Ken Austin (BS Geology, 1997; MS Geology, 2001)

I am the Regional Engineer for the UNAVCO Pacific NW Regional Office for the Earthscope Plate Boundary Observatory project. I manage the day to day operations of this office, and oversee the construction of the GPS network in Washington, Oregon and Northern Idaho. I have a couple of employees working for me that do station construction and permitting. About half of my time is spent in the office doing planning, purchasing and scheduling. The rest of the time is spent on the road installing and repairing the GPS equipment. The job is exciting, I get to travel, work with drilling equipment, and with helocopters in remote areas.

The field classes that I took at CWU were important, along with structure, and earthquake geology. I also spent a great deal of time as an undergrad and a graduate student working with GPS technology.

I currently live in Ellensburg. I am married to another CWU grad who is now a county probation officer. We have one son who is now 13 years old and in the 8th grade. My free time is spent cycling, nordic skiing, and volunteering with/watching my son's baseball teams.

My time at CWU was wonderful, and full of great memories. The faculty is top notch, and I feel privileged to have received 2 degrees from there.