Kenneth E. Caster (1908-1992) was a renaissance paleontologist who researched fossils from sponges to eurypterids; he had especial affection for echinoderms and arthropods.  In addition, he was an early proponent of the application of the facies concept to understanding stratigraphy, his work in the Southern Hemisphere convinced him that continents moved, and he was an ichnologist before the  word was coined.
   Ken and Annie (1910-1995) came to the University of Cincinnati in 1936.  Annie was a geologist and teamed with Ken in producing manuscripts.  The Casters were well known for entertaining students at their fascinating home.  They worked closely with amateur collectors and helped found the well-known "Dry Dredgers" in 1942.
    Ken, as teacher, supervised at least 30 master and 25 doctoral students.  He was given a variety of awards, including the Orville A. Derby Medal of the Brazilian Geological Survey, the Gondwana Medal of the Geological Survey of India, the Paleontological Society Medal, and received both Guggenheim and Fullbright fellowships.  Ken was President of the Paleontological Society, three times President of the Paleontological Research Institution, and in 1975, his students presented him with a Festschrift volume in honor of his 45th year of teaching.
(See, 1993, Journal of Paleontology, p. 1095-1096).