Alexandria VA – Harrison H. Schmitt has been named the 30th recipient of the Medal in honor of Ian Campbell for Superlative Service to the Geosciences. Schmitt will be presented this prestigious award at the Geological Society of America Presidential Address Ceremony in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on October 9, 2011.
Dr. Schmitt received his B.S. from the California Institute of Technology in 1957; Ian Campbell was his faculty advisor during his undergraduate years at Cal Tech. Dr. Schmitt received his Ph.D. in geology from Harvard University in 1964. Among his associations are being an honorary fellow in both the Geological Society of America and the Geological Society of London, a fellow in the American Geophysical Union, a fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a fellow in the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
His work experience includes being project chief for lunar field geological methods for the U.S. Geological Survey's Astrogeology Center at Flagstaff, Arizona. He was selected as a scientist-astronaut by NASA in June 1965. He was instrumental in providing Apollo flight crews with detailed instruction in lunar navigation, field geology, and feature recognition and in December 1972 was the lunar module pilot for Apollo 17. He ultimately logged 301 hours and 51 minutes in space and over 1600 total piloting hours while at NASA. In August of 1975, Dr. Schmitt resigned from NASA to run for U.S. Senator for his home state of New Mexico; he won and served for one term. For years he has served as Adjunct Professor at the University of Wisconsin. He was the inaugural winner of the 2010 Columbia Medal for Earth & Space from the American Society of Civil Engineers. He chaired the NASA Advisory Council from 2005 to 2008. He is also a previous recipient of the AASG Pick & Gavel Award given in support of his activities in the Washington/federal arena.
AGI feels that Schmitt's longtime work in the geosciences, the association his name can create between geology and space, and his public service make him extremely deserving of its Medal in honor of Ian Campbell for Superlative Service to the Geosciences.
The American Geological 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.