Constellation of Living Memorials: W.W. Glover Cemetery

Ground Penetrating Radar Capabilities, Practical Results, & Cost
Non-invasive science supporting ethical preservation and community trust.

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) has become an incredibly useful technology for locating unmarked graves. In the hands of skilled professionals, it can also overcome
challenges common to historic cemeteries in Texas such as missing infant graves, completely degraded (or never present) coffins, and even our notoriously clay-rich soils. This session will cover how this technology works, the process and timeline of a GPR project, practical results, and its cost.

Presenter: Dr. Michael Martin, PhD
Michael is a GPR specialist, the founder of Sidekick GPR, and a recent newcomer onto the scene of historic preservation. He began his academic career researching shallow aquifer resources at Texas A&M University, where he earned his PhD in Geophysics, building on a foundation in Geosciences from Texas Tech University. Partway through graduate school however, his focus unexpectedly shifted toward developing new methods for locating unmarked graves—a pursuit that bridged his scientific expertise into historic preservation and led to three peer-reviewed publications between the two fields. Since then, he has specialized in using high-res 3D GPR to tackle challenging cases of unmarked graves in rural and urban historic cemeteries across Texas.