GSA Member News Archive
2011
October
- 4 Oct.: President Obama Honors Quake-Catcher Network Inventor Elizabeth Cochran (GSA Fellow).
[ learn more ]
September
- 15 Sept.: GSA Fellow Paul Hsieh, a research hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, has earned the Federal Employee of the Year medal for providing critical scientific information during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
[ learn more ]
- 14 Sept.: GSA Member Joan Kleypas, a marine ecologist and geologist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, USA, has been named the 2011 recipient of the Heinz Awards for her work studying the effects of climate change on coral reefs. The Heinz Award recognizes excellence in "individuals creating and implementing workable solutions to the problems the world faces through invention, research, and education, while inspiring the next generation of modern thinkers."
[ learn more ]
August
- 31 Aug.: GSA Fellow Philip Christensen, principal investigator for numerous instruments of Mars exploration carried on NASA spacecraft, has been named the 2011 Eugene Shoemaker Memorial Award recipient by Arizona State University in honor of his life's work on "Unlocking the Mysteries of the Red Planet."
[ learn more ]
June
- 30 June: GSA member Alfred McEwen, professor of planetary science at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, has been awarded NASA's Distinguished Public Service Medal for his work as principal investigator on the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
[ learn more ]
May
- GSA Fellow Naomi Oreskes has been named Climate Change Communicator of the Year (the “4C Award”) by the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication.
[ learn more ]
- The American Geological Institute (AGI) has awarded GSA Fellow Robert H. Dott Jr., professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, its 2011 Marcus Milling Legendary Geoscientist Medal in recognition of his "long history of scientific achievement and exceptional service to the geoscience profession."
April
- 5 April: GSA Fellow and 1992 Penrose Medalist John Dewey has been honored by the Australian Academy of Science by being elected as a "Corresponding Member." Corresponding Members are "eminent scientists residing overseas who have developed links with scientific institutes in Australia and maintain strong ties with Australian scientists."
[ learn more ]
- The Geochemical Society and The European Association of Geochemistry have bestowed the honorary title of Geochemistry Fellow to the following GSA Fellows, honoring them as outstanding scientists who have made major contributions to the field of geochemistry: GSA Fellow Samuel Bowring of MIT; GSA Fellow Katherine Freeman of Penn State; GSA Fellow Terry Plank of the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory; and GSA Fellow John W. Valley of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
February
- GSA Fellow and 2000 Day Medalist Stephen J. Sparks of Bristol University has been awarded the Geological Society's (London) highest honor: the Wollaston Medal, given to geologists who have had a significant influence by means of a substantial body of excellent research in "pure" and/or "applied" aspects of the science. Sparks will receive the award on the Society's on President's Day, 8 June 2011.
- GSA Fellow Christopher Paola of the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities has been awarded the Geological Society's (London) Murchison Medal, given to geoscientists who have made a significant contribution to the science by means of a substantial body of "hard rock" research. Paola will receive the award at the Society's President's Day celebrations, 8 June 2011.
- GSA Member Alexander Densmore of Durham University has been awarded the Geological Society's (London) Bigsby Medal, awarded to a geoscientist under 45 years of age who studies American geology. Densmore will receive the award at the Society's President's Day celebrations, 8 June 2011.
January
- GSA member Steven A.F. Smith has been awarded the Ramsay Medal for his paper "Interactions between low-angle normal faults and plutonism in the upper crust: Insights from the Island of Elba, Italy" (GSA Bulletin, v. 123 no. 1-2 p. 329-346, doi: 10.1130/B30200.1). The Ramsay Medal is awarded to the best paper published by a postgraduate based on his or her doctoral thesis work and is open to candidates worldwide. It is one of the premier postgraduate research awards in Europe.
- GSA Fellow Stan Totten has been honored with Hall of Fame award from the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources for his many contributions toward understanding Ohio's geology.
[ learn more ]
2010
December 2010
- GSA Fellow David Walker has received the AGU's 2010 Harry H. Hess Medal for his "outstanding achievements in research of the constitution and evolution of Earth and other planets."
[ learn more ]
November 2010
- GSA Fellow Raymond Murray has been named as the first recipient of the prestigious Forensic Geoscience Group (FGG) Award. This was presented to Dr. Murray during a ceremony as part of the 3rd International Workshop on Criminal & Environmental Soil Forensics, held in California, 2-4 November 2010.
October 2010
- GSA member Jean Morrison has been appointed Provost and Chief Academic Officer of Boston University. She has been a member of the faculty at the University of Southern California since 1988, where she currently serves as Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs.
[ news article & video ]
June 2010
- GSA Fellow Carol A. Finn, a U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist working in Denver, Colorado, USA, has been elected as President of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). According to the USGS, "Finn, an AGU member since 1980 and USGS scientist since 1978, will be the third female president of the 91-year-old organization, and third USGS employee to hold the post." Read or listen to a full USGS interview with Finn.
- GSA Member Stephen Silliman, professor of civil engineering and geological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, has been named the 2011 Henry Darcy Distinguished Lecturer by the National Ground Water Research and Educational Foundation. As the 2011 lecturer, Silliman will present lectures on groundwater hydrology to schools and universities upon their invitation. Established by the National Ground Water Association in 1986, this series honors French hydraulic engineer Henry Darcy.
May 2010
April 2010
- 27 April: The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has named its new members and "foreign associates," elected "in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research." Congratulations to GSA Fellow Douglas W. Burbank of the University of California–Santa Barbara and GSA Fellow Roberta L. Rudnick of the University of Maryland–College Park for their election to NAS membership and to GSA Honorary Fellow Víctor A. Ramos of Universidad de Buenos Aires for his election as an NAS foreign associate.
- GSA Fellow and Foundation Trustee Farouk El-Baz has been appointed chair of the steering committee of the 2010 National Academies Keck Futures Initiative (NAKFI) on imaging science. Launched in 2003 by the National Academies and the W.M. Keck Foundation, the Futures Initiative is a 15-year effort to stimulate interdisciplinary inquiry and to enhance communication among researchers, funding agencies, universities, and the general public.
March 2010
- GSA Member Rebecca Flowers of the University of Colorado at Boulder has received an NSF CAREER Award.
- GSA Member Kenneth H. Nealson has been selected the 2010 D.C. White Research and Mentoring Award laureate by the American Society of Microbiology in recognition of his scientific research and mentoring activities.
- GSA Fellow Richard Alley presented the 2010 George Gamow Memorial Lecture in Macky Auditorium on the University of Colorado–Boulder campus on 29 March. The title of his talk was "Learning while burning: Peak (whale) oil, climate change, and our future."
January 2010
- GSA Fellow Michael Welland has been awarded the 2010 John Burroughs Medal in recognition of his 2009 natural history book, Sand.
2009
December 2009
- GSA Senior Fellow Frank M. Richter has been awarded the 2009 AGU Harry H. Hess Medal, which recognizes "outstanding achievements in research of the constitution and evolution of Earth and sister planets."
- GSA Member William E. Dietrich received the 2009 AGU Robert E. Horton Medal for his "outstanding contributions to the geophysical aspects of hydrology."
- GSA Bulletin science editor and GSA Member Christian Koeberl has been appointed as new director general of the Natural History Museum in Vienna by the Austrian Minister of Culture and Education. Koeberl is head of the Department of Lithospheric Research at the University of Vienna.
- Citations and Responses for the 2009 GSA Medals & Awards and 2009 GSA Division named awards are online. You'll find many more outstanding GSA members and new GSA Fellows listed there.
November 2009
- GSA Member Robert C. Thomas of the University of Montana–Western, Dillon, Montana, USA, has been named Outstanding Baccalaureate Colleges Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
[ learn more ]
October 2009
- GSA Fellow Marcia McNutt was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on 22 October to serve as Director of the United States Geological Survey and Science Advisor to the Secretary of the Interior.
June 2009
- 27 June: GSA Fellow and Foundation Trustee Farouk El-Baz was presented with an honorary doctorate of science degree by the American University of Beirut for his outstanding contributions to geology and a better understanding of Earth and its environments.
- GSA Fellow Sharon Mosher has been named Dean of the Jackson School of Earth Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin.
- GSA Fellow Paul F. Hoffman of Harvard University has received the Wollaston Medal, the highest award of the Geological Society, London. The Wollaston Medal is awarded annually to geologists who have had a significant influence by means of a substantial body of research. A field geologist, Hoffman is an outspoken advocate for Precambrian plate tectonics and the "Snowball Earth" hypothesis.
May 2009
- 21 May 2009: GSA member Robert S. Kuhlman, professor of earth science at Montgomery County Community College since 1977, was awarded the 2009 Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award at the college's 42nd commencement ceremony. The Lindback Award recognizes academic excellence and a commitment to the life of the mind along with the well-being of students that extends beyond the classroom.
[ learn more ]
April 2009
- 27 April: GSA Fellow Frank Spear of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was appointed the Edward P. Hamilton Distinguished Professor of Science Education for excellence as both a researcher and an educator. This distinguished professorship was endowed by a gift from Edward P. Hamilton, Renssalaer class of 1907 and former president of John Wiley & Sons publishing company.
- 8 April: GSA Fellow Robert Bodnar of Virginia Tech received a USGS mineral research grant to study the Coles Hill uranium deposit in south-central Virginia, and GSA member Craig Hart of the University of British Columbia received a USGS mineral research grant to fund investigation of the regional geology and age of igneous rocks of the Pebble copper deposit in southwest Alaska.
March 2009
- 5 March: The Society for Science & The Public has announced its first class of SSP Fellows. Ten teachers from across the United States were selected for their unique plan to reach students in underserved communities and to inspire excellence in independent scientific research. Two GSA K-12 Teacher Members were among this first class of Fellows: Raymond Nance, from Carlsbad High School in Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA, and Susan Vincent, from Young Women's Leadership School of East Harlem, New York City, New York, USA.
[ learn more ]
- 4 March: GSA Fellow H. Jay Melosh is the recipient of the 2009 Shoemaker Memorial Award. This award, presented by the BEYOND Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University, recognizes Melosh' life work as a planetary scientist and impact specialist.
[ learn more ]
February 2009
- 26 February: GSA Fellow Richard B. Alley, Penn State University, has been awarded the 2009 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, which he will share with Veerabhadran (Ram) Ramanathan (Scripps Institute of Oceanography, UC-San Diego). Both scientists are credited with demonstrating the global reach and severity of human impacts on climate. Alley is also the recipient of GSA's 2008 Public Service Award.
[ learn more ]
January 2009
- GSA Member Suzette Kimball has been named acting director of the U.S. Geological Survey, replacing Mark Myers, whose resignation followed custom during a change in U.S. presidential administrations.
2008
November 2008
- GSA Senior Fellow Randolph W. Bromery is featured on the National Visionary Leadership Project Web site, an oral history archive. The article on Bromery includes a brief biography and several video clips.
[ read more ]
October 2008
- GSA Fellows Robert G. Font and Larry R. Rhodes and GSA Member M. Lee Allison were among the five recipients of the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) 2008 National Awards. Both Font and Rhodes received the AIPG Martin Van Covering Memorial Award, and Allison was honored with the AIPG John T. Galey, Sr., Memorial Public Service Award.
- The Geoscience Information Society named Pennsylvania Geological Survey Open-File Report 06-02, Rifts, Diabase, and the Topographic “Fishhook”: Terrain and Military Geology of the Battle of Gettysburg — July 1–2, 1863, the best field trip guidebook for 2008. Among the authors are GSA Fellows Roger J. Cuffey and John D. Inners. GSA Member Lura E. Joseph earned the GSIS Best Paper Award for "Comparison of retrieval performance of eleven online indexes containing information related to Quaternary research, an interdisciplinary science."
September 2008
- GSA Fellow Robert Michael Easton was awarded the Provincial Geologists Medal by the Committee of Provincial Geologists (Canada) for a distinguished field career as a mapping geologist.
- 23 Sept.: Congratulations to GSA Fellow David Montgomery, who has been awarded a MacArthur Fellowship by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in recognition of his extraordinary originality, creativity, dedication, and promise for important future advances based on his track record of significant accomplishment. Montgomery will give two talks at the 2008 Joint Annual Meeting in Houston: a Thurs., 9 Oct., Pardee Keynote Symposium titled "Records of Anthropogenic Soil Erosion: Implications for Agricultural Sustainability" and session 523-15 on Mon., 6 Oct., "Agriculture and the Erosion of Civilizations."
- 17 Sept.: GSA Senior Fellow Farouk El-Baz met with U.S. President George W. Bush at the White House for an Iftar reception and dinner in celebration of the month of Ramadan, an Islamic time of fasting, prayer, and charity. El-Baz is director of the Boston University Center for Remote Sensing. [ view press release ]
August 2008
- GSA Member Robert Detrick of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has been named the director of the Division of Earth Sciences for the National Science Foundation Directorate for Geosciences.
- At the 33rd International Geological Congress (IGC) in Oslo, Norway, 5-14 August, GSA Member Stan Finney began a four-year term as chair of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (IUGS). Also during the IGC, GSA Fellow Carlton Brett was presented with the IUGS Digby McLaren Prize in recognition of his outstanding career of significant contributions toward advancing the discipline of stratigraphy.
- The following GSA Members were elected as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS): Richard B. Alley, GSA’s 2008 Public Service awardee; Michael A. Arthur, GSA’s 2007 Sedimentary Geology Division Laurence L. Sloss awardee; GSA Senior Fellow Michael A. Church; Bruce H. Corliss; GSA Fellow Larissa F. Dobrzhinetskaya; GSA Senior Fellow Edward S. Grew; GSA Fellow Michael F. Hochella; GSA Fellow Ken C. Macdonald; GSA Fellow Fred M. Phillips; Maureen E. Raymo; GSA Fellow and chair of GSA’s Geology & Society Division, Marilyn Suiter; and GSA Fellow and the GSA Planetary Geology Division’s 2007 G.K. Gilbert awardee, Maria T. Zuber. AAAS fellowship recognizes meritorious efforts to advance science or its applications, and AAAS Fellows have made significant contributions in research, teaching, technology, services to professional societies, and/or the communication of science to the public.
July 2008
- GSA Fellow Gordon Lister has been awarded the S.W. Carey Medal by the Geological Society of Australia for a distinguished career in the field of tectonics.
- “Some scientists study the history of the earth, and some study the history of the study of the history of earth.” The American Institute of Physics has just chosen a scholar of this type to be its new director of the Center for History of Physics. Gregory Good is currently the chair of the Department of History at West Virginia University in Morgantown. Good will continue the tradition of bringing information into the public sphere with his upcoming book on the history of the discovery of Earth's magnetic field. Good is a member of the International Commission on the History of Geological Sciences and is director of graduate studies in the History Department at WVU.
- The University of Texas at Austin has named Charles G. "Chip" Groat interim dean of the Jackson School of Geosciences.
Groat replaces Eric J. Barron, dean since 2006, who left the university to become director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Groat holds the position while a national search takes place for the next Jackson School dean. [ more ]
June 2008
- GSA Member Matthew C. Larsen has been named U.S. Geological Survey Associate Director for Water, with responsibility for all water-related research and activities within the USGS, including flooding, water quality, drought, climate change, and water availability. Larsen began his USGS career in 1977 and earned a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1997.
May 2008
- GSA Member and 2007 GSA Distinguished Service Award recipient Yildirim Dilek has been awarded Miami University's prestigious Benjamin Harrison Medallion. The Harrison Medallion is presented to members of Miami's faculty or staff who have made outstanding national contributions to education.
- GSA Senior Fellow Farouk El-Baz, director of the Boston University Center of Remote Sensing, has been honored by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture’s Supreme Council of Antiquities with the “Golden Award” for his “unstinting efforts in preserving archaeological sites in Egypt.”
- In recognition of her outstanding contributions to the advancement of the geophysical sciences, GSA Member Patricia Dove of Virginia Tech has been named a 2008 Fellow of the American Geophysical Union.
- GSA Teacher Member Michelle Brand Buchanan of Pineville Junior High in Pineville, Louisiana, has been named the first recipient of the Edward C. Roy Jr. Award for Excellence in K-8 Earth Science Teaching. Buchanan is also the 2007 National Association of Geoscience Teachers Outstanding Earth Science Teacher for Louisiana.
- GSA Members Richard B. Alley of Penn State University and Paul E. Olsen of Columbia University have been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
April 2008
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Deceased GSA Fellow Fred F. Meissner, a petroleum geologist with the Colorado School of Mines, was posthumously awarded the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Sidney Powers Memorial Award. This gold medal, given in recognition of distinguished and outstanding contributions to, or achievements in, petroleum geology, is AAPG’s highest honor.
March 2008
- GSA Fellow Igor Effimoff has been elected to the Board of Directors of Harvest Natural Resources, Inc. Effimoff provides geological, geophysical, and engineering consulting services for investment and business development opportunities with U.S. and international clients. He previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Teton Petroleum Company and President of Pennzoil Caspian Corporation.
February 2008
- Senior Fellow Clay Conway has been appointed Consultant to Kent Exploration Inc. Conway specializes in mineral exploration on dissseminated and vein-style gold deposits in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia and has expertise in structural geology and interpreting geospatial data and remote sensing imagery.
January 2008
- Lee Rice has been appointed to the board of directors of International Beryllium Corporation. Rice is a founding partner of Rare Earths Limited LLC, a private, Colorado-based company that provides satellite imagery, mapping, deposit evaluation, and other technological, geological, and consulting services with a special focus on the rare earths sector.
- Daniel J. Bain, University of Pittsburgh, and Brian A. Pellerin, U.S. Geological Survey, are two of six winners of the 2007 Early Career Fellowships awarded by the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI). They will join the Hydrologic Synthesis team at the University of New Hampshire.
- GSA Fellow and former Treasurer John E. Costa retired from the U.S. Geological Survey effective 3 January after 25 years of federal service. He mostly recently served as National Flood Science Coordinator in the Office of Surface Water and will continue on as a scientist emeritus.
2007
December 2007
- GSA Fellow and past President of the Society of Economic Geologists Siegfried Muessig has been appointed to the Yellowcake Mining Inc. board of directors.
- Dawn J. Wright, Professor of Geography and Oceanography at Oregon State University, was among the recipients of 2007's U.S. Professors of the Year Award, bestowed by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. According to the award's website (http://www.usprofessorsoftheyear.org), "winners are chosen on the basis of their extraordinary dedication to undergraduate teaching, determined by excellence in the following four areas: impact on and involvement with undergraduate students; scholarly approach to teaching and learning; contributions to undergraduate education in the institution, community and profession; and support from colleagues and current and former undergraduate students."
October 2007
- GSA Member Cynthia L. Dinwiddie, a senior research engineer in the Geosciences and Engineering Division at the Southwest Research Institute, has been selected to receive the 2007 Rossiter W. Raymond Memorial Award from the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) and the 2007 Alfred Noble Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
September 2007
- Pine Brook Road Partners today announced it has named Craig Jarchow as managing director. Jarchow has more than 15 years of experience in the energy business, in both operations and investing roles. He is a senior lecturer at the Sloan School, a Fellow of the Geological Society of America, and serves on the Stanford School of Earth Sciences.
- GSA Fellow Michael Hochella has been appointed University Distinguished Professor in the College of Science at Virginia Tech. A Virginia Tech press release notes that this rank is bestowed upon no more than 1% of its faculty for scholarly achievement that has attracted national and/or international recognition. Hochella's awards include the Geochemical Society's Distinguished Service Medal and the Alexander von Humboldt research award.
- GSA Field Guide 7, 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Centennial Field Guides; Field trips associated with the 100th Anniversary Conference, 18-23 April 2006, San Francisco, California, has received the Geoscience Information Society (GSIS) Best Guidebook Award for 2007. The field guide was edited by GSA Fellows Carol S. Prentice, Judith G. Scotchmoor, Eldridge M. Moores, and Jon P. Kiland. The book and its editors will be honored at the GSIS awards luncheon at the 2007 GSA Annual Meeting in Denver on Tuesday, 30 October, from noon to 2 p.m.
June 2007
- Recent award recipients at the Geoscience Information Society (GSIS) annual meeting included a few GSA Fellows: GSA Fellows Felix M. Gradstein, James G. Ogg, and Alan G. Smith received the Mary B. Ansari Best Reference Work Award for their text and wall chart, A Geologic Time Scale (2004). GSA Fellows Scott Southworth and William Burton, along with their collaborators at the U.S. Geological Survey, received the GSIS Best Guidebook Award for Geology of the National Capital Region (2004). The GSIS Best Paper Award went to GSA Fellow Cathy A. Manduca and colleagues for "Influencing user behavior through digital library design: An example from the geosciences" (2005).
- GSA Senior Fellow William L. Fisher is the recipient of the 2007 Marcus Milling Legendary Geoscientist Medal. This award was established by the American Geological Institute (AGI) in 1999 to honor geoscientists who have demonstrated a long history of scientific achievement and exceptional service to the geoscience profession.
- The William B. Heroy Jr. Award for Distinguished Service to AGI goes to another GSA Senior Fellow, Thomas D. Barrow. Recipients of this award are measured against the exemplary career of Heroy, who advanced the use of geophysics in petroleum exploration and in geologic research worldwide and provided outstanding service to AGI and to the geoscience profession as a whole.
March 2007
- Allison R. "Pete" Palmer, Institute for Cambrian Studies, received Boulder, Colorado's, 2006 Pacesetter Award for Science. The award recognizes Palmer's contributions to public understanding of geoscience.
- Eugene Domack, Hamilton College, was appointed to the newly created Joel W. Johnson Family Professorship in Environment Studies endowed chair. He will hold the position for five years.
- Christopher Paola, University of Minnesota, has been named a Founding Fellow of the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment.
- Victor Jaramillo, P.Geo., has been appointed Manager of Exploration and Development by Consolidated Spire Ventures Ltd. to oversee company projects in the Spences Bridge Gold Belt (Canada) and Campanario Gold-Silver Property (Mexico).
February 2007
- GSA Fellow and past president (2000) Mary Lou Zoback has been appointed vice president of Earthquake Risk Applications at Risk Management Solutions, a private, worldwide corporation founded at Stanford University in 1988. Zoback leaves the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) after 28 years of service, most recently as a senior research scientist with the USGS Earthquake Hazards Team in Menlo Park, California, and regional coordinator for the USGS Northern California Earthquake Hazard Program.
Zoback is a woman of accomplishment. She served as chair of the steering committee for the 1906 Earthquake Centennial Alliance, which helped coordinate the 100th Anniversary Earthquake Conference commemorating the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. She was awarded the American Geophysical Union's Macelwane Award in 1987 for "significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability" and currently serves on the Council of the National Academy of Sciences. Most recently, Zoback was named co-recipient of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute's Northern California Chapter's 2006 Award for Innovation and Exemplary Practice in Earthquake Risk Reduction.
- Jim Reynolds, Associate Professor, Brevard College has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct research and teach a seminar at the Universidad Nacional de Salta, Argentina, during the 2007-2008 academic year. Reynolds will investigate the uplift history of the Andes, culminating an 18-year research project that began when he was a Fulbright grantee in Argentina in 1989.
- Owen White has been awarded the 2006 Robert F. Legget Medal by the Canadian Geotechnical Society. White, now retired, formerly held positions at the Ontario Geological Survey and University of Waterloo. The R.F. Legget Medal recognizes significant personal contribution to Canadian understanding of the relationship between civil engineering and engineering geology.
2006
September 2006
- GSA Member Eric J. Barron has been named dean of the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Pennsylvania State University.
- GSA Senior Fellow and Foundation trustee Farouk El-Baz has been elected to the Academy Hassan II of Sciences and Technology of the Kingdom of Morocco.
July 2006
- Former GSA President, GSA Senior Fellow, and 1994 Penrose Medalist Luna B. Leopold has been posthumously awarded the 2006 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth and Environmental Science along with former GSA President, GSA Senior Fellow, and 1999 Penrose Medalist M. Gordon Wolman. Both Leopold and Wolman are recognized for advancing the understanding of how natural and human activities influence landscapes.
- Robert J. Weimer, GSA Senior Fellow, is the recipient of AGI's 2006 Legendary Geoscience Award for his long history of scientific achievement and exceptional service to the geoscience profession. Weimer is professor emeritus at the Colorado School of Mines.
- GSA Senior Fellow Michael F. Sheridan has retired as The State University of New York-University at Buffalo distinguished professor and was honored at an 11–12 May 2006 symposium for his four decade-career dedicated to mitigating geologic catastrophes.
June 2006
- Cameron Davidson has been awarded tenure at Carleton College, where he is associate professor of geology.
- Mary P. Anderson, editor-in-chief of Ground Water and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering for her leadership in ground water flow models. She is a former Councilor of GSA.
- Odin D. Christensen has been appointed Chief Geologist and Director of the Company for Dravco Mining Inc.
May 2006
- GSA Senior Fellow Walter Alvarez was awarded the Desert Research Institute's (DRI) 2006 Nevada Medal on 9 March 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Nevada Medal was established in 1988 to recognize outstanding national and international science, engineering, or science in industry. Alvarez is the 2002 GSA Penrose Medalist.
- Farouk El-Baz Elected to The Royal Academy of Sciences and Technology of Morocco
- University of Texas at Austin Names Eric Barron New Dean of Jackson School of Geosciences.
- Hamilton College Geologist Barbara Tewksbury to be Awarded Honorary Degree.
March 2006
- GSA Fellow Brian G. Katz has been awarded the John Hem Excellence in Science and Engineering Award. This award was bestowed at the National Ground Water Association Meeting on 15 December 2005 by the Association of Ground Water Scientists and Engineers. Katz was cited for his significant advances in the understanding of contaminant movement and groundwater flow patterns in complex karst aquifer systems.
January 2006
- Murray Hitzman, Charles Franklin Fogarty Professor of Economic Geology at the Colorado School of Mines and one of the world's foremost authorities on Iron Oxide Copper-Gold (IOCG) deposits, has joined the Cardero Resource Corporation board of directors. Hitzman is a past GSA Congressional Science Fellow.
- The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has named 376 new AAAS Fellows, recognized for their distinguished contributions to science. In the geology and geography category, the AAAS elected the following: GSA Senior Fellows Bruce A. Bolt, Roger L. Kaesler, and Erle G. Kauffman; GSA Fellows Richard Marston, Peter Molnar, and Youzue Zhang; and GSA Members J. David R. Applegate, Richard M. Forester, and Claude Hillaire-Marcel. These and the other AAAS Fellows will be recognized at the AAAS Annual Meeting in St. Louis on 18 Feb. 2006.
- GSA Senior Fellow Don L. Anderson was inducted into Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame in September 2006. Anderson, now professor Emeritus of geophysics at California Institute of Technology, is a member of Rensselaer’s class of 1955.
2005
December 2005
- The Antarctic geological drilling program (ANDRILL), led in the U.S. by GSA Fellow Ross Powell and GSA Member David Harwood, has received nearly $12 million in funding from the National Science Foundation. Harwood is the director of the ANDRILL Science Management Office; Powell serves as co-chief scientist for ANDRILL and fellow U.S. co-leader with Harwood.
- GSA Fellow Molly F. Miller has been awarded the 2005 Association for Women Geoscientists Foundation Outstanding Educator Award. The award was bestowed at the AWG breakfast on 17 Oct. 2005 at the GSA Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- GSA Senior Fellow Gerald M. Friedman is the recipient of the American Geological Institute's 2005 Legendary Geoscientist Award. This award is presented to scientists who demonstrate a long history of scientific achievement and exceptional service to the geoscience profession. Friedman is also GSA's 2005 Mary C. Rabbitt History of Geology Awardee.
- GSA Honorary Fellow Sir Nicholas Shackleton has been awarded the Founders Medal of the Royal Geographical Society (London, UK) for advancing international understanding of paleoceanographic and Quaternary environmental change.
September 2005
- Don L. Anderson, Senior Fellow Medalist, was inducted into the Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame on 9 September. According to the press release received at GSA Headquarters, "As one of the world's most prominent researchers in the geosciences, Don Anderson epitomizes a tradition of outstanding geologists associated with Rensselaer. He is acknowledged as a fundamental contributor to our understanding of the structures and processes in the interior of the Earth." [ read press release ]
August 2005
- GSA Fellow Eileen Poeter of the Colorado School of Mines has been selected to present the 2006 Henry Darcy Distinguished Lecture Series. As the Darcy lecturer, Poeter will present the talk, "All Models Are Wrong: How Do We Know Which Are Useful?," at colleges and universities throughout the world. The series is sponsored by the National Ground Water Research and Educational Foundation and honors outstanding groundwater professionals.
- Margaret C. Brewer of LaPorta and Associates, L.L.C., Geological Consultants in Warwick, New York, was awarded an Adjunct Professorship in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the State University of New York at Purchase. Dr. Brewer will maintain her Senior Research Scientist status at LaPorta and Associates while she commences her academic career at SUNY Purchase.
July 2005
- GSA Fellow Brian F. Atwater was named to Time magazine's "Time 100," their annual list of "the world's most influential people," published 10 April 2005. Atwater, who is with the U.S. Geological Survey, was recognized for his study of past tsunamis in the Cascadia subduction zone. Atwater is an invited Pardee Keynote Symposia speaker at the 2005 GSA Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, where he will present the 2004 South Asian Tsunami Pardee Symposium (P1) along with GSA Fellow Joanne Bourgeois of the University of Washington.
- The Geological Society (London) presented its 2005 awards at its annual President's Day Meeting on the 18th of May. Among the award recipients were several GSA members. GSA Senior Fellow Ursula Bailey Marvin received the Sue Tyler Friedman award for her distinguished contribution to the recording of the history of geology. Marvin was recognized with GSA's History of Geology Award in 1986. GSL awarded GSA Member Peter Dominic Clift with the Murchison Fund, which rewards noteworthy published research in the earth sciences. GSA member David Gwyn Roberts and GSA Fellow Michael Brown each received GSL's Major Coke Award for significant contributions to the science of geology as well as service to the geoscience community.
- GSA Senior Fellow Samuel S. Adams was presented with the American Institute of Professional Geologists' 2004 Outstanding Achievement Award. Along with his service to other societies (AGI, SEG, and AAPG among others) Adams has served on numerous GSA committees and on Council, and received the GSA Distinguished Service Award in 2002.
June 2005
- GSA Senior Fellow A. Hope Jahren will be awarded the James B. Macelwane Medal on 7 Dec. 2005 at the American Geophysical Union's annual meeting in San Francisco. In 2001, she also was awarded the Geological Society of America's Donath Medal, making her one of only four young scientists ever to have received both prestigious medals, and the only woman.
- GSA Senior Fellow Randolph W. Bromery has been reappointed by President Bush to a three-year term on the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science. Bromery, who was originally appointed in 2003 to fill the remainder of an unexpired term, will now serve through 31 Dec. 2007. Bromery was awarded the GSA Distinguished Service Award in 1999.
- The American Institute of Hydrology's Past President Dr. Pat Leahy, PHG Named Acting Director of the U.S. Geological Survey [ view press release ] .
- Elmo Rawling III, Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, has received the Gladys W. Cole Memorial Research Award for 2004, one of the nation's top geology awards.
May 2005
- Kip Solomon, vice chair of GSA's Hydrogeology Division and NGWA's 2005 Darcy Lecturer, gave a talk on "Inert Gas Tracers in Ground Water" at Baylor University on 22 April 2005. Solomon is at the University of Utah Department of Geology and Geophysics, where he is also director of the Noble Gas Laboratory.
April 2005
- Zeshan Ismat, Assistant Profession of Earth and Environment at Franklin and Marshall College, won a $30,000 Career Enhancement Fellowship for Junior Faculty from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. She was one of 20 chosen from candidates across the nation. She plans to research fold-thrust belt evolution in an internal thrust sheet in the Moroccan Anti-Atlas region.
- Barbara Tewksbury, the William R. Kenan Professor of Geoscience at Hamilton College, gave a free public lecture, “Field Work on an Alien Planet: the Stunning Success of the Mars Exploration Rover Program,” on 1 April at Hamilton. Tewksbury is a former GSA Councilor and past president of AGI. She currently serves as chair of GSA’s Annual Program Committee.
- GSA Member Harry Jol of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and GSA Fellow John F. (Jack) Shroder, Jr., along with several other geomorphologists and geophysicists, were featured in the recent NOVA production "Ancient Refuge in the Holy Land." The exploration of the "Cave of Letters" involved the use of ground-penetrating radar, operated by Jol and University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire graduate Christopher Morton. The program was originally broadcast on PBS on 23 Nov. 2004.
- GSA Member Patricia Bobeck received the inaugural S. Edmund Berger Prize for Excellence in Scientific and Technical Translation from the American Foundation for Translation and Interpretation at the 2004 meeting of the American Translators Association. She received the prize for her English translation of Henry Darcy's 1856 The Public Fountains of the City of Dijon. Darcy's account of the planning and construction of Dijon's water distribution system in 1840 includes a detailed description of the experiments that led to the formulation of Darcy's Law.
March 2005
- Long-time GSA member (and former Colorado state survey director) John Rold, was on the Channel 4 News (March 2), talking about a state project in Silver Plume to evaluate and contain the tumbling of a large boulder onto the town of Silver Plume. The rock is apparently endangering the town fire station and other property — as well as lives. Karlon said Rold is a staunch supporter of the Rocky Mountain section meetings and a volunteer in GSA mentor programs.
February 2005
- A. Hope Jahren, an associate professor in The Morton K. Blaustein Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at The Johns Hopkins University, will be awarded the James B. Macelwane Medal …
2004
December 2004
August 2004
- Cahit Coruh, was conferred with the title "professor emeritus" in the College of Science at Virginia Tech.
- GSA Members elected to IGC office: Peter T. Bobrowsky, secretary general; Eldridge Moores, co-vice president. Ryo Matsumoto, councilor.
- GSA Members elected to Geological Association of Canada office: David Piper, vice president, Geological Association of Canada. Jim Ryan, Councilor.
July 2004
- GSA Members elected to Association of American State Geologists office: Robert G. Marvinney, president; Peter A. Scholle, president-elect; Scott W. Tinker, vice president; Edmond G. Deal, secretary; Berry H. (Nick) Tew Jr., treasurer.
June 2004