AGI Announces P. Patrick Leahy as new Executive Director

The American Geological Institute (AGI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. P. Patrick Leahy as its new Executive Director.

Dr. Leahy has been with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) since 1974 and is currently Associate Director for Geology. In his role at the USGS, he gained a broad perspective of the geosciences, ranging from hydrology, geologic mapping, natural hazards, land use, climate change and energy and mineral resource assessment. He was responsible for Federal basic earth science programs, which include worldwide earthquake hazards monitoring and research, geologic mapping of land and seafloor resources, volcano and landslide hazards. He also coordinated all international activities conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey. Dr. Leahy also served as USGS Acting Director and the Chair of the Interagency Civil Applications Committee from June 2005 to October 2006.

Dr. Leahy is a native of Troy, New York and has undergraduate and graduate degrees in geology (1968) and geophysics (1970) from Boston College. He received his doctorate in geology (1979) from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he specialized in regional ground-water studies and hydraulics.

Dr. Leahy is active in a number of AGI member societies, including as a Fellow in the Geological Society of America, former President of the American Institute of Hydrology, a member of the American Geophysical Union and former President of the U.S. National Chapter of the International Association of Hydrogeologists. He has also been active in other scientific organizations such as Sigma XI, American Association for the Advancement of Science, member of the American Institute of Professional Geologists as a Certified Professional Geologist since 2000, a member of the AGI Member Society Council, and the Geological Society of Washington.

AGI President Gail Ashley said that the Executive Committee unanimously approved the appointment of Dr. Leahy and that “we are very pleased to have Dr. Leahy lead AGI into the future. Pat brings his broad geologic perspective to AGI gained over the years working with government agencies, state geologists and the private sector. He is a well-respected member of the profession and his strong leadership experience complements the healthy and vigorous state AGI is in today. We have high hopes for his and AGI’s continued success in his new role.”

Dr. Leahy will assume his new position on May 2, 2007. Dr. Leahy and his wife Cathy reside in Reston, Virginia and have 3 grown children. A brief biography and press photo are available at http://www.agiweb.org/news/leahy.html. He succeeds Dr. Marcus E. Milling as Executive Director, who retired away on October 17, 2006.