The Arizona Geological Society is offering two student scholarships, the Courtright Scholarship and the M. Lee Allison Scholarship, to be awarded at the Society's January 2022 meeting.

Applications for both scholarships must be submitted by Wednesday, December 15, 2021. 

Please visit the 2021 Scholarship Info section for application forms and additional information. 

Long-time AGS member Dr. Carl J. Bowser passed away in Tucson on June 26, 2021 owing to cancer. Carl was a Professor and Emeritus Professor at the Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin-Madison. When he moved to Tucson, he got involved in AGS and served on the AGS Board. Volunteerism ran deep as he and his wife Judy were active volunteers and sponsors of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. There are no details yet on a memorial service.

The Arizona Daily Star Opinion team will host their weekly reader chat on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2pm with special guest Michael Conway, PhD, research scientist at Arizona Geological Survey. Mike will address your questions about geologic hazards that potentially threaten people and property in Arizona, including landslides, earth fissures, recent wildfires, and flood/debris flow events. If you'd like to join in on the conversation, email coordinator Sara Brown at sbrown@tucson.com and she will email you the Zoom link. Or alternatively, the meeting ID is 935 4617 8115, password: 346308.

Congratulations to member Dr. Isabel Barton who recently received a 2021 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award, which is NSF’s most prestigious award supporting early-career faculty. The recognition comes with a $500,000 grant to support her research and outreach, which is focused on interdisciplinary geometallurgical studies related to ore deposits and metallurgy.

This year we had a number of outstanding applicants for both the J. Harold Courtright and M. Lee Allison Scholarships, which made our job of selecting the best candidates very challenging.

Dylan Carlini

Dylan Carlini received a B. S. in Geology from the University of Oregon in December 2018.  He is currently working on an M. S. in Geosciences at the University of Arizona, where he is focusing his research on low-sulfidation epithermal veins of the Oatman mining district in Mohave County, Arizona.

Audrey Dunham

The 2020 M. Lee Allison Scholarship was awarded to Audrey Dunham.  Audrey received a B. S. in Geoscience with a minor in Geophysics from Penn State University in August 2017.  She is currently a fourth year Ph.D. candidate working toward a degree in Geosciences at the University of Arizona. Audrey's current research involves a diverse set of projects that highlight her passion for studying potential and unknown seismic hazards.

Hosted by the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society since 1955, the main show at the Tucson Convention Center has been referred to as the world's largest, oldest and most prestigious gem and mineral show.

After consulting with public health officials on how its 2021 event could be modified to minimize health risks, the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society sadly announced its decision to cancel its main show on Tuesday, October 27, 2020, citing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to protect the public.

The Tucson Gem and Mineral Society is currently refocusing its efforts to bring things back to a higher level in 2022.

Articles contained within the Arizona Geological Society Digests 1 through 22 are now available on-line at our publications page.  Our out-of-print Digests are available to the public, While our in-print Digests are only accessible to AGS members. 

Anyone who is interested in purchasing Printed Copies of In-Print AGS Digests can do so on-line or contact the AGS Secretary for more details.  Copies of current AGS Guidebooks and Digests are also for sale at a reduced price at AGS monthly dinner meetings.

Bob Downs, Univ. of Arizona Mineral Museum Curator & Prof. of Geosciences, is leading the effort to build out a University of Arizona Gem & Mineral Museum (UAGMM) at the former Pima County Courthouse in downtown Tucson. Building renovation is well underway with the museum scheduled for a soft opening at the Courthouse in Jan. 2020.

Two of the museum’s chief organizers, Eric Fritz (Mgr.) and Les Presmyk (Mining Engineer & mineralogist), approached AGS’s Jan Rasmussen (former Curator of the Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum in Phoenix) and AZGS’s Mike Conway about helping design an exhibit focusing on the geology of Arizona.

Jan and Mike have begun pulling together ideas for an Arizona geology narrative – one idea involves building a digital display showcasing Ron Blakey’s marvelous paleogeographic reconstructions of the Colorado Plateau and environs, complemented by geologic scenes, lithologies, and interviews as the cornerstone of the exhibit. 

HELP! But we want your help in gathering ideas on the elements of narrative (with visuals) expounding on Arizona’s geologic history. In short, we want your ideas, sketches, brainstorms, and musings to help us rough out a draft design by mid-July 2018 – 3 weeks away!  This is an important opportunity for you to influence a future wide audience about Arizona geology.

LOGISTICS

Arizona Geology Exhibit. Approximately 75 square feet is set aside for an Arizona Geology exhibit. An additional 15 square feet is provided for a porphyry copper display. (Will Wilkinson. FMI retired, is taking the lead here.)  

Audience. UAG&MM organizers anticipate a largely non-science audience of considerable age range and with limited knowledge of geologic concepts.

Timeframe. Time is short. AGS & AZGS representatives meet with the UAG&MM design team in mid-July, so the sooner you share your ideas the sooner we can begin evaluating them.  

Financial Resources.  Bob Downs, Eric Fritz and others in the management will pursue the financial resources for final exhibit design and construction.

How to help! Please send your ideas, sketches, and experiences gleaned from other mineral or natural history museums to Mike and Jan at the e-mail addresses below. We can meet to brainstorm ideas before the July 3 AGS meeting to discuss ideas.