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HISTORY OF GEOLOGY SESSIONS

Everyone was delighted with the two fine programs organized by the Division. Charles Byers' program on "Layer-Cake Stratigraphy - Then and Now" was well attended and included some very interesting papers, e.g., Julie Newell's paper on "Petit-fours rather than layer cakes ..." and Douglas Haywick's description of the layer cake stratigraphy on the North Island of New Zealand. Well done, Charlie! Also, the General Session, chaired by Gary Rosenberg and Lillian Hess Tanguay, was, as always, an interesting mix of papers, ranging from Gary's paper about Steno's "Chaos" paper to the rock descriptions and illustrations in l'Égypte provided by Lillian, to John Diemer's description of Murchison's field work methodology. In addition, we had a fine presentation given by Michael C. Rygel, our Student Awardee for 2004. Mike gave a very well crafted paper that discussed several different measurements of the section at Joggins, Nova Scotia, measured by such greats as William Logan, Charles Lyell, and William Dawson. As our first student award winner, Mike has set a very high standard.

On Tuesday, November 9th, one of our long-time members was honored with a special session, "Sedimentary Geology and Earth History: Retrospective and Prospective: In Honor of the Career of Robert H. Dott, Jr." Congratulations, Bob!! Well deserved.

Monday evening we held our annual HoG/HESS student/member reception and it was a great success. Charlie had a great selection of food, and not just munchies this time!! There were about 60 or so people total, with many students. The prizes we gave away with our drawing were a big hit. Please remember to bring a prize next year. Barb Mieras, our GSA contact person, came in toward the end of the evening and asked what we were doing, for she saw a stream of students leaving with big smiles on their faces. So it was a very fine success, and our thanks to all who contributed prizes for this year.

Table of Contents

BUSINESS MEETING AND AWARDS LUNCHEON

Sunday, November 7, 2004 - The annual meeting of the History of Geology Division/GSA was called to order by Charles Byers. Business items:

1. Necrology. The names of the members who have died in the past year were read (please see the list in this Newsletter), and a moment of silence was observed.

2. Financial Report. The report was presented by the Secretary-Treasurer (please see financial reports in this Newsletter). Bill noted that the final payment from the Mary Rabbitt estate was for $32,692.00, even more than had been anticipated. The withdrawals allowed by GSA are no more than 5% of the fund balance two years prior to the withdrawal. So for 2005, we will work on the balance of $26,842, what we had in 2003. But for 2006, we can work with 5% of $124,669. Bill suggested that regardless of the amount released each year, that at least 10% of that amount be returned to maintain and build the principal. The consensus of the group supported this suggestion, although no vote was taken.

The GSA Foundation charges a 1% administrative fee, retroactive on the fund balance that existed two years previously, e.g., the fee for 2006 will be based upon the balance at the end of 2003. Plus there is also a different fee to pay the actual money managers, which at the moment seems to vary each year. For example in 2003/04 the service charges were $1,027, but up until September 30 of 2004, only $69.00 had been charged. Bill will watch this closely.

4. HESS Journal. Gregory Good, Editor of Earth Sciences History, the HESS journal, gave a brief report and introduced the incoming journal editor, Patrick Wyse Jackson, of Dublin.

5. Election of officers for 2005. The slate presented: Ed Rogers, Chair; Gary Rosenberg, First Vice-Chair; Julie Newell, Second Vice-Chair. Nominations from the floor were requested, then the nominations were closed, and the members gave unanimous approval. Congratulations to the new officers.

6. Secretary-Treasurer's Report. Bill is looking for a volunteer to assume his duties from August-December 2005. He will not be able to attend the Salt Lake City GSA, nor create the last two Newsletters for 2005, pre-meeting and post-meeting. He will be a faculty member with the University of Pittsburgh's Semester-at-Sea program for the Fall Voyage, 2005, and hence will be at sea, literally, from September to December 2005. His term of office expires in 2005, but, if needed, he will stand for re-election for another two-year term, even though he will be retiring from full-time teaching in December 2005.

7. Roger Thomas introduced some changes to the HoG Division awards (please see pages 3-4 in this Newsletter). The first was to change the name of the Division Award. It was moved and seconded that the award be named: THE MARY C. RABBITT AWARD - for the advancement of and contributions to the History of Geology, so named to honor Mary Rabbitt's support of the history of geology and her generous bequest to the Division. The motion was approved.

The second part related to the creation of a new Division award, a Distinguished Service Award, to honor contributions to the history of geology which would not be considered as part of the more normally recognized activities. After some discussion, Alan Leviton indicated that there needed to be more details provided, and he moved (and it was seconded) that the Distinguished Service Award motion be tabled until the 2005 meeting; during which time a more detailed report (please see pages 3-4 in this Newsletter) will be provided the members via the Newsletter. The motion to table passed (11 to 10). (Note: Later, Alan agreed that if notification was given in the Newsletter and members had time to consider the proposal, then rather than waiting until the 2005 meeting, the original motion could be considered "un-tabled" and a mail ballot on the issue could be used in a subsequent Newsletter so the idea could be considered before the 2005 meeting. All changes must be approved by the GSA Council before they become official.)

8. Gerry Friedman reported that he is chairing a History of Geology Division session at the Northeastern Section GSA meeting in Saratoga, NY, March 14-16, 2005. He urged the members to submit an abstract for the meeting. The abstract deadline is December 14, 2005.

Also, Gerry mentioned that there is to be a historical marker placed at Taconic State Park honoring Ebeneezer Emmons and requested suggestions as to wording and other materials that can be included on the marker. Contact Gerry is you have suggestions: gmfriedman@juno.com.

9. Ed Rogers gave a brief review of the sessions he has planned for the Salt Lake City meeting and mentioned a meeting being held in California commemorating the 100^th Anniversary of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and asked if anyone had any details. Few members had heard of the meeting. Details will be sought and passed along later.

10. Charles Byers introduced and presented the first Student Award to Mr. Michael Rygel of Dalhousie University (Nova Scotia). See the September History of Geology Division Newsletter for details.

Sally Newcomb then presented the Citation for the 2004 History of Geology Awardee, Stephen Brush. As Dr. Brush was unable to attend the meeting, Roger Thomas read his response. These will be published in GSA Today early in the new year and will be available on the GSA website.

11. Charlie then presented the virtual gavel to Ed, and the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted, William R. Brice, Secretary-Treasurer

(Added Note: I want to express my thanks to Barb Mieras of GSA who takes the draft that I forward and creates the Newsletter that reaches the members. Thanks Barb. Bill)

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History of Geology Division: Awards Past, Present and Future
In 1981, the division established its History of Geology Award, which has been given every year since 1982. This year, the award went to Stephen G. Brush, a distinguished historian who has made major contributions to the history of geophysics, modern physics, and other fields. He has been especially interested in the history of our understanding of the Earth's internal heat, as it relates to thermodynamics and the nature of irreversible processes. His scholarly work in this area and on the history of attempts to determine the age of the Earth has been very influential.

At the annual meeting in Denver, it was proposed that the division's existing award should finally acquire a name. For historical background on this matter, take a look on the Division's website, at http://gsahist.org/HoGaward/award.htm. A motion was put forward to name this award the Mary C. Rabbitt Award. The proposal was unanimously adopted. There was universal agreement that this is very appropriate. Mary Rabbitt recently left a most generous bequest to the division. Moreover, she made important contributions to our knowledge of the history of geology. Mary Rabbitt was an authority on the history of the U.S. Geological Survey, in particular. She was herself the third recipient, in 1984, of the award that will henceforth bear her name.

Proposal to Establish a Distinguished Service Award
It has been the Division's practice, since its Award was first established, to bestow this honor on a person who has made notably important contributions to scholarship in the history of geology. This is consistent with the terms that currently define the Award, which read as follows:

The History of Geology Division gives this award to an individual for contributions of fundamental importance to the understanding of the history of the geological sciences. Achievements deserving of the award include publication of papers or books that contribute new and profound insights into the history of geology (based on original research or a synthesis of existing knowledge); discovery of and making available rare source materials; comprehensive bibliographic surveys; editing a thematically integrated collection of articles; organizing meetings and symposia in the history of geology; research into original sources; original interpretations of data; translations of key materials; and exceptional service to the Division.

Criteria toward the end of the list refer to professional activities which serve scholarship indirectly, including service to the Division itself. However, the overwhelming emphasis on original scholarship has properly made this the governing criterion in most, if not all, the awards that have so far been given.

It has been proposed more than once that the Division should establish an additional and separate award to recognize distinguished service to and for the history of geology. A proposal to this effect was introduced at this year’s GSA Annual Meeting. After some discussion, the motion was tabled to allow for development of a properly reasoned proposal, with specified criteria, that could be reviewed and decided upon by the Division's membership at large.

The purpose of this statement is to give notice of a formal proposal, to be voted on by mail at a later date, to establish such a second award. The criteria proposed for the new award are as follows:

The Distinguished Service Award of the Geological Society of America's History of Geology Division may be given from time to time to an individual or individuals, for exceptional service to the advancement of our knowledge of the history of the geological sciences.

Contributions deserving of this award may include but are not limited to the discovery, management and making available of rare source materials; promotion of meetings, symposia and scholarly organizations devoted to the history of geology; establishment and editing of scholarly journals in this field; and exceptional service to the Division or other organizations related to the history of geology.

This new award may be given annually, but it is not the intent of this proposal that it should necessarily be given every year. Consequently, no regular committee will be established to review nominations for the award. The availability of the award will be announced annually in the Division's newsletter. Nominations will be sent to the Secretary/Treasurer. The determination to make one award (or none) in any given year will be made by the current officers of the Division.

If this proposal is accepted by the membership, it is further proposed that the criteria defining the Mary C. Rabbitt Award be amended to read as follows:

The Mary C. Rabbitt Award is presented annually by the Geological Society of America's History of Geology Division to an individual for exceptional scholarly contributions of fundamental importance to our understanding of the history of the geological sciences. Achievements deserving of the award include, but may not be limited to, publication of papers or books that contribute new and profound insights into the history of geology based on original research or a synthesis of existing knowledge.

Thus if the new Distinguished Service award is approved, the Division will have one annual award, the Mary Rabbitt award for scholarship, and another award, the Distinguished Service award, which may or may not be given on an annual basis, to recognize service rather than just scholarship.

- R. D. K. Thomas (Past Chair, History of Geology Division) 14th November, 2004

(Editor's note - Please pass along comments related to the proposals to Roger roger.thomas@fandm.edu

or me wbrice@pitt.edu. A ballot will follow in the next newsletter. The proposals that are approved can be sent forward for the GSA Council meeting in the Spring of 2005. The ballot will be in two parts: (1) to approve the changes (again - was approved at the annual meeting) with regard to the Mary Rabbitt Award as proposed, and (2) to approve the new Distinguished Service Award as proposed. The above report will be repeated in that Newsletter as well.)

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With regret and sadness, the names of Division members who died are listed below, with the place of their death and the date. We extend our deepest sympathy to the families and friends.

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Vulcan's Forge and Fingal's Cave
We have just opened an online exhibit called "Vulcan's Forge and Fingal's Cave: Volcanoes, Basalt, and the Discovery of Geological Time" at: http://www.lindahall.org/events_exhib/exhibit/exhibits/vulcan/. We are also issuing a printed catalog that should be available by Dec. 15.

With best wishes, William B. Ashworth, Jr., Associate Professor, Dept. of History, 203 Cockefair Hall, University of Missouri - KC, Kansas City, MO 64110; Consultant, History of Science Collection, Linda Hall Library, 5109 Cherry St. Kansas City, MO 64110; ashwortb@lindahall.org; (816) 926-8719 (voice mail).

Canadian Oil and Gas History
As the AAPG convention will be in Calgary next June, the members may be interested to know that "Evolution," my just-published brief history of the Canadian oil and gas industry, is now available as a free PDF download from the Centre for Energy Information website at:
http://www.centreforenergy.com/Shopping/uploads/122.pdf.

Robert D. Bott, Director, Petroleum History Society, Calgary
Writer, editor and communications consultant
837 Third Street N.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1P1
Phone, fax and answering machine (403) 283-7560; E-mail bottr@cybersurf.net

From Brazil
Dear Colleagues,

I have the pleasure to inform, on behalf of the "Science & Empire Commission" of the Division of History of Sciences/IUHPS, that our website is now ready and working at http://www.ige.unicamp.br/sciemp/.

Very cordially yours, Silvia Figueirôa, Michael Osborne and Togo Tsukahara

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REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE
My name is Pablo Castro, and I am a geologist interested in the history of geology in Colombia, where I live. I presented a monograph to obtain my undergraduate degree which is a historical contextualization of a selected group of references that deal with the orogeny of the Colombian Andes published in the early twentieth century (1907-1935). Currently I am starting postgraduate studies in the history of sciences, and the object of my investigation is the development of geology in a specific region of Colombia: Antioquia State, in the period 1887-1940.

In that respect, there is a very important figure in this saga, Tulio Ospina Vasquez, who studied and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, approximately in the years 1878-80. He was a leading figure in the Antioquia region, not only in geological matters (he was the son, brother and father of three Colombian presidents).

For that reason I am trying to contact a historian of geology who has worked with UC-Berkeley archives to try to find (and copy if possible) archival material relevant to my research. If any member of the History of Geology Division has any information relating to this topic, or can refer me to someone who can help me on this subject I will be very grateful.

Thanks beforehand,

Pablo Castro, Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Sede Medellín, Facultad de Ciencias y Humanidades, Posgrado en Historia; pacastro@unalmed.edu.co

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NEW PUBLICATIONS - British Geological Survey
The new Memoir, Geology of London has just been published. The original Roman settlement of Londinium was originally located at a crossing point in the Thames in an area of dry land, where sand and gravel were surrounded by boggy marshland. A ready supply of brick clay deposits aided early development, and water was always abundant. The construction and expansion of the world's first major underground railway system was made possible by the excellent tunnelling medium of the London Clay, and even today, the network pattern of the London Underground closely reflects the bedrock geology of the London Clay Formation.

Geology of London. Ellison, R A et al.ISBN 0852724780. £24. Describes the 1:50 000 scale geological maps: 256 (North London), 257 (Romford), 270 (South London) and 272 (Dartford). Please read on ...

Have you tried the Historical Maps Online yet?
On the BGS website, www.bgs.ac.uk you will find the Historical Map Shop, where you can buy full-size prints of historical maps of the UK. Here, you can choose from over 50,000 historical OS maps as paper prints or as digital files on CD to use on a GIS (Geographic Information Systems). The maps are high quality and are of interest to local historians, to track land use through time or simply to find out when a house was built. This new online site provides a fascinating series of windows on the past - tracing the development and growth of cities and other sites over time is compelling, and provides a pictorial record of the development of the UK society of today. Visit www.geologyshop.com and click 'Historical Maps online'.

Elaine Johnston, Head of Sales, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG
Tel: +44(0)115 936 3325 (direct); Fax: +44(0)115 936 3488; E-mail: elj@bgs.ac.uk
BGS website: www.bgs.ac.uk; BGS Online Shop: www.geologyshop.com

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PETROLEUM HISTORY INSTITUTE Morganstown, WV April 6-9, 2005
The PHI will host a symposium and field trips relating to the history of the oil and gas industry, both local, nationwide, and world-wide. The meeting is open to PHI members and non-members alike and should have interest for both professionals and laypeople. All who attended the last meeting in Shreveport, LA in 2003 were treated to some fine papers and great field trips. The 2005 meeting is shaping up to be just as exciting. Please submit an abstract and plan to attend. Enjoy the spring in West Virginia! Contact: Larry Woodfork, PO Box 4458, Star City, WV 26504; woodfork@earthlink.net or Bill Brice wbrice@pitt.edu.
Abstract Deadline: January 15, 2005.

NORTHEASTERN SECTION GSA Saratoga Springs, New York March 14-16, 2005
Gerry Friedman is chairing a history of geology session. Be sure to submit an abstract. Abstract Deadline: December 14, 2004. Check http://www.geosociety.org/sectdiv/northe/05nemtg.htm for details.

INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE HISTORY OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES (INHIGEO) Prague, Czech Republic July 4-11, 2005
Pre-conference field excursion in Western Bohemia, July 2-3. Post-conference field excursion to mid-Bohemian karst localities, July 12. All persons interested in the history of the geosciences are cordially invited to attend and to present papers (in English) related to the conference themes, either orally or as poster presentations. (INHIGEO membership not needed to participate.) Conference themes: History of Geophysics; History of Geology and Paleontology in Central Europe; History of Mining. Abstract Deadline: March 1, 2005. Fee payment is due April 30, 2005. For more information contact the conference organizer: Dr. Jan T. Kozák, Geophysical Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Bocní II, c.p. 1401, 14131 Prague 4, Czech Republic; E-mail kozak@ig.cas.cz.

EARTH SYSTEM PROCESSES 2 Calgary, Alberta, Canada August 8-11, 2005
Dear Colleagues,

Slightly more than a year from now, the Geological Society of America and the Geological Association of Canada will host the second Earth System Processes meeting. Chris Beaumont, Don Canfield and I have taken the reins from the Ians (Dalziel and Fairchild) as co-chairs of this meeting, a follow-up to the very successful ESP-1 meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland, 2001. Because we know that August is a very precious time of year, we want to let you know well in advance of the meeting so you can mark it on your calendars.

As with ESP-1, the upcoming meeting focuses on interactions in the Earth system, addressing problems in Ancient Earth Systems, Modern Earth System Processes, and Earth System Futures. For those of you who did not attend the first Earth Surface Processes meeting, you may wish to visit the following website, http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/edinburgh/index.htm. In particular, follow the Media Coverage link to see how well the meeting was received.

And, most importantly, we hope to see you in Calgary in August 2005. There's no more beautiful place to be in the summer than the Canadian Rockies; we give it three thumbs up! Please plan to extend your stay for field trips, field work, or vacation.

Sincerely, Lee Kump for Chris Beaumont and Don Canfield

FRIEDMAN GEOSCIENCES CONFERENCE 2005 Troy, NY September 11-14, 2005
The conference, celebrating the retirement of Gerry Friedman, will be held at the Northeastern Foundation headquarters building. Consider this a call for papers. For more information, please contact: Dr. Arona Diouf, 123 Jefferson Avenue, Suite 2, Jersey City, NJ 07306; (917) 302-2339; Fax (201) 222-1480; adioufnd@yahoo.com.

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1) Student Award. GSA's History of Geology Division is soliciting proposals for a student award for a paper to be given at the 2005 GSA Annual Meeting. This award, established in 2004, is made possible by a bequest from the estate of Mary Rabbitt. Consideration will be given to both undergraduate and graduate students. While both oral and poster presentations are acceptable, oral presentations are preferred. Faculty advisors may be listed as second author but not as the lead author of the paper. The proposed paper may be: (1) A paper in the history of geology; or (2) A literature review of ideas for a technical work or thesis/dissertation; or (3) Some imaginative aspect of the history of geology we have not thought of before.

The award consists of $500 to be applied to student expenses to attend the GSA Annual Meeting and present a paper in the History of Geology Division disciplinary session. It is open to all students regardless of discipline, provided the proposed paper is related to the history of a geological idea/person/etc. After the applications have been received and reviewed by the Award Committee, the winner will be notified. The winner should then register for the GSA Annual Meeting and present his or her paper at the History of Geology Division disciplinary session. A ticket to the History of Geology luncheon will be provided. The $500 award will be presented when the paper is presented, and the student will be recognized at the annual luncheon. If there are multiple authors, the cash award will be presented to the senior author, and further distribution is up to that person.

Proposal guidelines and application forms are available from the Division website at http://gsahist.org/. All applications and proposed abstracts, as well as any questions, should be forwarded to the Division Secretary-Treasurer, Professor William Brice, Geology & Planetary Science, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Johnstown, PA 15904; wbrice@pitt.edu.

Proposal and Application Deadline: May 1, 2005, so that the proposal content can be reviewed and the selection made for the award in time to meet the official GSA abstract deadline. Also in this way, the GSA abstract can, perhaps, be refined. The Division award committee will select the awardee.

Awardees

2) History of Geology Award
(This description may be revised; please see [SPECIAL REPORT - DIVISION AWARDS] in this Newsletter).

The History of Geology Division makes this award to an individual for contributions of fundamental importance to the understanding of the history of the geological sciences. Achievements deserving of the award include, but are not limited to: publication of papers or books that contribute new and profound insights into the history of geology (based upon original research or synthesis of existing knowledge); discovery of and making available rare source materials; comprehensive bibliographic surveys; editing a thematically integrated collection of articles; organizing meetings and symposia in the history of geology; research into original sources; original interpretations of data; translations of key material; and exceptional service to the Division. The award, established by the History of Geology Division in 1981, consists of an embossed certificate and a pewter Revere bowl. Nomination Deadline: February 1, each year. Nominations should be sent to Bill Brice, Secretary-Treasurer at the address given two paragraphs above.

FORMER AWARDEES

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CHAIR: Ed Rogers, P.O. Box 455, Poncha Springs, CO 81242-0455; (719) 539-4113; (719) 539-4542 (fax); erogers@geology-books.com

FIRST VICE-CHAIR: Gary D. Rosenberg, Department of Geology, Indiana Univ-Purdue Univ - Indianapolis, 723 W. Michigan Street, SL118, Indianapolis, IN 46202-5132; (317) 274-7468 (office);

(317) 274-7484 (dept); (317) 274-7966 (fax); grosenbe@iupui.edu

SECOND VICE-CHAIR: Julie R. Newell, Social & International Studies, Southern Polytechnic State University, 1100 South Marietta Parkway, Marietta, GA 30060-2896; (678) 915-7481; (678) 915-4949 (fax); jnewell@spsu.edu

SECRETARY-TREASURER-EDITOR: William R. (Bill) Brice, University of Pittsburgh at

Johnstown, Johnstown, PA 15904; (814) 269-2942 (office); (814) 269-2944 (dept); (814) 269-2022 (fax); wbrice@pitt.edu

PAST CHAIR: Charles W. (Charlie) Byers, Dept. Geology & Geophysics, University of Wisconsin, 412 Weeks Hall, 1215 W. Dayton Street, Madison, WI 53706-1692; (608) 262-2361 (office); (608) 262-8960 (dept); (608) 262-0693 (fax); cwbyers@geology.wisc.edu

WEB MASTER: Hugh Rance, 4310 Kissena Blvd, 11 H, Flushing, NY 11355-2973; hughrance@rcn.com

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