Lyle Vernon Archie Sendlein was born on May 11, 1933, in St. Louis, Missouri. He received his B.S. (1958) in geological engineering and his M.S. (1960) in geology from Washington University. Sendlein received his Ph.D. (1964) in geology from Iowa State University. He joined the staff at Iowa State University as Instructor (1960-1964) in the Department of Earth Sciences (Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences) and was promoted to Assistant Professor (1964-1967), Associate Professor (1967-1971), and Professor (1971-1977). He left Iowa State in 1977.

Sendlein conducted geological research at Iowa State specifically dealing with issues of ground water, geophysics, and land planning. Part of his research consisted of studies of surface and subsurface water flows and the impact of sanitary landfills on water quality in Iowa. He taught courses on introductory geology, petrophysics, groundwater geology, and geophysics.

While at Iowa State, Sendlein actively participated in a number of professional and scientific organizations. He was a member of Sigma Xi, served as Chairman (1968-1971) of the Abstract Committee of the Engineering Geology Section of the Geological Society of America, served as Director (1966-1968) of the Geological Society of Iowa and was a member of the American Geophysical Union, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, the Meteoritical Society, and the National Water Well Association. He was also a Visiting Professor (1973-1974) at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey.

After he left Iowa State, Sendlein became Director (1977-1982) of the Coal Research Center at Southern Illinois University. He left Southern Illinois to become Director (1982-1992) at the Institute for Mining and Minerals Research at the University of Kentucky. He then became Director (1992-1998) of the Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute from which he retired.

Sendlein married Louise Darr and together they had three children: Lyle, Todd, and Erik.

This collection (1969-1977) contains biographical information, news clippings, and research publications of Sendlein while he was on staff at Iowa State University. Included in the reports is an assessment of the Nishnabotna Drainage Basin in southwestern Iowa and a final report on regulations for the placement of sanitary landfills in Iowa, a project supported by the Iowa State Water Resources Research Institute.

The collection is arranged in alphabetical order.