Ken Lawrence Named 2020 Third Quarter Lawrence S. Semo Award Winner

Ken Lawrence, Geoarchaeologist and Principal Investigator in the Austin office, has been named the Lawrence S. Semo Scientific Achievement Award winner for the third quarter of 2020.

Ken has been with SWCA for more than 20 years providing leadership to Austin’s cultural resource team on the application of cutting-edge science to the practice of archaeology. Ken’s expertise in geoarchaeology, depositional modeling, sedimentology and stratigraphy, and soil analysis is sought after across the country. His focus on quantitative analysis to help scope cultural resource investigations and to interpret the past is the embodiment of “Sound Science. Creative Solutions.”

Ken also plays a critical role in mentoring junior cultural resource staff. In the lab, Ken is leading, instructing, and mentoring junior staff members on the finer aspects of phosphorous analysis, loss-on-ignition, calcium carbonate equivalents, and particle size distributions – all in an effort to train our staff to think critically about what we do. This investment in mentorship is apparent by the quality and engagement of cultural resource staff in the Austin office.

The quarterly Lawrence S. Semo Scientific Achievement Award rewards individuals for demonstrating passion, creativity, and scientific excellence in a manner that advances SWCA’s purpose, mission, vision, and values. The award is in honor of Larry Semo, who began working as a biologist for SWCA in Austin in 1993 and transferred to Denver in 1999. A respected and widely published ornithologist and all-around naturalist, Larry had an insatiable desire to learn and a great love for the outdoors until his untimely passing in 2011.