Alexandria, VA – The American Geological Institute (AGI) is pleased to announce Dr. William R. Muehlberger, Professor Emeritus, Department of Geological Sciences of the University of Texas at Austin, as the recipient of the 2010 Marcus Milling Legendary Geoscientist Medal. Established in 1999, the award is presented to a geoscientist who has demonstrated a long history of scientific achievement and exceptional service to the geoscience profession.
Dr. Muehlberger received both his B.S. and M.S. in geology 1949 and then his Ph.D. in 1954 from the California Institute of Technology. He taught structural geology and tectonics at the University of Texas at Austin for over fifty years. During his impressive career, he supervised over 90 Ph.D. and M.A./M.S. theses. This work has lead to a greater understanding of tectonics in the western United States and Latin America.
In addition to his traditional teaching role, Dr. Muehlberger has trained astronauts in geology and was Principal Investigator of the geology team for the last two Apollo missions to the moon. The largest moon rock returned by Apollo astronauts was named "Big Muley" in his honor.
Dr. Muehlberger has a long record of service to the geoscience community. He has been a distinguished lecturer for the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, is a committee member for the National Academy of Science, and continues as a geological advisor to NASA's Space Shuttle Earth Observation Project.
He has received numerous awards during his career including the AAPG Distinguished Educator Award (2002), the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement (1973) and the NASA Public Service Medal (1999).
It is for his distinguished teaching career, his role with the U.S. astronaut corps, and his research in tectonics that AGI has deemed Dr. William Muehlberger extremely worthy of the Marcus Milling Legendary Geoscientist Medal.
The American Geological Institute is a nonprofit federation of 47 geoscientific and professional associations that represents 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 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.