GeoSpectrum

Vernon James Hurst, 83, Professor Emeritus of the University of Georgia and long time resident of Athens died on July 28, 2006.

Dr. Hurst was born on July 18, 1923 in Glenmore, Ga. During World War II, he served in combat in the European Theatre, including the Battle of the Bulge, where he was one of 8 survivors of his 210-man company. Later, he served in occupation in the Pacific Theatre.

He received his B.S, degree from the University of Georgia, M.S. from Emory University and his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University, all in Geology. He was founder of the Geology Department at UGA, serving as head for eight years, Chairman of Physical Sciences for four years and was a University Research Professor for 22 years. He specialized in the weathering of rocks, crystal growth, clay technology, electron microscopy and optical mineralogy. He had over 300 scientific publications and a number of patents. He had affiliations with 18 professional organizations, holding leadership roles in many. For 45 years he was a member of the Jenkins Club. He was a 50-year fellow in the Geological Society of America and the Mineralogical Society of America. He was also a member of Sigma XI and Phi Kappa Phi. One of his most special recognitions came in 2003 when the Clay Mineral Society of America awarded him the Pioneer in Clay Science award.

Dr. Hurst is survived by his wife, Neil Hurst; son Marc V. Hurst, wife Anne and daughter Sarah now of Davenport, Fl.; daughter Karen H. Sharpe, husband Paul, daughter Jennifer and son Alexander now of Kennesaw, Ga.; sister Reba Hurst Smith of Carrollton, Ga. and a number of nieces and nephews.

As stated in the June 2006 Geotimes, Sam Adams was a great champion for the geosciences. He lost his battle against cancer May 5, 2006 at his home. His wife-partner-best friend of 50 years, Nancy Morris Adams, was with him. The Concord Monitor termed him a “Man for All Seasons” in its May 7, 2006 article. He will be missed by many.

Sam was born in Lincoln in 1937, the son of Sherman and Rachel Adams. He graduated from Cardigan Mountain School in 1951 and St. Paul’s School in 1955. He earned his B.S. in 1959 and his M.S. in 1961, both from Dartmouth College. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1968. Following Harvard he went to the potash salt mine of International Minerals and Chemical Corporation in New Mexico. Subsequently he joined the Anaconda Company where he served as chief geologist-uranium and Vice President for Geology and Technology. Later, Sam became a minerals consultant living in Boulder, Colorado, and focusing on exploration and mineral assessment projects in the western United States and world-wide.

In 1986, Sam accepted the position as Head and Professor of the Colorado School of Mines’ Geology and Geological Engineering Department. He chaired a department of 20 faculty, 150 graduate students, and 100 undergraduate majors. During a period when other geoscience departments were contracting, this department was growing and prospering with modernization of the department’s facilities and laboratories. In 1991 he returned to New Hampshire as President and General Manager of Loon Mountain Recreation Corporation, the state’s largest ski and summer resort. The Corporation prospered and was sold in 1998.

Sam has served the geoscience community in many ways. He was President of the American Geological Institute and the Society of Economic Geologists and Counselor for the Geological Society of America. He served as chair of the National Research Council Panel to Review the Mineral Resource Surveys Program Plan of the U.S. Geological Survey and Vice-Chair of the Panel on Hard Rock Mining on Federal Lands. He is a former member of the NRC Committee on Earth Resources and the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources.

Sam’s awards include AGI’s William B. Heroy, Jr. Award for Distinguished Service in 2000 as well as the Institute’s most prestigious award, the Ian Campbell medal in 2005; the Geological Society of America’s Distinguished Service Award; the U.S. Geological Survey’s John Wesley Powell Award; and the American Institute of Professional Geologists’ Outstanding Achievement Award.

He served the American Geological Institute in many leadership roles —most notably as President in 1995, as Chairman of the AGI 50th Anniversary Committee in 1998, and, through 2005, as Editor-in-Chief of Geotimes, the monthly news magazine of the Institute. He guided several other geoscience publications and also authored or co-authored more than 40 publications. His service extended beyond the geosciences. He was president of the New Hampshire chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness from 2003-2005.

He is survived by his wife Nancy Adams; daughters Melinda Adams McGregor of Del Ray Beach, Florida, and Katrina Adams Moran of Empire, Nevada; his son Jonathan Sherman Adams of Thornton, New Hampshire; his grandchildren Megan McGregor, Adam and Molly Moran and MacKenzie and Leeson Adams; and his sisters Sarah Adams, Jean Adams Hallager and Tinker Adams Freese.

Dallas L. Peck, of Reston, Va., Director from 1981-1993 of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the world’s largest natural science research institution, died August 21, 2005 as a result of complications from a previous open heart surgery.

Peck’s entire 53-year professional career was with the USGS, a testament to his devotion to the science of geology and his dedication to the integrity and reputation of the Survey. Peck earned his bachelor’s (with honors) and master’s degrees in geology from the California Institute of Technology in 1951 and 1953 and his doctorate in geology from Harvard in 1960. Peck began working with the USGS in 1951 as a geologic field assistant and rose through the ranks to become the Nation’s senior earth scientist in 1981.

Peck, a volcanologist, spent much of his early career studying the volcanoes and volcanic rocks of Hawaii and the Western United States. Much of his career focused on geothermal and geochemical studies at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and studies of granitic rocks in the Sierra Nevada of California. His professional reach and impact included the U.S. Space Program in training astronauts and staffing the science mission control rooms for Apollo 16 and 17.

“Dallas Peck distinguished himself as a scientist and leader. In the tradition of directors that spent many years in the field during their careers, he brought a strong commitment to USGS science excellence to his term as Director,” said former USGS Director Chip Groat.

Within the USGS, Peck served as Assistant Chief Geologist then as Chief Geologist for four years. In 1981, Peck was highly recommended by the National Academy of Sciences for the position as USGS Director. Following Senate action, Peck became the 11th director of the USGS. Under Peck’s leadership, the USGS improved and expanded its national and international work on mineral resources; global change; water quality; and natural hazards, including the risk assessment and management of earthquakes, landslides, land subsidence, and volcanic eruptions.

Following his term as Director, he returned to the Geologic Division of USGS in 1993 to conduct research on the granites of Yosemite National Park and the Sierra Nevada and to serve as adviser in the Office of the Chief Geologist. In 1995 he retired from the USGS, but continued his research as an emeritus scientist until his death.

The Department of the Interior honored his many accomplishments with its Meritorious (1970) and Distinguished (1979) Service Awards, and in 1980 he received the Presidential Meritorious Executive Award. He also received many professional awards and served on a wide range of national and international scientific panels.

Many organizations sought Peck’s scientific and management expertise, including the National Science Foundation, the National Research Council, Sandia Laboratories and Los Alamos Scientific Laboratories, as well as many universities. In addition, he was Head of the Delegation to the International Geological Congress in Moscow, USSR, 1984; United States Delegate to the Assembly in Durham, England of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior, 1977; and a Member of the US/USSR Joint Commission on Scientific and Technical Cooperation, 1972. He also served as Chairman of the Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology and was a distinguished member of many professional associations and societies, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union, the Geological Society of America, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and the Society of Economic Geologists.

• USGS Press Release

Bruce A. Bolt, for decades one of the state’s most visible experts on earthquakes and seismic hazards and professor emeritus of earth and planetary science at the University of California, Berkeley, died Thursday, July 21, of pancreatic cancer at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Oakland. He was 75.

As director of the University of California Seismographic Stations for 28 years, he traveled the world to investigate the sites of major earthquakes, lectured on earthquakes and earthquake hazards around the country and internationally, and served on numerous local, state and national panels and commissions. He even wrote two popular books: Earthquakes: A Primer (1978) and Inside the Earth: Evidence from Earthquakes (1982).

He served for 15 years on the California Seismic Safety Commission and was its chairman in 1986. According to a statement issued Friday by the California Seismic Safety Commission, “Former Commissioner Bolt was one of California’s most influential policymakers in earthquake safety. … He was particularly renowned for his ability to increase the public’s awareness about earthquakes and motivate legislators to improve earthquake safety. Professor Bolt leaves a rich legacy of public policy accomplishments.”

Bolt, a native of Australia who became a naturalized citizen of the United States, was unique in straddling the boundary between seismology and engineering. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1978, joined the UC Berkeley Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in 1988, and was a key liaison to engineers seeking information about ground motion so that they could design buildings to withstand the shaking.

“He really was the founder of the modern field of engineering seismology, which is the interface between earth science and the fields of geotechnical and structural engineering,” said Gregory Fenves, UC Berkeley professor and chair of civil and environmental engineering. “He was an indefatigable advocate for communication between seismologists and engineers. He could speak to broad audiences, right at heir level, including legislators and governors.”

As a member of the state’s Seismic Safety Commission, Bolt was instrumental in developing state legislation for seismic hazard mapping, the Southern California and Bay Area Earthquake Preparedness Projects, the California Earthquake Education Project, earthquake safety improvements for mobile homes, private schools, hospital buildings, essential services buildings, and unreinforced masonry buildings, the “California at Risk” earthquake loss reduction program, requirements for the disclosure of earthquake weaknesses to potential homebuyers, and a small building permit fee to fund the Strong Motion Instrumentation Program.

Bolt was a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and of the Geological Society of America, an associate of the Royal Astronomical Society and an overseas fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge. He was president in 1974 of the Seismological Society of America and editor of its bulletin from 1965 to 1972, and president of the International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth’s Interior from 1980 until 1983. He won the Alfred Alquist Medal of the California Earthquake Safety Foundation, the George W. Housner Medal from the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, and, upon retiring from UC Berkeley, the campus’s highest honor, the Berkeley Citation. Aside from his two popular books, Bolt also wrote Earthquakes and Geological Discovery (1993) and five editions of Earthquakes (fifth edition, 2003).

• UC Berkeley Press Release, July 25, 2005.