ABOUT PEOPLE

August 1998

LISA A. ROSSBACHER, former dean of the College at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., became president of Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, Ga., Aug. 1. "Dr. Rossbacher is an outstanding scientist, a superb administrator, and a fine person -- which equals a perfect match for Polytechnic," says Chancellor Stephen Portch. Rossbacher joined Dickinson in 1995 as dean, professor of geology, and Russell I. Thompson Chair of the Dean of the Faculty. From 1993 to 1995, she was vice president of academic affairs, dean of the faculty, and professor of geology at Whittier College in Whittier, Calif. She also served as associate vice president of academic affairs at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, where she worked from 1984-1993 in faculty and administration posts. Rossbacher earned her undergraduate degree from Dickinson in 1975 and received her Ph.D. in geological sciences from Princeton University in 1983. She is a contributing author of the "Geologic Column" for Geotimes.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded its 1998 Crafoord Prize to geophysicist DON L. ANDERSON, professor of geophysics at the California Institute of Technology; and to seismologist ADAM M. DZIEWONSKI, a professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. The $500,000 international prize was awarded to Anderson and Dziewonski "for their fundamental contributions to our knowledge of the structures and processes in the interior of the Earth," according to the Royal Academy. They will receive their prizes on Sept. 16.
Anderson earned his doctorate in geophysics from Caltech in 1962. A leader in deep-Earth research since the 1960s, he published his "Theory of the Earth" in 1989, a synthesis of his broad research and a guide for geoscientists studying the dynamics of the deep parts of Earth. He has also received the Emil Wiechert Medal of the German Geophysical Society, the Arthur L. Day Medal of the Geological Society of America, and the American Geophysical Union's (AGU) William Bowie Medal. He is a past president of AGU.
Dziewonski was born in Poland in 1936. He earned his doctorate from the Academy of Mines and Metallurgy in Cracow in 1965 before coming to the United States to pursue postdoctoral research, joining Harvard University in 1972. He was named a Guggenheim Fellow in 1994 and is also an AGU Fellow and American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow.

The Clay Minerals Society selected new officers in June. They are: President DAVID L. BISH, Los Alamos National Laboratory; Vice President PATRICIA M. COSTANZO, State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo; Immediate Past President JOSEPH W. STUCKI, University of Illinois; Vice President-Elect DARRELL G. SCHULZE, Purdue University; Secretary RICHARD W. LAHNN, Conoco, Inc; Treasurer DAVID R. PEVEAR, Exxon Production Research Company; and Editor-in-Chief WAYNE H. HUDNALL, Louisiana State University.

The 1998-1999 officers for the American Association of Petroleum Geologists are: President RICHARD S. "DICK" BISHOP, Exxon Exploration Company; President-Elect M. RAY THOMASSON, Thomasson Partner Associates in Denver; Vice President MARTHA LOU BROUSSARD, Rice University; Treasurer TERRY HOLLRAH, Hollrah Exploration in Oklahoma City; Secretary ELIZABETH B. CAMPEN, consultant in Billings, Mont.; AAPG Editor NEIL F. HURLEY, Colorado School of Mines; Chairman of the House of Delegates THOMAS MAIRS, consulting geologist in Dallas; Chairman-Elect of the House of Delegates JOHN R. HOGG, PanCanadian Petroleum; and President-Elect of the Division of Environmental Geosciences STEVEN L. VEAL, DCX Resources in Denver.

During its 35th annual meeting, July 22-25, the Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists awarded honorary membership to former AGI President JOHN J. AMORUSO of Houston, and to PATRICK F. GRATTON of Dallas. The society has presented the award only nine times in its history.

The Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI) appointed KATHRYN MORAN director of the Ocean Drilling Program, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this month. She started her new position June 19, coming to JOI from the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Nova Scotia, where she has been a research engineer for the Geological Survey of Canada since 1983.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in May named J. RUSSELL "RUSS" DYER project manager for its Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project. Dyer has served as acting project manager since Wesley E. Barnes retired in late 1997. Dyer has been with the DOE for nine years and previously worked as deputy project manager for the Yucca project. Before joining the DOE, he was a faculty member of the geology department at the University of Texas at El Paso.

DANIEL JEAN STANLEY, senior scientist at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., was selected by Italian universities to receive the Golden Trident Medal and was inducted as a member of Italy's Accademia Internazionale di Scienze e Techniche in June. Stanley is the first North American scientist to receive the award. The Golden Trident Medal awards scientific excellence and advances in geological oceanography, coastal sciences, and environmental research in the Mediterranean and other world oceans.

The Association of Women Geoscientists in June announced the 1998 winners of its Chrysalis Scholarships -- $750 awards given to nontraditional graduate students of the geosciences who experienced interruptions in their formal educations and are currently finishing their theses. The 1998 winners are: MARY ARMSTRONG, University of Akron, and SISTER AUGUSTA COLLINS, Benedictine nun and member of the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Conn. Two women also received $200 scholarships: XANTHIPPE AUGEROT, Oregon State University, and DEBRA PRIM, Ohio University.

The American Geophysical Union awarded its 1998 Excellence in Geophysical Education award to the Los Alamos National Laboratory's Summer of Applied Geophysical Experience, or SAGE, program. SCOTT BALDRIDGE of the Los Alamos Geology and Geochemistry Group leads the program with GEORGE JIRACEK of the Department of Geological Sciences at San Diego State University. The award recognizes SAGE for its significant and lasting contribution to geophysical education, primarily for graduate and undergraduate students. SAGE will receive the award during AGU's 1998 fall meeting, Dec. 6-10.

During the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Fort Worth, Texas, May 10-16, seven high-school students received awards from the American Geological Institute : JESSICA LANE DEBUSK, Northwood High School in Dublin, Va., $500; CRISTINA BENO, Mast Academy in Key Biscayne, Fla., $250; GERALD ALEXANDER LARUE IV, California Academy of Math & Science in Carson, Calif., $100. Honorable Mention awards went to: REHAN JULIAN ALI, Broad Run High School in Ashburn, Va.; PETER WILLEM ALDERKS, Midland High School in Midland, Texas; and TAYLOR PARKS EDENFIELD and JEB STUART CAMERON, Swainsboro High School in Swainsboro, Ga. The Association of Women Geoscientists granted a $150 award to TAVIA LEE CLARK, Memorial Senior High School in Tulsa, Okla. And the Association of Engineering Geologists granted an award to RICHARD DIANOS CATUNGAL, James Campbell High School in Ewa Beach, Hawaii.
Also, nine students won Grand Awards in the earth and space sciences: CRISTINA BENO, $5,000 (Intel ISEF Best of Category Award); RIGEL QUINN WOIDA, Tucson Magnet High School in Tucson, Ariz., $1,500; NICOLE CATHERINE VICTORIA, Boca Raton Community High School in Boca Raton, Fla., $1,500; ERIN ANN STOESZ, Laramie Junior High School in Laramie, Wyo., $1,000; JENNIFER LYNN ANDREWS, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va., $1,000; EMIKO YASUDA, Yamaguchi-Kenritu Taubse Agricultural High School in Kumage-Gun, Yamaguchi-Ken, Japan, $1,000; SWEATHA REDDY KATTA, Laramie Senior High School in Laramie, Wyo., $500; RICHARD DIANOS CATUNGAL, $500; and GERALD ALEXANDER LARUE IV, $500.