Dr. Robert D. Hatcher awarded Marcus Milling Legendary Geoscientist Medal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Leigh Sutherland (ls@agiweb.org)

3/28/2014

Alexandria, Va – Robert D. Hatcher Jr., Distinguished Scientist and Professor at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and former President of the American Geosciences Institute (AGI), was unanimously approved by the AGI Executive Committee to receive the 2014 Marcus Milling Legendary Geoscientist Medal.

This award honors a lifetime contributor of high quality scientific achievements and service to the Earth sciences, and the Selection Committee's nomination report highlighted his achieving legendary status for his lifetime of commitment to field mapping-based research, combining the latest geophysical, geochemical, isotopic and modeling techniques.

“It is both humbling and a great honor for me to receive the 2014 AGI Marcus Milling Medal,” Hatcher said, “I had the privilege of knowing Marcus Milling since before he became Executive Director of AGI, and have long admired his leadership abilities and creativity.  Being named the 2014 recipient of this medal came as quite a surprise to me and I am very grateful to join the list of other recipients to receive this honor.”

Hatcher is also well known for his extensive research on the geologic structure and history of the Appalachians, which has included mentoring and inspiring students during his many field trips and authoring over 200 scientific publications, including 9 books. Dr. Hatcher will receive this medal at the awards ceremony on April 6, 2014, in Houston as part of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists annual meeting. He will also receive recognition at the AGI Past Presidents Dinner being held on April 5.

Dr. Hatcher has served on several Geological Society of America (GSA) and National Academy of Science committees. He has been President of GSA (1993) and has held additional leadership positions at GSA, AAPG and AGI and convened three GSA Penrose Conferences. A Penrose Conference to be held this spring will honor his career. He was also honored with the AGI Ian Campbell and GSA Penrose medals in 2006. He earned his B.A. and M.S. degrees in geology and chemistry in 1961 and 1962 respectively from Vanderbilt University and his Ph.D. in 1965 in structural geology from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

The committee ended its nomination with “Dr. Hatcher’s love of geological research and appreciation of how it can be used to benefit society has been passed on to the students he’s mentored in his career and to those who took his classes.”

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The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of 50 geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 250,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society's use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment.