@PalyJen

Mom. Palynologist. Organic Petrographer. Fascinated by Fungi & Wetlands. Professor of Geology & Sci Ed.

Joined March 2013
  • Tweets19.3K
  • Following1.2K
  • Followers1.6K
2KMedia
If you're a fan of rocks, science, natural history, or just delightfully weird oddities, the 'Museum of Natural History and Artificial Curiosities' exhibition is at the UK Art Museum through December 19. #KGS loaned several items to the exhibition, and this month’s episode of The Big Blue Rock Pod features curator Rachel Hooper and KGS’s Cheyenne Hohman chatting about the exhibit and the fascinating objects on display. AND, because we can’t exactly loan rocks and fossils to an exhibit without going to see them ourselves (they get lonely when they're away from us), some KGS staffers checked out the exhibition on Friday. Podcast episode: kgsnews.podbean.com/e/ep-57-… Exhibition (free!): finearts.uky.edu/art-museum #Kentucky #Geology #Geoscience #FieldTrip
Photo. Aerial view of some KGS staff members checking out the Museum of Natural History and Artificial Curiosities exhibition at the UK Art Museum.

ALT Photo. Aerial view of some KGS staff members checking out the Museum of Natural History and Artificial Curiosities exhibition at the UK Art Museum.

Photo. Giant hairball in foreground with a couple KGS staff looking on and taxidermied birds in a display case in the background with a couple KGSers looking at it.

ALT Photo. Giant hairball in foreground with a couple KGS staff looking on and taxidermied birds in a display case in the background with a couple KGSers looking at it.

Photo. Some KGS staff members checking out the Museum of Natural History and Artificial Curiosities exhibition at the UK Art Museum.

ALT Photo. Some KGS staff members checking out the Museum of Natural History and Artificial Curiosities exhibition at the UK Art Museum.

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Jen O'Keefe retweeted
UK Research@ResearchKYJul 14
A new tool from @KGSNews and the @KY_NSF_EPSCoR CLIMBS project is helping forecast landslides. The Slope Hydrologic Monitoring Network uses 24 monitoring stations across Eastern Kentucky to track slope conditions and improve early warning capabilities. research.uky.edu/news/climbs…

CLIMBS launches real-time network to forecast Kentucky landslides | UK Research

CLIMBS and the Kentucky Geological Survey launch a real-time monitoring network to forecast landslides, improving safety and resilience in Eastern Kentucky.

research.uky.edu
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The CLIMBS-funded Slope Hydrologic Monitoring Network is the first of its kind in the eastern U.S., using 24 monitoring stations, real-time data, and machine learning to better understand landslide risk and strengthen community resilience. Read more: 🔗 tinyurl.com/yc4cxhpm
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Seed funding is where big ideas take root, and real impact begins. 🌱 Now accepting proposals until March 13th! Submit a proposal and help turn your ideas into impact. 👉 lnkd.in/ejxK5MUZ
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🎉 Please join us in congratulating and welcoming Bhamiti Sharma, PhD, as an Associate Research Scientist at CAER! Her work advances coal- & coke-derived graphite materials for battery applications. We’re glad to have you!
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❄️ MSU PLAN B: Tuesday, 1-27-2026 & Wednesday, 1-28-2026 🧊 MSU main campus and all regional campuses will be on Weather Plan B Tuesday and Wednesday, with all classroom instruction in virtual mode, and staff operating virtually. All in-person classes will not meet.
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Who needs field work when winter delivers it right to your driveway? #KGS #Kentucky #geology #geoscience #FieldWork
Photo of a person pushing a snow shovel with snow all around. Inset graphic showing a diagram of reverse (thrust) faulting. Text says "Thrust faulting associated with deformation at a convergent margin OR shoveling snow?" UK KGS logo at bottom.

ALT Photo of a person pushing a snow shovel with snow all around. Inset graphic showing a diagram of reverse (thrust) faulting. Text says "Thrust faulting associated with deformation at a convergent margin OR shoveling snow?" UK KGS logo at bottom.

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Prototaxites fossils are structurally and chemically distinct from extinct and extant Fungi | Science Advances science.org/doi/10.1126/scia…

Prototaxites fossils are structurally and chemically distinct from extinct and extant Fungi

Prototaxites fossils are distinct from Fungi, suggesting that they represent an extinct lineage of eukaryotic life.

science.org
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WEATHER UPDATE Due to inclement weather and to ensure the safety of our students and employees, MSU’s main campus and all regional campuses will be on the following weather plans: PLAN A Monday, 1-26-2026 PLAN B Tuesday, 1-27-2026 Stay safe, Eagles! 💙💛
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Pretty pink over Hilda, KY #aurora
Trees in the foreground partially covering a night sky with a large vertical band of pink with pale greenish colors near the horizon.

ALT Trees in the foreground partially covering a night sky with a large vertical band of pink with pale greenish colors near the horizon.

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Watch as CLIMBS students describe the favorite part of their research at SuperCollider 2025! Maps were a common theme 😄 #nsffunded
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It’s not every day I find a familiar face on BBC News @AASPTPS ! Delighted to see palynologist John Marshall recognized for his decades of arctic research! bbc.com/news/articles/ce3k05…

Polar Medal awarded to Southampton expert on mass extinctions

Prof John Marshall has made 19 expeditions to Greenland and Norway over 30 years.

bbc.com
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Jen O'Keefe retweeted
MycoKeys@MycoKeysJan 7
The @IMA_Mycology is raising funds to support #fungal scientists from low-income countries to attend the quadrennial IMC 2027 in South Korea. 🥼Support the #scientists here: gofund.me/2a42629f1 📣Repost and reshare to spread the word! 📖mycokeys.pensoft.net/news/10…
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The structural blind spot: Resource inequity in palynological digitization and the role of curatorial labour. Journal of Palaeosciences, 2025. ⟨hal-05438163⟩ #DiamondOpenAccess download PDF here: jpsonline.co.in/index.php/jo… @limi_mao @PalyJen @FossilPollen @yoshi_maezumi 6/6
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Jen O'Keefe retweeted
Liz Koziol@lizkoziol26 Dec 2025
Replying to @FungiInvam
@FungiInvam @MycoBloom prairies, AMF inoculants are all covered in this neat feature: Defunding fungi: US’s living library of ‘vital ecosystem engineers’ is in danger of closing | Fungi | The Guardian share.google/DH0DyDHikvWBV74…

Defunding fungi: US’s living library of ‘vital ecosystem engineers’ is in danger of closing

These fungi boost plant growth and restore depleted ecosystems, but federal funding for a library housing them has been cut – and it may be forced to close

theguardian.com
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Cortland collecting coal: naughty list or research sample? Do you really want to risk it? #KGS #Kentucky #geology #geoscience #coal #naughtylist
Photo. Cortland Eble collecting researching sample of coal from a hillside in the snow.

ALT Photo. Cortland Eble collecting researching sample of coal from a hillside in the snow.

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Are you a GIS instructor in need of new material? Check out the free Guide to the Geographic Approach, a workflow-based curriculum that teaches applied problem solving & GeoAI. Use a whole module or just grab a video or the snippets on ethics or AI! guidetothegeographicapproach…
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Ever wonder how rivers looked before the origin of land plants? Neat new evidence from the #Cambrian Tapeats Formation: pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa…
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Sounds like graupel pouring down in Hilda, KY at 9:10 pm @nwsjacksonky.
White streaks of heavy snow cross the picture diagonally from upper left to lower right.

ALT White streaks of heavy snow cross the picture diagonally from upper left to lower right.

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❄️#snowflakes ❄️@WYMT @WSAZBrandon @SpencerWeather @cjwxguy56 @Kentuckyweather @ryanhallyall @jloganwxguy @GaudetWeather @snider_wx @JimCantore @spann #kywx #ekywx @weatherchannel #snow #Kentucky #winter
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