PRESENTER PROFILE:

Presenter:  Jim Pisarowicz
Presentation:  Beneath the Land of the Nahua and Totonac: Exploring Underground Rivers in Puebla, Mexico
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Some of the finest river caving in the world can be found near mountain villages in northern Puebla, Mexico. Here the mountains are limestone,
the land perpetually wet from rain and fog, and the water drains underground through "sumideros" - caves that swallow rivers.  Even today, Spanish is not the native tongue of the people, and the rich ceremonial life of the ancients is still practiced.  Join Jim Pisarowicz as he wonders and perils of exploring caves in this ancient land are relived.

Jim Pisarowicz has been involved with exploring and studying caves for over 50 years.  He has been in over 5000 caves across the globe including caves in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea.  Until moving to Ohio Jim worked at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota (Wind Cave is the 4th longest cave in the world - over 132 miles explored and mapped).  For 12 years he was the editor of the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, the highest circulating scientific journal on caves in the world.  He is a fellow of the National Speleological Society and was given the Lew Bicking Award for cave exploration in 1990 (the highest award given in the field of cave exploration).  Jim was invited to join The Explorers Club in 1979 as a Fellow.  He has authored or edited over 200 books and articles on caving and recently worked as a scientific and technical consultant in the making of the BBC Planet Earth program on caves.  Jim currently works for the US Army Corps of Engineers at Caesar Creek Lake and holds an adjunct faculty position with the Psychology Department at Sinclair Community College here in Dayton.