Advisory: Media invited to Watney CORELAB extension ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 6

LAWRENCE — Chancellor Douglas A. Girod, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Barbara Bichelmeyer, industry executives and state policymakers will join the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) at the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence on Nov. 6 for a ceremonial ribbon-cutting for KGS’s Watney CORELAB, an extension of the KGS Drill Core Library.

The event is closed to the public, but members of the media are invited to attend the official ceremony. The event is 1:30-3:30 p.m. at the KGS, 1930 Constant Ave. Girod and KGS director Jay Kalbas are scheduled to make presentations, as are Karen and Chris Watney — family members of the building’s namesake — and KGS associate director Nikki Potter.

Those speaking at the ceremony will be available for questions after the ceremony. Media members planning to attend are asked to email KGS professional coordinator Hannah Horinek at hrhorinek@ku.edu by noon Nov. 4.

Media with valid KU media parking permit are advised to park in front of the KGS (Lot 210), with overflow parking at KU Endowment, 1891 Constant Ave. Media needing a media parking permit for this event should contact Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, KU director of news and media relations, at ebp@ku.edu.

The Watney CORELAB is named in honor of the late Lynn Watney, a longtime KGS senior scientist who conducted energy research throughout the state and who was responsible for establishing the KGS core repository. The 5,500-square-foot building more than doubles the amount of storage space for the KGS’s extensive collection of rock core, as well as the laboratory space scientists and engineers use to analyze these materials. 

Its opening is a milestone toward the KGS goal of becoming one of the country’s premier hubs for rock core and critical minerals analysis. Integrative geological and engineering analysis centered in the Watney CORELAB will support multiple industries, including regional critical mineral exploration, aggregates production, and better definition of oil and gas reservoir properties for energy portfolio growth.