Citation by John P. Grotzinger
Andy Knoll received his B.A. degree from Lehigh University in 1973, and his A.M. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University in 1974 and 1977. In 1977 he joined the teaching staff at Oberlin College before returning to Harvard University in 1982 and go on to a distinguished career of accomplishment in research, teaching, and service to his students, his colleagues, and our profession. Andy has already received many honors among which include the Paleontological Society Medal, the Charles Doolittle Walcott Medal of the National Academy of Sciences, the International Prize for Biology, and the Crafoord Prize in Geosciences. He has delivered hundreds of invited lectures at universities, research institutions, and national and international conferences.
Andy has a remarkable ability to synthesize his observations, to formulate generalized predictive models, and to see their potential significance in a broader context. He is stimulating colleague to work with, combining a natural, all-encompassing curiosity with intellectual daring, constructive self-criticism, and clarity of purpose. All these attributes have advanced his career that has seamlessly crossed between biology and geology, producing a research program that has propelled him and his students, postdoctoral fellows, and research associates to the very top of the field. Andy’s students now populate the faculties of some of the most respected research universities in the world and have gone on to their own highly distinguished careers.
Andy has applied biostratigraphic, taphonomic, paleoecological, and physiological principles to the Precambrian fossil record; early animal diversification; vascular plant evolution in geological time, especially the evolution of physiological function; the relationship between evolution and environmental change in Earth history; mass extinctions; and phytoplankton and marine ecosystem change. He has also been a major contributor to understanding the early environmental history of Mars as encoded in that planet’s record of sedimentary rocks and their constituent minerals and facies. The Penrose Medal is awarded to Andy Knoll in recognition of his unique and influential insights into the early evolution of life on Earth, and life’s many impacts on our planet’s early environmental evolution.
Response by Andrew H. Knoll
First, I thank John Grotzinger for his kind words. Given our long friendship and partnership in the field, they are especially meaningful. My sincere thanks, as well, to the Geological Society of America for this wonderful honor. I’ve had my share of recognition over the years, but this one is special. Fifty years ago, as a first-year graduate student, I received a letter inviting me to join GSA. I had no real idea what GSA was, nor, for that matter, what professional societies entailed, but as I was an aspiring geologist, it seemed wise to enlist with GSA. And so it proved. Along with the Paleontological Society, GSA has been my professional home throughout my career. That deepens my appreciation for joining a list of Penrose medalists that includes not only many pioneers of modern Earth science, but, increasingly, much admired friends. I am forever grateful.
There are many people to thank, and I cannot hope to mention everyone who has broadened and brightened my professional life over the years. With a dissertation committee that included Elso Barghoorn, the pioneer of Precambrian paleontology, Dick Holland, Steve Gould, Ray Siever, and Bernie Kummel, it would have been my own fault if I hadn’t amounted to much. I’m also grateful for the life-long friendship and collaboration of Steve Golubic, who taught me everything I know about cyanobacteria, beginning in my student days.
Just as I benefitted greatly from my teachers, I have been blessed to learn from a wonderful series of undergraduates, graduate students and postdocs. I can’t mention them all but the privilege of working with these talented people has been a central joy of my career. Similarly, I have benefitted from engaging collaborations with colleagues from at least 26 countries greatly, expanding my cultural as well as scientific horizons. I appreciate them all, but will mention only John Grotzinger, with whom I’ve measured sections around the world and virtually, at least, on Mars; John Hayes, who guided me into the world of biogeochemistry; Keene Swett, whose partnership in my early field research in the high Arctic, was critical to my career development; Malcolm Walter, with whom I’ve shared many a bumpy ride in the Australian Outback, and Dick Bambach, who for many years has challenged me to think in new ways about the fossil record.
Finally, I thank my family. My parents had only the vaguest idea of what it might mean to be a scientist, but they never failed to support my curiosity and my aspirations. My wife Marsha and I recently celebrated our golden wedding anniversary, and I can’t imagine that I would be here today without her steadfast love and support. Lastly, I thank my children, Kirsten and Rob, who, among many other things, have reminded me through the years that there are some things in life more important than science.
So, to the GSA and to the many people who have enriched my life—thank you.