairman of the International Mineralogical Association Commission on Museums.
Ken S. Carlsen graduated from Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio in 1967 and began a career teaching Earth Science at Mt. Anthony Union High School in Bennington, Vermont. While doing graduate work at Michigan Tech University in Houghton, Michigan, he was involved with exploring the many mines of the region and cutting and polishing material found in the mines. From his studies at Michigan Tech, Ken realized that if students could experience science first-hand and travel to the sources of earth science topics, they would have a better understanding of the subject matter. Upon returning to Mt. Anthony he introduced rock cutting and polishing as part of the earth science program, and he started a lapidary club where students were able to cut cabochons, polish slabs, tumble, and facet semi-precious stones as an after-school activity. The club also put on a gem and mineral show at the high school. For many years, Ken organized field trips during which many of his students were able to study the active volcanoes of Hawaii, Costa Rica, and Iceland and to experience earthquake activity at those locations. They dug for gem topaz in the Outback of Australia and studied corals and life on the Great Barrier Reef. They were able to study astronomy on Mauna Kea in Hawaii and collect minerals at Belvidere Mountain in Vermont and at other locations in the northeast. Since his retirement in 2005, Ken has authored or contributed to articles in Rocks and Mineral Magazine, UK Journal of Mines and Minerals, and the book American Mineral Treasures. He and his wife Rose continue to put on mineral and rock programs in schools in Vermont and surrounding states.
Carl A. Francis earned his A.B. in Geology from Amherst College in 1971 and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. His professional interests include systematic mineralogy and the geology of pegmatites. He retired in 2011 after 34 years as the Curator of the Harvard University Mineralogical Museum. He also taught museum studies in the Harvard Extension School for 20 years. He is currently the Curator for the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum, a new museum in Bethel, Maine. He received the Carnegie Mineralogical Award from the Hillman Foundation of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in 1992. He is a Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America and served as Chairman of the International Mineralogical Association Commission on Museums.