Dr. Mike Kukral is the Geography professor at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was raised in Richfield, Ohio, the son of Ada and Clarence, near the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and a mile away from his grandparent's farm. While attending Ohio University he played trombone under the direction of Ronald P. Socciarelli in the marching band for many years and also earned a B.Sc. in Geography, a M.Sc. in Environmental Science, and a M.A. in Political Science. Crossing the Ohio River, Kukral went to the University of Kentucky where he studied with Stan Brunn, Karl Raitz, and Milos Sebor, and obtained his doctorate in Geography. He was a Fulbright Scholar in revolutionary Prague in 1989-90 and is a specialist on Czech Studies. Besides adventure travel, exploring the coast of Oregon, and teaching, Kukral is an authority on player piano restoration and their music and history. He is close friends with fellow Amazon author John Backderf ("Derf")since their Revere High school days with serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and is a close cousin to Amazon author Jim Kukral. Look carefully at the leg lamp scene in the classic movie "A Christmas Story" and you will see Mike Kukral in the background as an extra. In 2012, as part of Professors without Borders, Kukral spent a few weeks in Kenya at Egerton and Moi universities and gave lectures between exploring Nakuru, Bogoria, and Beringo lakes of the Rift Valley and the grasslands of the Masai Mara reserve. He plans to return.
