2023 Geological Society of America Medal & Award Winners
Boulder, Colo., USA: Each year the Geological Society of America (GSA)
recognizes outstanding scientific achievement and distinguished service to
the geoscience profession. Honorees will be recognized at the Presidential
Address & Awards Ceremony on 15 October 2023, during the Society’s
Connects 2023 meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
The President’s Medalist, selected by immediate
Past-President Mark Little of the University of North Carolina, Chapel
Hill, is Jamil Bey of the UrbanKind Institute.
HIGHEST HONORS: GSA GOLD MEDALISTS
Penrose Medalist Suzanne Mahlburg Kay of
Cornell University was nominated by Johan C Varekamp and is arguably the
most-renowned Andean geologist, whose extensive publications contain
first-order advances in unraveling the tectonic processes controlling the
origin of the crust and mantle. She is a champion for cross-cultural
geoscience and an inspiration for all geoscientists, particularly women,
across the "Backbone of the Americas."
Arthur L. Day Medalist Isabel P.
Montañez of the University of California, Davis was
nominated by Judith Totman Parrish and is an active geochemist who has
contributed substantively to the application of geochemistry to solving
geologic problems. She not only meets the requirements of the Day Medal for
research into a broad range of geological problems, she is a leader in
diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Young Scientist Award (Donath Medal)winner
Andrew V. Zuza
of the University of Nevada-Reno will receive a cash prize of US$10,000 for
outstanding achievement as an early-career professional. He was nominated
by An Yin, who writes, “Andrew Zuza's astonishingly energetic, creative,
and wide-ranged research has fundamentally reshaped our current
understanding of continental formation and continental tectonics. His
detailed field mapping, imaginative tectonic reconstructions, and rigorous
mechanical and kinematic analyses have transformed our knowledge on
orogenic development, supercontinents, and mechanics and kinematics of
fault systems.”
OTHER TOP GSA AWARDS
GSA Public Service Award
Nick Zentner of Central Washington University was nominated
by Steven P. Lundblad and Scott F. Burns, who noted, “Nick Zentner loves to
teach about geology, but he has expanded his outreach to the general public
and is a star! He has worked extensively to make information interesting
and accessible to a wide range of people, using the Pacific Northwest as a
lens. This is a coordinated and extensive effort that is a model for other
forms of scientific communication.”
Randolph W. “Bill” and Cecile T. Bromery Award for Minorities
Karen Chin of the University of Colorado Boulder was
nominated by Louis L. Jacobs for making significant contributions to
geological sciences, specifically multidisciplinary paleobiology, and as
well as opening the geosciences to underrepresented communities through her
extensive outreach.
Doris M. Curtis Outstanding Woman in Science Award
This honor goes to a woman within the first three years following her
degree, who has impacted the field of geosciences in a major way based on
her Ph.D. research. Kelsey Reed Moore of Johns Hopkins
University was nominated by Tanja Bosak, who notes that she has made
“outstanding contributions to the understanding of cyanobacterial evolution
and physiology during the Proterozoic and the preservation of microbial
fossils in various lithologies relevant for Earth and Mars.”
GSA Florence Bascom Geologic Mapping Award
Mervin J Bartholomew from the University of Memphis was
nominated by William T. Jackson. He has spent the past 50+ years conducting
groundbreaking geologic mapping research producing 34 geologic maps and
technical reports for state geological surveys, 20 professional and society
field trip guidebook contributions, and 94 peer-reviewed publications.
Giorgio V. Dal Piaz from the University of Padova, Italy
was nominated by Bernardo Cesare, who notes “Giorgio Dal Piaz is synonymous
with the geology of the Alps. In a career spanning almost 60 years he
produced a wealth of detailed maps at various scales of this complex and
variegated orogen. The maps of Dal Piaz constitute the fundamental backbone
on which any modern Alpine study relies.”
W. Storrs Cole Research Award
Simon F. Mitchell of the University of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica
will be awarded US$8,650, from the W. Storrs Cole fund for the research
project, “Revision of the Larger Benthic Foraminifera from the Cenozoic
described by Cole.”
Honorary Fellows
Jacques Schott, The French National Centre for Scientific
Research-Toulouse
Shucheng Xie, China University of Geosciences-Wuhan
Photos of the GSA award recipients are online at
https://www.geosociety.org/GSA/About/awards/GSA_Awards/GSA/Awards/GSA.aspx
.
Citations and responses from the 2023 GSA Medal and Award winners will be
posted on this site after the GSA Connects 2023 meeting.
GSA’s Division awardees and newly elected Fellows are also online at
https://www.geosociety.org/GSA/About/awards/Division_Awards/GSA/Awards/Division.aspx
.
https://www.geosociety.org/GSA/About/awards/GSA_Fellows/GSA/Awards/Fellows-New.aspx
Read more about GSA’s medals and awards:
https://www.geosociety.org/GSA/About/awards/GSA/Awards/2023/gsa-awards.aspx
Incoming GSA President Christopher “Chuck” Bailey, College
of William & Mary, will give his 2023 Presidential Address on Sunday, 9
October, noon–1:30 p.m. EST, speaking on “Geoscience at the Confluence.”
https://community.geosociety.org/gsa2023/program/special
The Geological Society of America (GSA)
(https://www.geosociety.org)
unites a diverse community of geoscientists in a common purpose to study
the mysteries of our planet (and beyond) and share scientific findings.
Members and friends around the world, from academia, government, and
industry, participate in GSA meetings, publications, and programs at all
career levels, to foster professional excellence. GSA values and supports
inclusion through cooperative research, public dialogue on earth issues,
science education, and the application of geoscience in the service of
humankind.
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