Dr. James M. Robertson, recently retired State Geologist and Director of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, has been named the 2020 recipient of the AGI Medal in Memory of Ian Campbell for Superlative Service to the Geosciences, AGI's highest award. Dr. Robertson has provided outstanding service to the geoscience community in a variety of ways. Most notably, he was a long-time director of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey. A highlight of Dr. Robertson’s tenure there was the acquisition and development of Wisconsin’s repository for core and geological samples, the Mount Horeb Research and Education Center. Today this repository boasts over 660,000 feet of rock core, thousands of well-cutting sets, and irreplaceable hand samples in a well-organized and accessible modern facility near Madison, Wisconsin.

Before that, Dr. Robertson served in various roles at New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, including Associate Director, Acting Deputy Director, Senior Economic Geologist, and Mining Geologist. He focused on New Mexico’s Precambrian geology and mineral resources with emphasis on recognizing, organizing, and defining a state-wide chronologic and geologic framework for Precambrian rocks. In prior years, Dr. Roberson worked as a geologist at Hudson’s Bay Oil & Gas Co. Ltd. (1974) and taught as a visiting assistant professor at Michigan Technological University (1972-1973). He earned his bachelor’s degree in geology from Carleton College in 1965, his master’s in geology from the University of Michigan in 1968, and his Ph.D. in economic geology from the University of Michigan in 1972.

Dr. Robertson held leadership roles at the Association of American State Geologists (AASG) including that of President in 1999-2000, and he played an integral role on the AASG Federal Liaison Committee. He also held leadership roles at AGI, serving as Treasurer (2009-2011), Finance Committee Chair (2011-2013), and as a long-time chair of the Government Affairs Committee. Dr. Robertson has strong ties to the Geological Society of America (GSA), having been a Geology and Public Policy Committee member for over 30 years and having become a GSA fellow in 1997. He also has been active within the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Board on Earth Sciences and Resources; the New Mexico Geological Society; the Society of Economic Geologists; the American Institute of Professional Geologists; and a number of national and state boards, councils, and committees.

Dr. Gordon E. Brown Jr. is the D.W. Kirby Professor Emeritus of Geological Sciences at Stanford University and Professor Emeritus of Photon Science at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The recipient of AGI's Ian Campbell Medal for Superlative Service to the Geosciences, Dr. Brown has served the geosciences in a variety of professional capacities including multiple leadership roles at Stanford University as well as significant advisory committee work for the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, Los Alamos National Lab, Argonne National Lab, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Pacific Northwest National Lab, the National Research Council, the Gemological Institute of America, the Carnegie Institution for Science, and various geoscience societies including the American Geophysical Union, the Geological Society of America, the Geochemical Society, and the Mineralogical Society of America. Dr. Brown earned his Ph.D. in Mineralogy and Crystallography from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University in 1970.

Dr. Jonathan D. Arthur is State Geologist of Florida and Director of the Florida Geological Survey.  He holds degrees from Florida State University and is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America.  Jon is also a member of IAH and NGWA.  He has had leadership roles with the Association of American State Geologists (President 2014-2015), the Florida Association of Professional Geologists (President 2003-2006), the AIPG Florida Section Executive Committee (2007 – 2009) and has served on National Academy of Science committees.  His areas of specialization include hydrogeochemistry and aquifer vulnerability, with special interest in geoscience policy and advocacy.