Katarina Kosič Ficco is a Field Cave and Karst Scientist for the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation in the Natural Heritage`s karst program. Her B.S. in Political Science and Ph.D. in Karstology enable her to perform scientific research, exploration, conservation, education, and other tasks that help evaluate and successfully protect karst terrains and connected resources. Through her doctoral dissertation, she developed a framework for safeguarding karst aquifers that combine scientific, regulatory, and socio-political elements. As a keen karst scientist and cave explorer, she has joined multiple caving expeditions in the USA and Europe. Many of these include both scientific and exploratory objectives. She has assisted projects involving evaluation and vulnerability mapping of karst terrains, subterranean biology, microbiology, karst hydrology research, geophysical karst analysis, and studies of karst groundwater resources. Her eagerness to protect karst resources, particularly karst groundwaters, guides her in combining her interdisciplinary approaches to bring an understanding of karst and the need for its protection closer to a greater audience within and outside karst science.
