ALEXANDRIA, VA — The American Geological Institute (AGI) is pleased to announce that Robert W. Ridky will receive the William B. Heroy, Jr. Award for Distinguished Service on Tuesday, October 29, at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA), an affiliated member society. The Reception and Awards Ceremony takes place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Denver Ballroom (I-IV) of the Marriott City Center Hotel in Denver. The Heroy Award is presented annually to a geoscientist in recognition of outstanding service to the Institute and to the geoscience profession.

    “Bob’s intellectual and applied contributions to AGI and to Earth-science education over the years have been invaluable,” says Marcus E. Milling, AGI Executive Director. “Many science organizations, including those in disciplines other than the Earth sciences, have benefited greatly from his ideas, his energy, and his commitment to advancing the breadth and quality of science education in this country.”

    Ridky was recently appointed as National Education Coordinator for the U.S. Geological Survey. Prior to this, he was a professor in the Department of Geology at the University of Maryland in College Park, where he also held positions as senior assistant to the Chancellor and as an American Council of Education Fellow. He has also served as Program Director, Division of Undergraduate Education/Geosciences at the National Science Foundation.

    A longtime contributor to geoscience education and outreach efforts, Ridky has conducted numerous national curriculum- and teacher-development programs, including the Joint Education Initiative, a cooperative program with the U.S. Geological Survey, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Most recently, he assisted AGI in the development of EarthInquiry, a program that allows undergraduate students to maximize real-time and archived geoscience data.

    Active in many professional organizations, Ridky has served as a member of the Institute’s Education Committee. He has also served as President of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, Chair of GSA’s Geoscience Education Division, Chair of GSA’s Task Force on New Goals and Directions for Geoscience Education, geoscience representative to the National Research Council’s National Science Education Standards Committee, and on several State Boards and Commissions, including the State of Maryland’s Geological Survey.

    Ridky’s research interests include landform analysis and interpretation of glacial dynamics, geomorphic analysis of drainage-basin development, and geologic amelioration techniques for isolation of hazardous-waste repositories from surface/groundwater systems. He has led studies in Antarctica and has published on ice-flow characteristics and resultant landform development. Additionally, Ridky has conducted long-term field studies for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on geologic amelioration techniques for low-level waste containment.

    The Distinguished Service Award is presented in honor of one of the outstanding geologists of the 20th century, William B. Heroy, Jr., who advanced the use of geophysics in petroleum exploration and in geologic research worldwide.  Recipients of this award are measured against his exemplary career.

    The American Geological Institute is a nonprofit federation of 40 geoscientific and professional associations that represent more than 120,000 geologists, geophysicists, and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in our profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in mankind's use of resources and interaction with the environment. More information about AGI can be found at http://www.agiweb.org/. The Institute also provides a public-outreach web site, http://www.earthscienceworld.org/.
 

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