Geotimes Logo ABOUT PEOPLE OCTOBER 1996
The Geological Society of America (GSA) has named the recipients of its 1996 medals and awards, which will be presented at the organization's annual meeting later this month in Denver. JOHN R.L. ALLEN, The University of Reading, United Kingdom, will receive the Penrose Medal; the Day Medal will be presented to ROBERT A. BERNER, Yale University. PAUL R. BIERMAN, University of Vermont, will receive the Donath Medal (Young Scientist Award). New Honorary Fellows are ALFONSO BOSELLINI, Universita Ferrara, Italy; BRUNO D'ARGENIO, Universita Federico II, Italy; and PAUL TAPPONNIER, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, France. The GSA Distinguished Service Award will be presented to DAVID FOUNTAIN, University of Wyoming; ROYANN (GARDNER) CYGAN, Englewood, Colo.; LOUIS C. PAKISER JR., Denver; and ANTHONY RESO, Peak Production Company, Houston.
Other award recipients include: LARRY D. AGENBROAD, Northern Arizona University, Rip Rapp Archaeological Geology Award; FRANK E. KOTTLOWSKI, New Mexico Bureau of Mines, Gilbert H. Cady Award; GERARD SHUIRMAN, Westlake Village, Calif., and JAMES E. SLOSSON, Slosson and Associates, Van Nuys, Calif., E.B. Burwell Jr. Award; NIKOLAS I. CHRISTENSEN, Purdue University, George P. Woollard Award; GORDON L. HERRIES DAVIES, County Tipperary, Ireland, History of Geology Award; JOHN L. WILSON, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, O.E. Meinzer Award; ROBERT P. SHARP, California Institute of Technology, G.K. Gilbert Award; ROGER T. SAUCIER, Vicksburg, Miss., Kirk Bryan Award; and WINTHROP D. MEANS, SUNY at Albany, Structural Geology and Tectonics Division Career Contribution Award.

Recipients of the National Medal of Science, who were honored at a White House ceremony in August, include RUTH PATRICK, an expert in freshwater ecology. Patrick, a geologist by training, developed principles of biodiversity and pollution that support modern environmental science and ecosystem management. She is one of the world's authorities on the ecology of rivers and river pollution.

Fellow geologist WALLACE S. BROECKER, a professor at Columbia University's Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory noted for his contributions to global climate change research, also received the prestigious award (see Geotimes, August 1996, p. 10).

The American Institute of Professional Geologists recognized the accomplishments and professional contributions of the following individuals at the organization's annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio, in October: WILLIAM L. FISHER, Ben H. Parker Memorial Medal; WILLIAM V. KNIGHT, Martin Van Couvering Memorial Award; JOHN W. ROLD, John T. Galey Sr. Memorial Public Service Award; and ROBERT R. JORDON and CHARLES J. MANKIN, Award of Honorary Membership.

Seven young Russian geoscientists arrived in Houston in late August to begin a year-long advanced training program in energy resource development and economics, sponsored by the American Geological Institute and the Russian Federation Committee on Geology and Mineral Resources (ROSCOMNEDRA).

SERGUEI V. IAKOVLEV, ELEONORA A. KLESTCHEVA, and NIKOLAI V. EVIK, Gubkin Oil and Gas Academy, and SVETLANA E. VASSILIEVA, Moscow State Geological Prospecting Academy, will take classes at Texas A&M University, College Station, under the direction of faculty adviser KARL J. KOENIG, a professor in the geology and geophysics department there. NATALIA S. ELMANOVITCH, IGOR T. KOLESSOV, and NATALIA F. MIKHAILITSYNA, Moscow State Geological Prospecting Academy, will study at the University of Texas at Austin under the direction of WILLEM C.J. VAN RENSBURG, head of the school's Energy and Mineral Resources Program.
The training program was created after Russia's energy sector was opened to investment from the West. As foreign businesses entered the country, it became clear that there was a basic lack of understanding between Russian and foreign business negotiators. The exchange program thus emphasizes energy economics as well as technical subject areas.
When the new Russian students arrived in Houston, they participated in technical orientation programs conducted by four sponsoring oil companies -- Exxon, Amoco, Conoco, and Texaco. They then moved on to their respective campuses to begin two semesters of academic training. The last phase of the program is a 10-week internship in the offices of the Houston-based oil company sponsors or at the Department of Energy's Bartlesville, Okla., facility.

ROBERT URAM, director of the Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, resigned Sept. 15. KATHRINE L. HENRY, an associate solicitor in the Department's Division of Minerals Resources, will serve as acting director until an appointment is made.

The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) has announced the winners of awards for technical presentations at its 1996 meeting, which was held in May. JAMES P. DISIENA, FRED J. HILTERMAN, and RICHARD W. VERM, Geophysical Development Corp., Houston, won the 1996 George C. Matson Award for best oral paper. The 1996 Jules Braunstein Award for best poster presentation went to CYNTHIA BLANKENSHIP, D.A. STAUBER, D.S. EPPS, C.G. GUDERJAHN, and J.D. OLDROYD, BP Exploration, Houston.

SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology), which held its annual meeting in conjunction with AAPG, presented its 1996 Excellence of Presentation Award to EDWARD WARREN, BP Exploration Research, Sunbury, United Kingdom, and his co-author ANDY PULHAM, University of Colorado, Boulder.

WILLIAM A. WULF, AT&T Professor of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Virginia, will serve as interim president of the National Academy of Engineering until a special election is held to select a permanent president.

WILLIAM C. PENTTILA, president of Exploration Associates International of Texas Inc., was awarded "The Polar Star" -- the highest honor of the Mongolian government -- for his contributions to oil exploration in Mongolia and enhanced Mongol-American cooperation. Penttila is a member of the American Institute of Professional Geologists.

The Society for Organic Petrology (TSOP) installed its 1997 council at the organization's annual meeting in September. Council members include: JEFFREY R. LEVINE, president; CHARLES R. LANDIS, vice president; KENNETH W. KUEHN, president-elect; LORRAINE B. EGLINTON, secretary-treasurer; JAMES PONTOLILLO, editor; GANJAVAR K. KHORASANI, councilor; and DAVID C. GLICK, councilor.

PAUL E. HUMMEL, associate director for programs and shared services of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, has been named the organization's deputy executive director. He will assume leadership of the society's business office in Tulsa, Okla., in mid-1997 when the current executive director, F. DON STODDARD, retires.

MICHEL T. HALBOUTY has been elected to the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Beijing. Halbouty, a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, is chief executive officer of the Michel T. Halbouty Energy Co. in Houston.

New officers at the American Geophysical Union include: SEAN C. SOLOMON, president; JOHN A. KNAUSS, president elect; CHRISTOPHER G.A. HARRISON, general secretary; and ROBIN BRETT, international secretary.

In September, JOHN R. HOPKINS became vice president of E&P Technology. Hopkins, who is secretary of the American Geological Institute Foundation, served previously as vice president, E&P and group services coordinator, Nigeria.

The National Mining Hall of Fame, Leadville, Colo., inducted six new members last month. PHILIP ARGALL (1854-1922) helped perfect the cyanidation process for gold. ARTHUR BRANT (1910- ) pioneered the application of induced polarization and other geophysical methods to mineral exploration during his career with Newmont Mining. JESSE C. JOHNSON (1894-1984) and CHARLES STEEN (1919- ) both helped launch the U.S. uranium boom of the 1950s. As director of the Atomic Energy Commission's Division of Raw Materials, Johnson created incentive programs to encourage uranium production. Steen's discovery of pitchblende in the Chinle Formation in southeastern Utah proved that large, high-grade uraninite ore deposits could be found on the Colorado Plateau. ROBERT H. RICHARDS (1844-1945), considered the "father of ore dressing" in the United States, contributed many basic techniques to this aspect of mineral processing. Baltimore industrialist ISAAC TYSON JR. (1792-1861) launched the chromium industry in this country and did pioneering work in copper metallurgy.

The American Association of Petroleum Geologists honored six individuals for their contributions to the global petroleum industry during the organization's international conference in Caracas, Venezuela, in September. ROBERTO A. LEIGH, consultant, Bogota, Colombia, and CLAUS H. GRAF, Corpoven SA, Caracas, received Distinguished Achievement Awards. Special Commendation honors went to PABLO H. CRUZ, PEMEX, Naucalpan, Mexico; RAFAEL SANCHEZ, PEMEX, Mexico City; MARIA ANTONIETA LORENTE, Maraven, Caracas; and CARLOS M. URIEN, Urien and Associates, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

RICHARD G. FAIRBANKS, a research scientist at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory and professor of earth and environmental sciences at Columbia University, won the Rosenstiel Award in Oceanographic Science. Fairbanks was honored for his work on global climate change; he has used isotope chemistry to study the interactions of ocean, atmosphere, biosphere, and polar ice sheets.

The SIPES (Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists) Foundation awarded scholarships to four earth-science honor students: TRACI CASH, University of New Orleans; JIMMY R. JONES, Centenary College, Shreveport, La.; CHELLIE S. TEAL, Wichita State University; and JOSEPH E. TILTON JR., University of Texas at Dallas.

Mary Budd Rowe -- Science Education Innovator

Science education innovator MARY BUDD ROWE, who died in June, made putting the wonder of exploration into science courses her life's mission.
Rowe, a professor at the University of Florida and visiting professor at Stanford University, was known for her research demonstrating that simple classroom techniques -- such as having teachers wait a bit longer for students to answer questions -- can measurably improve the understanding of science at all grade levels. An innovator in applying new technology to teaching science, Rowe developed a video series to teach physical science and was one of the first to see the potential of CD-ROMs for giving teachers access to lesson plans and interactive teaching materials.
From 1976 to 1980, Rowe headed the science education research division of the National Science Foundation. She served on the National Research Council's Committee on Science Education Standards and worked with numerous science and education organizations to improve science teaching and learning.
Rowe was an active member of the American Geological Institute's (AGI) Education Advisory Committee since the early 1980s. She was also a key member of the Institute advisory committee overseeing the development of the AGI Earth Resources Sourcebook, a collection of inquiry-based teaching modules for grades 5-8 that cover such topics as weather, soil, minerals, fossils, geologic hazards, and oceans and coastal processes.
As a child, Rowe received an impromptu "hands-on" science lesson from Albert Einstein, who she met gazing into a fountain on the campus of Princeton University. Einstein helped her figure out how to use her hands to create a strobe effect so that she could "see" the individual drops of water. In 1995, Rowe wrote that she had spent her life trying to teach adults and children the most important lesson she learned that day -- that "science is exploring, and exploring is fun."
Both the science and education communities recognized her efforts. A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, her honors included awards from the National Science Teachers Association and the American Education Research Association.
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