Chris Groves is a University Distinguished Professor of Hydrogeology and director of the Crawford Hydrology Laboratory (CHL). He received a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia. His research interests are in Geomorphology, Hydrology and Karst Landforms.
Since coming to WKU, Groves has received Ogden College Awards for Outstanding Teaching (1995), Research and Creative Activity (2000), and Public Service (2010). Over the years he has developed an active international research program specializing in karst hydrogeology, geochemistry, and water resources, with recent peer-reviewed papers appearing in the Journal of Environmental Quality, Journal of Hydrology, Journal of Contaminant Hydrogeology, and Environmental Geology. Over the past 15 years, much of this effort has been working with colleagues to understand and improve karst water resources in southwest China through the programs of the China Environmental Health Project. Currently, Groves serves as a co-leader of the UNESCO Scientific Program IGCP598 “Environmental Change and Sustainability in Karst Systems” and is on the Board of Governors of UNESCO’s International Research Center on Karst. Closer to home, Groves serves on Kentucky’s Board of Trustees for The Nature Conservancy. In 2012 he was selected by China’s Ministry of Land and Resources as a finalist for the China Friendship Award, that nation’s highest award for “foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to the country's economic and social progress.”