13
PENROSE MEDAL Presented to Walter Alvarez Walter Alvarez Citation by Eldridge Moores President Naldrett, Vice President Burchfiel, ladies and gentle- men. It is my privilege and honor to in- troduce to you Walter S. Alvarez, the 2002 GSA Penrose Medalist. Walter is a true renaissance man who has made outstanding contributions to the field of geology. Walter and I go way back—we were graduate students together at Princeton in the early 1960s; we got married within a week of each other, and we had a joint bachelor party, a subject on which we have a mutual pact of “omertà” (the Italian word for the Mafia’s “code of silence”). In the 35 years since receiving his Ph.D., Walter has been a prolific re- searcher and writer on a variety of sub- jects. His geologic work includes con- tributions to South American geology, Mediterranean tectonics, structural ge- ology, magnetostratigraphy, and, of course, impacts. Walter’s Ph.D. work was on the Guajíra peninsula, Colombia, the northernmost tip of South America. He was one of the last students of the Caribbean Research Project of Harry Hess and John Maxwell (1963 and 1974 GSA Presidents, respectively). After receiv- ing his Ph.D., Walter worked for a time for the American Overseas Petroleum Company, exploring in the Mediterranean and North Sea regions. Out of this work came several contribu- tions to the tectonics of North Africa, Sicily, and Corsica-Sardinia, one of which was a co-edited book entitled The Geology and History of Sicily. Walter moved to Lamont- Doherty Geological Observatory in 1971 and to UC Berkeley in 1977. During this time Walter continued his work in the Mediterranean with a series of important papers on paleomagnet- ism, magnetostratigraphy, Cretaceous- Tertiary stratigraphy, and upon struc- tural features observed in the complexly deformed rocks of Italy and the Alps. Walter was one of the first workers to document the rotation of Corsica and Sardinia during the Neogene, a work which presages the now well-known complex microplate interactions that characterize the entire Alpine- Himalayan belt, as well as other colli- sional plate margins. His work on the application of fold distortion to trans- port direction determination and on the origin and significance of solution cleavage stand as landmark contribu- tions. More recently he has worked on the Quaternary volcanic province around Rome. Walter’s research on Cretaceous stratigraphy and magne- tostratigraphy in northern Italy led to his discovery with his coworkers, his father Luis Alvarez, Frank Asaro and Helen Michel, of an iridium-rich layer at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. When they published this discovery in 1980, they provocatively suggested that the layer resulted from a meteorite im- pact that caused the mass extinctions at the end of the Cretaceous. This origi- nally revolutionary, controversial hy- pothesis has been corroborated by an enormous amount of detailed field, lab- oratory, and modeling work. An iridium layer at the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T) boundary reportedly has been discov- ered in more than 100 sites around the world, as has the “smoking gun”—an impact site in Yucatán, and “splash” de- posits around the Gulf of Mexico and in the Atlantic east of Florida. Several other extinction events in earth history have been ascribed to impacts. The original paper has been cited more than 1100 times. Four inter- disciplinary, so-called “Snowbird” con- ferences have focused on the subject of global catastrophes and earth history. The first two of these conferences were held in Snowbird, Utah, in 1982 and 1988, the third in Houston in 1994, and the most recent in Vienna in 2000. (All these conference proceedings have been published as GSA Special Papers.) Walter has been directly in- volved with much of this work. It has been interesting to watch him handle the notoriety, as well as the controversy, that this issue has generated. He has be- come a master of what he calls “the gentle art of scientific trespassing.” This he defines as working in a profoundly interdisciplinary field and overcoming the problems caused by differences in the training of one’s co-workers, differ- ent scientific cultures, and different per- ceptions of a scientific hierarchy or pecking order, not to mention judging the quality of work in different fields and overcoming the barriers of discipli- nary-specific jargon. Through it all, Walter has remained a cheerful, hard- working, extremely versatile, imagina- tive, and very well organized geologist. This work has placed Walter at the fore- front of a revolution in geology every bit as important as the plate tectonic revolution of the 1960s; that is, the planetary revolution—our ideas of Earth’s place in space. We now know that there have been and will be peri- odic catastrophic collisions between the Earth and asteroids or comets. And these collisions have significantly af- The Geological Society of America P. 1 2002 Medals and Awards

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Page 1: 2002 Medals and Awards PENROSE · geomagnetic reversals. It was finally a contribution to the plate tectonic revo-lution that Uncle Harry had started, which had broken the stultifying

PENROSEMEDAL

Presented to Walter Alvarez

Walter Alvarez

Citation by Eldridge Moores

President Naldrett, VicePresident Burchfiel, ladies and gentle-men. It is my privilege and honor to in-troduce to you Walter S. Alvarez, the2002 GSA Penrose Medalist. Walter isa true renaissance man who has madeoutstanding contributions to the field ofgeology.

Walter and I go way back—wewere graduate students together atPrinceton in the early 1960s; we gotmarried within a week of each other,and we had a joint bachelor party, asubject on which we have a mutual pactof “omertà” (the Italian word for theMafia’s “code of silence”).

In the 35 years since receivinghis Ph.D., Walter has been a prolific re-searcher and writer on a variety of sub-jects. His geologic work includes con-tributions to South American geology,Mediterranean tectonics, structural ge-ology, magnetostratigraphy, and, ofcourse, impacts. Walter’s Ph.D. workwas on the Guajíra peninsula,Colombia, the northernmost tip ofSouth America. He was one of the laststudents of the Caribbean ResearchProject of Harry Hess and John

Maxwell (1963 and 1974 GSAPresidents, respectively). After receiv-ing his Ph.D., Walter worked for a timefor the American Overseas PetroleumCompany, exploring in theMediterranean and North Sea regions.Out of this work came several contribu-tions to the tectonics of North Africa,Sicily, and Corsica-Sardinia, one ofwhich was a co-edited book entitledThe Geology and History of Sicily.

Walter moved to Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory in1971 and to UC Berkeley in 1977.During this time Walter continued hiswork in the Mediterranean with a seriesof important papers on paleomagnet-ism, magnetostratigraphy, Cretaceous-Tertiary stratigraphy, and upon struc-tural features observed in the complexlydeformed rocks of Italy and the Alps.Walter was one of the first workers todocument the rotation of Corsica andSardinia during the Neogene, a workwhich presages the now well-knowncomplex microplate interactions thatcharacterize the entire Alpine-Himalayan belt, as well as other colli-sional plate margins. His work on theapplication of fold distortion to trans-port direction determination and on theorigin and significance of solutioncleavage stand as landmark contribu-tions. More recently he has worked onthe Quaternary volcanic provincearound Rome.

Walter’s research onCretaceous stratigraphy and magne-tostratigraphy in northern Italy led tohis discovery with his coworkers, hisfather Luis Alvarez, Frank Asaro andHelen Michel, of an iridium-rich layerat the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary.When they published this discovery in1980, they provocatively suggested thatthe layer resulted from a meteorite im-pact that caused the mass extinctions atthe end of the Cretaceous. This origi-nally revolutionary, controversial hy-pothesis has been corroborated by anenormous amount of detailed field, lab-

oratory, and modeling work. An iridiumlayer at the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T)boundary reportedly has been discov-ered in more than 100 sites around theworld, as has the “smoking gun”—animpact site in Yucatán, and “splash” de-posits around the Gulf of Mexico and inthe Atlantic east of Florida. Severalother extinction events in earth historyhave been ascribed to impacts.

The original paper has beencited more than 1100 times. Four inter-disciplinary, so-called “Snowbird” con-ferences have focused on the subject ofglobal catastrophes and earth history.The first two of these conferences wereheld in Snowbird, Utah, in 1982 and1988, the third in Houston in 1994, andthe most recent in Vienna in 2000. (Allthese conference proceedings have beenpublished as GSA Special Papers.)

Walter has been directly in-volved with much of this work. It hasbeen interesting to watch him handlethe notoriety, as well as the controversy,that this issue has generated. He has be-come a master of what he calls “thegentle art of scientific trespassing.” Thishe defines as working in a profoundlyinterdisciplinary field and overcomingthe problems caused by differences inthe training of one’s co-workers, differ-ent scientific cultures, and different per-ceptions of a scientific hierarchy orpecking order, not to mention judgingthe quality of work in different fieldsand overcoming the barriers of discipli-nary-specific jargon. Through it all,Walter has remained a cheerful, hard-working, extremely versatile, imagina-tive, and very well organized geologist.This work has placed Walter at the fore-front of a revolution in geology everybit as important as the plate tectonicrevolution of the 1960s; that is, theplanetary revolution—our ideas ofEarth’s place in space. We now knowthat there have been and will be peri-odic catastrophic collisions between theEarth and asteroids or comets. Andthese collisions have significantly af-

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fected the evolution of the Earth and itslife.

Walter has received manyawards and recognitions for his work,including membership in the NationalAcademy of Sciences and the AmericanAcademy of Arts and Sciences. In addi-tion, he is the recipient of theG.K.Gilbert award of the GSAPlanetary Geology Division, and anhonorary citizenship of the towns ofGubbio and Piobbico, Italy.

Walter is a man of many tal-ents and interests. He is a multilinguist,speaking Italian, Spanish, German, andFrench. He is an accomplished pianist,a pilot, and an enthusiastic raconteur.

In summary, I believe thatWalter Alvarez’s contributions havebeen of great importance in a number offields including Caribbean and Alpine-Mediterranean geology, structural geol-ogy, and magnetostratigraphy andglobal impact events. His impact workhas fundamentally changed the way weview the history of the Earth and its life.He is highly deserving of this award.Ladies and Gentlemen: Walter Alvarez.

Response by Walter Alvarez

Thank you so much, Eldridge.It is such an honor to receive thePenrose Medal not only from a lifelongfriend, but from someone who has doneas much for our science and our Societyas you have. And my deep thanks toGSA, as represented by President TonyNaldrett and Vice President ClarkBurchfiel. And to so many other friendsand colleagues that I could not begin toname them all.

I grew up in northernCalifornia, where the occasional geo-logical violence of the San Andreasfault and the incomprehensible confu-sion of the Franciscan mélange con-trasted with the benign climate and thesubtle, almost imperceptible seasons.

All that changed — reversed,even — when I went off to college atCarleton, in Minnesota, where the hori-zontal Paleozoic strata and the glacialdeposits are orderly and well behaved.But in exchange, Minnesota taught meabout seasons, and especially aboutwinter, where two-week stretches of20-below-zero reminded us that the gla-ciers were not long gone, and wouldsoon be back.

In a certain sense, it was thenthe winter of Geology as well, and as astudent, I absorbed two venerable dog-mas that held our science as iceboundas the upper Mississippi in January. Thecontinents, I learned, have always beenexactly where they are today, and therewas no merit in the foolish ideas of aneccentric German meteorologist namedAlfred Wegener. And I also acquired areverence for the doctrine of uniformi-tarianism — the view that nothing inthe past has ever happened at a fasterrate, or by a different process than wecan observe today.

In 1962 I went to Princeton asa new grad student. Through an uncom-monly fortunate blind date, I met Milly,a most remarkable young woman fromVirginia, and we fell in love inWashington DC, where she was a gradstudent, among the blossoming cherrytrees that brighten the banks of thePotomac in the spring.

Springtime was bursting forthin geology as well, and Princeton wasits source. During my first year there,Harry Hess published his revolutionarypaper with the very first statement ofsea-floor spreading. By good fortune Ibecame Uncle Harry’s grad student, andwas able to do my doctoral research inthe Guajira Peninsula of Colombia, fol-lowing in the footsteps of older gradstudents Bill MacDonald and JackLockwood. Milly and I had our honey-moon there, living in the back room ofa desert trading post run by a GuajiroIndian named Robertico, who was in

the smuggling business. And I discov-ered that I had married the perfect geol-ogist’s wife — the worse the condi-tions, the better she liked it.

Uncle Harry’s idea of sea-floor spreading was gaining support,and the springtime of a new geologywas sweeping across the world. I sim-ply watched from my ringside seat atPrinceton. But friends of mine mademajor contributions, like my roommateEldridge Moores, whose studies ofMediterranean ophiolites convincedHarry Hess that ocean floor was madeof basalt, not of serpentinite, as he hadoriginally proposed.

I emerged from Princeton in1967, into the summer of a revitalizedgeology, fully merged with geophysics,and pouring forth a stream of new dis-coveries about a dynamic Earth onwhich continents move about, just asAlfred Wegener had said they do. In thesummer of young adulthood, Milly andI lived an adventurous life, first inHolland and then in Libya.

And then, to follow up on agrowing interest in Mediterranean mi-croplates and archeological geology, wemoved to Italy, which soon became asecond home. There, for many years, Ihave found the fascination of theApennine Mountains matched only bythe kindness of the geologists of Italy,who took me into their friendship andshared their country and its geologywith me. I have the fondest memoriesof what the Italian geologists call “geo-gastronomic excursions,” in which harddays of field work are followed by din-ners in little mountain villages, afterwhich we would sit around in theevening, singing the old traditionalsongs of the Apennines and the Alps.

In the Apennines, aroundGubbio and Perugia and Assisi, westumbled onto the pelagic limestonesthat provide the best record anywhereof 150 million years of Earth history,from the Jurassic to the late Tertiary. By

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then I was based at Lamont-DohertyGeological Observatory and, while try-ing to do tectonic paleomagnetism, myScottish Lamont colleague, Bill Lowrieand I serendipitously discovered thatthe pelagic limestones of the ScagliaRossa contain a complete record of thereversals of the Earth’s magnetic field.

That record matched the pat-tern of sea-floor magnetic anomalies, inrocks packed with planktic forams thatallowed us for the first time to date thereversals. Bill and I joined forces withAl Fischer, Giovanni Napoleone,Isabella Premoli Silva, Mike Arthur andBill Roggenthen, and for several sum-mers in the 1970s we systematicallydated a hundred million years worth ofgeomagnetic reversals. It was finally acontribution to the plate tectonic revo-lution that Uncle Harry had started,which had broken the stultifying grip ofcontinental fixism — one of the twodogmas of my early student days.

But plate tectonics was a de-cidedly uniformitarian theory, with con-tinents separating at about the rate yourfingernails grow. Geologists were sofascinated by plate tectonics that fewpaid any attention to the impact re-search of Gene Shoemaker and BobDietz, or the evidence for impact atSudbury that Tony Naldrett has just de-scribed, or the results of lunar explo-ration, where the evidence of non-uni-formitarian, catastrophic impacts wasbecoming undeniable.

Little did I imagine that theApennine limestones would hold theclues that would demolish the uniformi-tarian dogma as well. But Isabellataught me to recognize the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in the field, and AlFischer pointed out the crucial signifi-cance of the KT extinction in the his-tory of life on Earth. In the summer of1977, Terry Engelder and I carefullycollected a sample of the thin clay bedsandwiched between top Cretaceousand basal Tertiary Scaglia limestones,

and I took it with me when Milly and Imoved to Berkeley. Using the sample asbait, I lured my physicist father into anunaccustomed interest in geology. Wedecided to use iridium, depleted in theEarth’s crust, as a measure of cosmicdust, to see if the clay layer had beendeposited quickly (thus incorporatinglittle cosmic dust) or slowly (so thatthere would be substantial dust-borneiridium).

Our Berkeley colleaguesFrank Asaro and Helen Michel madethe measurements in their neutron acti-vation lab, and to our shock, they foundfar more iridium than either scenariocould explain. It was the secondserendipitous discovery in theApennine limestones. We finally con-cluded that the unexpected iridiumanomaly was due to the impact of a 10-km asteroid or comet at the time of theCretaceous-Tertiary extinction — whatbecame known as the Berkeley Theory.

In Holland, quite independ-ently, Jan Smit had just received chemi-cal data on a KT boundary section hehad discovered in Spain, which imme-diately confirmed our results, so I havelong thought of Jan as the co-discovererof the iridium anomaly.

The impact theory flew in theface of uniformitarian doctrine, enrag-ing a large number of geologists andpaleontologists. The debate was intenseand exhaustive, as it should be in sci-ence. Together, Jan and I and a growingnumber of colleagues and friends, in-cluding my Berkeley postdocs, SandroMontanari and Philippe Claeys, de-fended our catastrophic challenge touniformitarianism through the decadeof the 1980s.

Finally, in the early 1990s, theChicxulub Crater, in the subsurface ofMexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, was rec-ognized and shown to date from pre-cisely the KT boundary. Hard-core, ab-solutist uniformitarianism was finallydead. Today no geologist doubts that

much of Earth history did take placethrough slow, gradual processes, butnow Earth scientists are free to considercatastrophic events, like impacts, whenthe evidence supports them.

But now it is autumn. Thedays are shorter, the air is a little chilly,and the leaves are turning to colors onthe misty slopes of the Apennines.

Of the two dogmas I learnedas a student, I have watched as one wasdemolished, and participated in correct-ing the other. Their demise has made itpossible for geologists and paleontolo-gists to acquire a deep, rich understand-ing of Earth history, inconceivablewhen I was a student.

And although new challengesawait, perhaps it is a good time to pauseand breathe in the fresh, cool air ofOctober, to thank you all for the honorof the Penrose Medal, and then perhapsto gather up Milly and a few oldfriends, and go and find the Italian geol-ogists in a little trattoria, in some vil-lage way back in the Apennines. Theday’s field work is done. The local wineis waiting, the pasta sauce with thefreshly gathered fall mushrooms fillsthe air with its irresistible aroma, andsausages are sizzling on a grill in thefireplace.

And if you listen, you can hearthe soft, sweet harmonies of an oldItalian song the geologists like to sing,in the evening.

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Arthur L. DayMedal

Presented to Richard G. Gordon

Richard G. Gordon

Citation by Kenneth P. Kodama

The defining paradigm of howEarth works is plate tectonics. Clearly,the development of the plate tectonicmodel is a fundamental achievement ofthe earth sciences. Richard Gordon, the2002 Arthur L. Day Medalist, has beenand is a major contributor to our under-standing of the plate tectonics that is oc-curring now and has occurred in the dis-tant past. Richard’s achievements havebeen in two main areas. His earlier workinvolved using paleomagnetism to studyplate tectonics while his more recentwork has evolved to give new, importantunderstanding of the plate tectonic para-digm using a variety of geophysical data.

One of Richard’s first contribu-tions, as a graduate student, was to de-velop a method by which paleomagneticdata can be used to determine the mini-mum velocity of a plate or continent attimes in the past. This method gave thenew insight that continents had movedrapidly in the past; hence, the slow mo-tion of continents today is only an acci-dent of present-day plate geometry. Thiswork lead to one of Richard’s most im-portant contributions as a young profes-sor, paleomagnetic Euler poles (PEP).With his co-authors, Allan Cox and Scott

O’Hare, he developed a method for ana-lyzing paleomagnetic apparent polarwander paths to determine all three com-ponents of past plate motion. This ap-proach can give the past positions of aplate in both latitude and longitude,rather than just paleolatitude that resultsfrom standard analysis of paleomagneticdata.

Richard has also contributed toa better understanding of true polar wan-der. He and his colleagues have shownthat the hotspot and no-net-rotation-of-the lithosphere reference frames are verysimilar. His work supported work by oth-ers that hotspots have moved in latitude,but went on to show that the Hawaiianhotspot has moved relative to the paleo-magnetic and spin axes, an indication oftrue polar wander. Unraveling the historyof true polar wander has important impli-cations for understanding the dynamicbehavior of plates and Earth’s mantle, aswell as interpreting apparent polar wan-der for paleogeographic reconstructions.

Richard has intensively studiedthe kinematics of the Pacific plate andfurthered understanding of Pacific basinplate tectonics. He has developed mathe-matical techniques for combining and an-alyzing heterogeneous paleomagneticdatasets to determine pole positions forPacific plate apparent polar wander. Hehas also developed rigorous techniquesfor analyzing inclination-only data frommarine sediment cores and the shapesand amplitudes of marine magneticanomalies to further constrain pastPacific plate motion. In this work, and inall of his work, one of Richard’s hall-marks is his attention to rigorous propa-gation of errors through his analyses.This attention to error analysis has al-lowed him to test different hypothesesmuch more quantitatively than previousworkers. Richard worked with co-au-thors David Engebretson and Allan Coxon a widely cited, award-winning paperthat carefully reconstructed the Eulerpoles describing the motion of Pacificbasin plates with respect to the bordering

continental plates during the Mesozoicand Cenozoic. This paper has been ex-tremely important to those studying theconsequences of plate interactions at theedges of the Pacific basin and is still usedtoday to explain the motion of far-trav-eled tectonostratigraphic terranes.

Richard’s research focus hasevolved from ancient plate dynamics topresent day plate tectonics. Working withSeth Stein and graduate students, he hasdeveloped NUVEL-1 that describes “in-stantaneous” plate motions of the 12 ma-jor plates. This model of instantaneousplate motion is based on a massivedataset comprising spreading rates frommarine magnetic anomalies, directions ofrelative plate motion from transform faulttrends, and seismic slip vectors. It is athreefold increase over earlier datasets.NUVEL-1 has given new insights aboutcurrent plate motion.

NUVEL-1 has had other impli-cations for Richard’s research. In defin-ing plate motions over the past 3 m.y.,Richard and his colleagues recognizedthat India and Australia could no longerbe assigned to the same large plate. A dif-fuse plate boundary needs to be locatedbetween the two continents in the IndianOcean. This realization has lead to im-portant and extensive work that has re-cently redefined our understanding of theplate tectonic paradigm. Richard has sug-gested a modification of the plate tec-tonic model in which he defines compos-ite and component plates. The simplelithospheric plates of plate tectonics arenow envisioned to be composites that aremade up of component plates separatedby diffuse plate boundaries. This modifi-cation provides new insights about basicassumptions of plate tectonics; it is show-ing exactly how rigid the lithosphere is.

I’ve known Richard since heand I were graduate students together atStanford. He’s always shown an intensityand strong dedication to his work, but be-yond that to Earth sciences and to sci-ence, in general. He actively promotes

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the recognition of other scientists fortheir contributions. It’s an honor to be hiscitationist today.

Using geophysical observa-tions, Richard Gordon has made manyimportant, significant contributions toour understanding of how the Earthworks. He has been at the forefront ofcollecting new data sets that illuminateour understanding of plate tectonicprocesses, but more importantly he hasframed scientific questions about platetectonics in new ways. He is well-deserv-ing of the Arthur L. Day Medal.

Response by Richard G. Gordon

If I was allowed to be so pre-sumptuous as to pick any one honor Imight receive in my professional life, theArthur Day Medal would be it. It pleasesme enormously to be recognized for theapplication of physics to the solution ofgeologic problems (I make no pretenseabout the chemistry part), and it’s hum-bling to see the list of past medalists,which includes a great many of my per-sonal heroes in geoscience. I am thrilledto be receiving this award.

My interest in active tectonicsand geoscience may have its roots in hav-ing grown up in the foothills of theDiablo Range in California, between theCalaveras and Hayward faults, and as a12-year-old having gone on several eye-opening and memorable natural historyfield trips along the California coast, inthe Mojave Desert, in the Sierras, and inthe Basin and Range. My interests inEarth remained dormant, however, until Imade a short move to the west of the SanAndreas Fault to attend the University ofCalifornia at Santa Cruz, where as a jun-ior I took an introductory geology classfrom Casey Moore and introductory geo-physics classes from Rob Coe and EliSilver. I was hooked, and still am. I nextcrossed back over the San Andreas faultto do graduate work at Stanford, where Ilearned much both from the faculty and

from my fellow graduate students.

As scientists, to separate whatwe know from what we think we knowcan be a delicate endeavor, and has beena task with which I have often been con-fronted in my research. I was fortunate atStanford to be able to see how Allan Cox,my thesis advisor, thought both rigor-ously and creatively about data, espe-cially paleomagnetic data . Allan, whohimself received the Day Medal while Iwas his student, also set a high standard,through his example, of how to writeclearly about complex subjects. I learnedmuch from him, but probably not asmuch as I should have. One lesson,which I had to wait a few more years tolearn is that it is not enough to have con-vinced oneself that one is right—to be ef-fective you also have to convince nearlyeveryone else. This has caused me to tryto further raise the level of rigor, docu-mentation, and clarity in my papers.Seeking these higher standards has alsocaused me on occasion to realize that Iwasn’t as right as I initially thought that Iwas. I hope that receipt of this award in-dicates that I’ve at least had some partialsuccess, however.

The Day Medal recognizes abody of work and thus recognizes thecontributions of the many scientists withwhom I have collaborated and withoutwhom I wouldn’t be receiving this honor.My own former students with whom Ihave published papers being recognizedtoday include Laurel Henderson, PhilBryan, Gary Acton, Katerina Petronotis,Alice Gripp, Dezhi Chu, and JimLemaux. I want particularly to acknowl-edge two outstanding former studentswith whom I have had long-running andenormously productive collaborations—Donald Argus and Chuck DeMets. Forthe determination of the NUVEL-1 set ofrelative angular velocities of the plates,Don was the lead worker for the AtlanticOcean and Chuck for the Pacific andIndian Oceans. The two of them literallydivided and conquered the globe.

I have had the good fortune tocollaborate with David Engebretson,who is a very creative scientist and was afellow graduate student at Stanford. I firstlearned about the deformation in theequatorial Indian Ocean from Seth Stein,a colleague of boundless energy withwhom I collaborated for many years. Ihave enjoyed synergistic collaborationson Cenozoic and Cretaceous global platemotion with Donna Jurdy and RoyLivermore. During the past decade mymain collaborator, aside from my stu-dents, has been Jean-Yves Royer, who isa master of the art of quantitative platereconstructions. It is with sadness that Iacknowledge another wonderful col-league, Stephen Zatman, who died threemonths ago at the age of 30 in an auto-mobile accident. Stephen and I, in partwith Mark Richards and Mark Jellinek,made some real progress in understand-ing various aspects of the dynamics andrheology of diffuse oceanic plate bound-aries during Stephen’s last two and one-half years.

Before I conclude, I want togive special thanks to my citationist KenKodama. As he mentioned, he and I werein graduate school together. What hediplomatically did not tell you was that,to complete his thesis work, Ken hadbuilt an oven for the thermal demagneti-zation of paleomagnetic rock samples.Ken graciously loaned me his oven to de-magnetize some of my own rock sam-ples. One evening I left it overnight torun at a temperature higher than it hadbeen used before. In the morning I dis-covered that it had caught fire.Fortunately the fire died out without trig-gering the sprinklers that would have ru-ined the entire laboratory. Unfortunately,however, Ken’s thesis work was delayedseveral months until I was able to rebuildthe oven. That Ken nominated me forthis award probably means that he hasforgiven me, at least I hope so.

The past 25 years have been anexciting time to be a geoscientist, and Iam looking forward to the next 25. I

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thank my family and loved ones, my stu-dents and colleagues, the scientists whotook time from their busy schedules towrite supporting letters, the committeesresponsible for selecting the DayMedalist, the GSA, and all of you.

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YOUNG SCIENTIST

AWARD (DONATH MEDAL)

Presented to Ariel D. Anbar

Ariel D. Anbar

Citation by Heinrich D. Holland

It is always a pleasure to pres-ent a former student for an award. Thepleasure is particularly keen when thehonored student has become a personalfriend and a valued colleague.

While Ariel Anbar was an un-dergraduate at Harvard in the late eight-ies, I was struggling to determinewhether solar ultraviolet light played arole in the origin of banded iron forma-tions. At that time, the response of man-ganese to ultraviolet light promised tobe a useful clue to the puzzle.Unfortunately, Ariel’s senior thesisdemonstrated very clearly that it didnot.

After this demonstration, Arielmoved to Caltech for graduate work.There Gerry Wasserburg taught himhow to make very difficult measure-ments very precisely. This led to hisdoctoral dissertation and to the first de-terminations of the concentration ofiridium in natural waters.

Since 1996, Ariel has been onthe faculty of the University ofRochester, first as an assistant professorand now as an associate professor. Theyears at Rochester have been very fruit-ful. Ariel’s Caltech expertise blossomedfirst into the use of iridium anomalies insediments to define the habitability ofthe early Earth. Subsequently, he hasbeen among the pioneers in using newmass spectrometric methods to explorethe stable isotope geochemistry of tran-sition metals, particularly iron andmolybdenum. His iron isotope researchdemonstrated the importance of inor-ganic chemistry for this isotope system.His exciting, ongoing study of the iso-topes of molybdenum in carbonaceousshales promises to resolve long-stand-ing questions regarding the oxidationstate of the oceans during theProterozoic Era. He has supervised animpressive number of undergraduatesand graduate students, has taught awide range of courses, and has acquireda burgeoning family. We at Harvard arefortunate to have him as a member ofthe NASA Astrobiology Institute team,which has its center of gravity inCambridge.

Ariel Anbar is clearly a brightyoung star in the geological firmament.It is a privilege Mr. President, to presentto you this outstanding scholar, teacher,and mensch for the Society’s Donath2002 Medal.

Response by Ariel D. Anbar

It is especially meaningful tome that this award comes from theGeological Society of America, and thatProf. Holland gave the citation. I be-came a geoscientist because I was fasci-nated by the history of the Earth and oflife, and their “coevolution”. Such top-ics have a home in the GSA. And DickHolland and Gerry Wasserburg, themost influential mentors in my aca-demic life, profoundly affected theirstudy.

Historical research requiresthat we struggle with a sparse geologicrecord, particularly in the Precambrian.This means developing new analyticaltools to get old rocks to tell new stories.My early career has been devoted tothis effort, most recently focusing onthe stable isotope geochemistry of tran-sition metals. I am fortunate thatFrancis Albarède and Alex Halliday pi-oneered the technologies that openedthis door just as I arrived on the scene.As revealed by my group and by others,Fe, Mo, Cu, Zn, Cr, Cd and even Tl iso-topes commonly fractionate in nature.With Ken Nealson, Sue Brantley andMukul Sharma, we have studied mech-anisms of Fe isotope fractionation inhopes of revealing new biosignatures.This is a difficult but worthy challenge.With Andy Knoll and Tim Lyons, weare using Mo isotopes to study changesin ocean redox, notably in theProterozoic. Initial results are verypromising. It is an exciting time to be ageochemist!

I am fortunate to have a sup-portive setting at the University ofRochester, which gambled on a brashyoung scientist with a dissertation stillwarm from the copying machine. AsishBasu and John Tarduno secured re-sources, gave wise counsel, encouragedmy odd isotopic and geobiological in-terests, and reinforced my aspirationsthrough their exceptional research.They enliven my professional life, as doUdo Fehn, Bob Poreda and the rest ofthe faculty. After living in Cambridgeand Pasadena, it is a privilege to havecolleagues who demonstrate every daythat high-impact science is possibleeven in a city that does not have a highcost of living.

In the lab, I am indebted toJane Barling for keeping standardshigh. Jo Roe, Gail Arnold, Karen Knab,Matt Polizzotto and Erick Ramongracefully endured my experiments inmentoring while doing the really hardwork. They made this award possible.

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I am also grateful to a long listof mentors and colleagues from whom Idraw inspiration. I cannot give properthanks in the time allotted, but will dowhat I can.

I owe an incalculable debt tomy first mentors, my parents, Michaeland Ada, and my brother, Ran, who en-couraged me by their examples to fol-low my interests. When they learned Iwas going to pursue a career in geo-science rather than medicine, they neverasked, “but how are you going to makea living?” It is true that you can’tchoose your family, but I would choosethem if I could.

At Harvard, Prof. Holland res-cued a discontented chemistry major byteaching me to combine chemistry with“back of the envelope” calculations tolearn about the Earth. Suddenly, chem-istry seemed relevant, and geosciencethe most exciting application. Ipromptly changed my major!

Prof. Holland steered me toCaltech, where I was drawn into GerryWasserburg’s orbit. I arrived just as the“Lunatic Asylum” revolutionized geo-chemistry for the umpteenth time, lead-ing to my work on Re and Ir in seawa-ter. From Dr. Wasserburg with the helpof Dimitri Papanastassiou and RobCreaser, I learned to practice sciencewith honesty, rigor, and attention to de-tail, but without getting lost in trivia. Ialso learned to pursue novelty withoutflights of fantasy. If I have avoided bothtrivia and fantasy and if I continue to doso in the future, it is because Dr.Wasserburg taught me to strike the rightbalance.

Others also helped makeCaltech a magical experience. FromSam Epstein and Yuk Yung, I learnedabout the power of informed intuition.From George Rossman, the value of ex-ploration without clear destination.From Lee Silver, the elusive goal of in-tegrating field and lab. During hisPasadena visits, I was inspired by Karl

Turekian’s enthusiastic creativity. Manyother faculty, fellow students, postdocsand staff helped me learn the ropes,made the good times better, and thehard times easier. Mark Allen, PerAndersson, Rosemary Capo, Yigal Erel,Laurie Leshin, John Holt, Hari Nair,Don Porcelli, Brian Stewart, Kim Trykaand Laura Wasylenki head a list toolong to complete.

In more recent years, as part ofthe Harvard/MIT astrobiology group, Iregularly visit Cambridge. There, I aminspired by the abilities of SamBowring, Ed Boyle, John Hayes, SteinJacobsen, and Roger Summons to turnanalytical expertise into geoscienceknowledge, and Paul Hoffman’s abilityto see the big picture. From oppositeends of the country, Andy Knoll andKen Nealson patiently tutor me in biol-ogy, and humanity. From the other sideof the planet, Roger Buick emphasizedthe value of fieldwork, and of “color-ful” language. Greg Ravizza, generousto a fault, is the unsung hero of Mo iso-topes and much else. Tom Bullen,Rosalind Grymes, Munir Humayun,Steve Mojzsis, Mark Rehkamper, KevinZahnle and many others have helpedmake most days fun and productive. Ihope for many more such days, withmany more such people.

Clair Patterson once told methat while money may be the source ofall evil, it is surely the source of all sci-ence. And so I thank the NSF and theNASA Astrobiology Institute for sup-porting my efforts.

Above all, I thank my wife,Marni, for nearly twenty years of lovingfriendship that words cannot describe,and my son, Nathaniel, who constantlyreminds me that science is not really acareer, but an attitude of constant cu-riosity.

Again, thank you for this honor.

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GSA DISTINGUISHEDSERVICE AWARDPresented to Samuel S. Adams,

David E. Dunn, and John W. Geissman

Samuel S. Adams

Citation by Anthony Naldrett

Samuel S. Adams, Sam to hisfriends, has had and continues to have along and distinguished career within theearth sciences. His roots are set firmlyin New England, with degrees fromDartmouth and Harvard, and from therehe entered the mining industry, firstworking in industrial minerals, and thenin metal mining for 10 years with theformer Anaconda Company. After an-other 10 years as a consultant, he joinedthe Colorado School of Mines, wherehe headed the Department of Geologyand Geological Engineering, before re-turning to the private sector. Sam hasbeen president of the Society ofEconomic Geologists and continues toplay a major role in that organization.He has served as president of theAmerican Geological Institute and iscurrently editor in chief of Geotimes.His services in earth sciences have beenrecognized by many awards, too manyto mention today. He has also volun-teered his time in support of numerous

organizations in New Hampshire; mostrecently the National Alliance for theMentally Ill. Sam has served on nofewer than 12 GSA committees, be-coming chair of the majority of them.He has served on Council, and for oneyear was the council member at largeon the Executive Committee. There canbe very few GSA members who havecontributed so much of themselves toour Society, and I am delighted thatSam has been chosen to receive one ofthis year’s Distinguished ServiceAwards.

Response by Samuel S. Adams

Thank you for your kind intro-duction. I am flattered and appreciativethat this organization would choose tohonor me in this manner. Lord knows,there are numerous members amongyou here today who have volunteeredfor GSA through the years in a varietyof ways and on a variety of occasions.It is precisely for that reason that I pre-fer to think of this award as a recogni-tion of GSA volunteerism, especiallythe many among us who have pitchedin as the opportunities have occurred.Since my name begins with “A” itseems I got chosen for some of the“pomp and circumstance”.

In his thought-provokingbook, Bowling Alone; The Collapse andRevival of American Community,Robert Putnam identified a disturbingtrend that started in the mid 1960’s inour country and which relates to volun-teerism in GSA. Simply put, eventhough membership, and in some casesphilanthropic giving, may have risenfor an organization, attendance at meet-ings and voluntary service for most aredecidedly down. We are tending to in-vest less of our time and ourselves inorganizations and activities, preferringa more limited interpretation of “payingour dues” than we used to. Increasinglyour activities are more solitary. Whatdoes this mean for GSA?

Without volunteers GSA is an anachro-nism. Perhaps the most important singlebenefits a scientific and professional or-ganization provides to its members isthe opportunity to learn how to serveselflessly in pursuit of a common vi-sion. This exposure and training is criti-cal to GSA achieving its mission and toearth scientists learning how to defineand achieve theirs. The GSA staff isthere as much to facilitate members’growth into service and volunteerism asit is to provide professional services tous. Membership is first a contract forservices, but more deeply a covenantrooted in shared visions and opportuni-ties for shared experiences. With thehope of contributing in some way to thestrength of this covenant I gratefully ac-cept this honor

David E. Dunn

Citation by Sharon Mosher

David Dunn’s service to thesociety has been truly exceptional.Until a year ago, David was treasurer,an office he held with distinction fornine years. During this time, he servedwith three executive directors and pro-vided much needed financial continuityand sage advice at the leadership level.As part of his responsibilities hechaired the Budget Committee andserved on the Audit, Investments,Global Review, and ExecutiveCommittees. As a councilor over that

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time, he played an active and influentialrole in shaping the society, mentoringnew council members, and providing amuch needed corporate memory of pastcouncils. David’s most important con-tributions are mostly invisible to themembership, but his impact on the soci-ety as a whole has been significant.David also has a long history of contri-butions to GSA, and he has been aFellow since 1962. David was a found-ing member and a chair of the Structureand Tectonics Division, GSA’s largestdivision. David’s more than 20 years ofservice include being General Chair ofthe 1990 Annual Meeting, being on theGeology Editorial Board, and servingon the Short Course and NominationsCommittees and on the Committee onCommittees. David now serves as amember of the GSA Foundation Boardof Trustees and brings his wide experi-ence with GSA’s finances to theInvestment Committee. He is extremelydeserving of GSA’s DistinguishedService Award.

Response by David E. Dunn

Mr. President, fellow hon-orees, friends and colleagues, ladiesand gentlemen: During the 16 years Iwas affiliated with GSA Council in onecapacity or another, I was privileged toserve under, and learn from, PresidentsReds Wolman, Brian Skinner, GaryErnst, Jack Oliver, Bert Bally, E-anZen, Bob Hatcher, Bill Dickenson,Dave Stephenson, Eldridge Moores,George Thompson, Vic Baker, GailAshley, Mary Lou Zoback, SharonMosher, and Tony Naldrett. What an in-credible array of talent and dedication!I am grateful for the learning experi-ence and for the opportunity to haveserved. It has been a labor of love thathas greatly enriched my professionallife. Thank you.

John W. Geissman

Citation by Sharon Mosher

John Geissman has been adedicated GSA volunteer who over theyears has contributed to the society inmany capacities. John served as editorof GSA Bulletin from 1994 to 2000where he made numerous contributionsto GSA publications in addition to ful-filling the duties and responsibilities ofeditor. He was the driving force behindhaving GSA’s Data Repository avail-able electronically, instituting a reason-able page charge policy, and establish-ing the staggering of Science Editorterms—hence, his extra two years ofservice in this time-consuming en-deavor. John also has co-chaired two,combined Rocky Mountain–South-Central GSA section meetings inAlbuquerque, one in 1991 and one in2001. John’s contributions continue tothis very week. He is the TechnicalProgram Chair for the Denver 2002Annual Meeting and was responsiblefor scheduling and overseeing the entiretechnical program. This position is keyto the meeting’s success and is the mostimportant and time-consuming of alljobs related to the meeting. John willcontinue to serve on the AnnualProgram Committee to help advise thenext Technical Program Chair. We hopeand expect that his contributions anddedication to the society will continuethroughout his career. John has dedi-cated a tremendous amount of time andenergy to GSA and is very deserving ofthe Distinguished Service Award.

Response by John W. Geissman

Greetings.

I remember an experience,decades ago, in my parents bedroom,watching my mom pack a suitcase formy dad, for one of many professionalsociety-related trips. And I of courseasked “why”? She responded, “that’swhat he does”; later (because I askedwhy again?) he responded with some-thing like “professional societies are theessence of science and engineering,without them and people actively par-ticipating in them, we’d be lost.” At thetime, it sort of whizzed over my head.Since, illumination has allowed me tounderstand his remark (and questionwhy a spouse should pack a suitcase foranother).

I thank the many members atGSA Headquarters, notably NancyCarlson, Larry Bowlds , Faith Rogers,Melissa Cummiskey, and Jon Olsen.Very importantly, my family, graduateand undergraduate students, editorialassistants Cathy Ratcliff and then MarySimmons, and UNM colleagues suf-fered through occasional rantings andravings while Bulletin Editor, and TPCfor this meeting. To Lynn Walter andAllan Glazner; thanks for the opportu-nity to work with you. Art Sylvester’s1987 phone call, saying “say, I just no-ticed your mug in Eos, for an Editor’sCitation; I need you on the Bulletin AEBoard, and you have no choice” wasthe beginning.

To relatively young (whateverthat means) members of GSA, yourtime devoted to a professional societyonly enhances your appreciation of thewonderful science, and the way inwhich it is done, of which you are anintegral part. To Frank Rhodes, thanksfor the best class of my life, 32 yearsago, in the nat sci building, at dear oldMichigan.

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And to all of you, I hope youfind this meeting as stimulating and re-warding as I have found my experi-ences working with the many dedicatedGSA professional staff and volunteers.Thanks.

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GSA PUBLICSERVICEAWARD

Presented to John A. McPhee

John A. McPhee

Citation by Eldridge Moores

John McPhee is one of, if notthe, greatest living American non-fic-tion author. In fact, he has been calledone of the best nonfiction writers, ever(see The Globe Corner Bookstore,www.globecorner.com/a/596.html).

Born and raised in Princeton,N.J., John was educated at Princetonand Cambridge Universities. Since1965 he has been associated with theNew Yorker magazine as a staff writer.I first met John in November 1978, as aresult of a telephone call from KenDeffeyes of Princeton University. Keninformed me that McPhee was begin-ning a study of the roadcuts of I-80 andasked if I would help with California.While I had never heard of McPhee, Ireadily agreed, as the project soundedinteresting, and it was along a route thatI had used many times for student fieldtrips. Thus began the long road to“Assembling California.”

McPhee arrived on a Fridayafternoon, and we went out in the field.Our modus operandi was for me to

drive the pickup he had rented. As wecareened from roadcut to roadcut, I keptan eye peeled for the CaliforniaHighway Patrol (we never did getbusted). I tried to explain the geologicmess of the Sierra Nevada and CoastRanges, while McPhee pelted me withquestions from the passenger’s seat andwrote furiously in one of his manynotebooks.

In person, McPhee is a soft-spoken, gentle, considerate, compas-sionate, invariably polite person. He’s areally nice guy. He is also the most for-midable interviewer I have ever en-countered. John soaks up knowledgelike a sponge. He can quietly, grace-fully, and skillfully extract from an un-suspecting interviewee the most arcanedetails of whatever subject is under dis-cussion. The process is hard work andoccasionally dangerous if you are driv-ing. I remember at the end of one day inour early travels together, I blurted out“I’m exhausted. You’ve really put methrough the wringer.” He responded,“How do you think I feel? This stuff isall new to me.”

A few years later we went toCyprus and northern Greece, and subse-quently to Arizona. We revisitedCalifornia sites a decade later, and wetraveled along part of the San Andreasfault after the 1989 Loma Prieta earth-quake. Over the course of these travels,our relationship blossomed into a life-long family friendship. I certainly feelenriched, personally, by knowing him.

John’s assembled work on geology, Annals of the Former Worldwas a best-seller and won the PulitzerPrize for General Nonfiction in 1999.He worked on this book on-and-offover a 20-year period during which four of its sections were published inThe New Yorker magazine. Two ofthese parts, “Basin and Range” (onNevada and New Jersey), and“Assembling California” were them-selves best-sellers.

John is a hugely talentedwordsmith, who is able to grasp diffi-cult concepts—in a field in which hewas never trained—and make themcome alive. For example, in“Assembling California” John was ableto juxtapose the history of theCalifornia Gold Rush and the LomaPrieta earthquake with intricacies ofCalifornia geology in a way eminentlyaccessible to non-geologists and usefulto geologists at the same time. He is amaster at putting his subject out front,and himself in the background.

McPhee’s geology works formonly a small part of his efforts. Over theyears, he has published and receivedawards for some thirty books on suchdiverse subjects as nuclear hazards, theSwiss Army, the New Jersey PineBarrens, Scotland, orange-growing,traveling on a freighter, and most re-cently, The Founding Fish (on thespecies American shad). However,McPhee has developed a deep under-standing of geology, and a remarkableability to translate that understanding interms accessible to the layperson. Fourof his other books deal partly or largelywith geologic themes: Coming into theCountry (on Alaska), The Control ofNature (on human attempts to modifynatural processes), and Encounters withthe Archdruid (travels with the lateDavid Brower), and Irons in the Fire (acollection that includes a long piece onforensic geology).

John has brought geologyalive to a public thirsting for moreknowledge of the Earth. The reactionsto McPhee’s writings demonstrate thehunger his readers have for knowledgeabout the Earth and the landscapearound them.

Through his many writings,John has made “geology” a householdword. I cannot think of a more deserv-ing recipient of the GSA Public ServiceAward. We are lucky that such a tal-ented writer got interested in geology. It

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gives me great pleasure to introducehim to you. John McPhee.

Response by John A. McPhee

Thank you, Eldridge. Thankyou, GSA. Last spring, I was asked towrite a formal acceptance speech forthis occasion, and acceptance is exactlywhat I wish to mention in more thanone sense. For me, this is an unparal-leled opportunity to register my grati-tude to the geological community as awhole for your acceptance of my pres-ence among you and for your unendingpatience in teaching me, guiding me,encouraging me, and correcting me in aproject that must have seemed quixoticto those of you who were close enoughto judge. For example, Anita Harris, ofthe United States Geological Survey —on the first day of my first field tripwith her, in 1979 – was walking upsec-tion through the Delaware Water Gap,pointing out the nuances in the Silurianquartzites. I said, “Do you ever get tiredof teaching ignoramuses?” She said, “Ihaven’t worked on this level since Idon’t know when.”

Academically, about all I hadbehind me was an undergraduate de-gree in English literature. In college andin high school, I had taken various in-troductory courses in physics, chem-istry, biology, and geology, but only outof idle interest or to discharge distribu-tional requirements. As a forty-seven-year-old professional writer, I was at-tracted to geology, I guess, by thehumanistic implications in its scientificfacts, the marvels and the metaphors inits descriptions of the world. Among themangled ripple marks in quartzite, anaffection for marvels and metaphorswill not get you very far in figuring outwhich way is up. On that first outingwith Anita, I scribbled a large quantityof notes, and when I typed them up afew days later I did not know what they

meant. My own notes were over myhead. In the course of time, and furtherdialogue with Anita and other geolo-gists, those notes gradually becameclear. Anita, like every other geologist Iwould talk to, understood what I had setout to do, did all she could to help meget there intact, and devised ways tocommunicate with my innumeratemind. She and everyone else in the pro-fession had no difficulty understandingthat a piece of writing can take forever.When I met Eldridge Moores, he hadjust turned forty. His children were soyoung you could see the scuff markswhere they crawled on the rug. Overthe years, as I made field trips withEldridge, his children grew up, went tocollege, and soared on into the worldwhile the guy with the notebook, whofirst appeared in their home in 1978,had still written nothing about their fa-ther, his ophiolites, and his belovedCalifornia. With the late John DavidLove, of the USGS, my lag time wasonly eight years — eight privilegedyears of learning from him – and the in-tervals were analogous with KarenKleinspehn, now of the University ofMinnesota, and Randy Van Schmus, ofthe University of Kansas. At the outset,before I had so much as collected RockNo. 1, Kenneth Deffeyes, of PrincetonUniversity, volunteered to shepherd methrough the whole of it, recommendingand introducing other geologists, goingwith me himself across the Basin andRange, and enlisting into the advisoryprocess most of Princeton’s Departmentof Geosciences and members of thisprofession in many parts of the UnitedStates, England, Scotland, and Canada.Because my work as a non-fictionwriter has been delimited and definedonly in its being about real people inreal places, I have ventured into highlyvaried fields of endeavor, experiencing,as you might guess, highly varied levelsof welcome. In the federal and state sur-veys, in the academic world, and in pri-vate companies large and small, the ac-ceptance that I have felt coming my

way from geologists has been warm toan unexcelled extent, and this evening Ihave — as noted — the best chance I’llever have to express my heartfelt appre-ciation.

As I have occasionally re-marked in the past, it has not been mypurpose to write for a scientific audi-ence but my purpose would be defeatedif my work were not acceptable to sci-entists. The corroboration implied inthis award is an award in itself.

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