The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences.

History

The society was founded in

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named ...

, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitchcock, John R. Procter and Edward Orton and has been headquartered at 3300 Penrose Place, Boulder, Colorado, US, since 1967. GSA began with 100 members under its first president, James Hall. In 1889

Mary Emilie Holmes Mary Emilie Holmes (April 10, 1850 – February 13, 1906) was a 19th-century American geologist and educator who became the first woman to be elected a fellow of the Geological Society of America.Schwarzer, Theresa F., and Maria L. Crawford. "Am ...

became its first female member. It grew slowly but steadily to 600 members until 1931, when a nearly $4 million endowment from 1930 president R. A. F. Penrose Jr. jumpstarted GSA's growth. As of December 2017, GSA had more than 25,000 members in over 100 countries. The society has six regional sections in North America, three interdisciplinary interest groups, and eighteen specialty divisions.

Activities

The stated mission of GSA is "to advance geoscience research and discovery, service to society, stewardship of Earth, and the geosciences profession". Its main activities are sponsoring scientific meetings and publishing

scientific literature : ''For a broader class of literature, see Academic publishing.'' Scientific literature comprises scholarly publications that report original empirical and theoretical work in the natural and social sciences. Within an academic field, scie ...

, particularly the peer-reviewed journals '' Geological Society of America Bulletin'', published continuously since 1889, and ''

Geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

'', published since 1973. In 2005, GSA introduced its online-only journal ''Geosphere'', and in February 2009, GSA began publishing ''Lithosphere'' (both also peer-reviewed). ''Geosphere'' and ''Lithosphere'' are open access as of 2018. GSA's monthly news and science magazine, ''GSA Today'', is also open access online. GSA also publishes three

book series A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their pub ...

: ''Special Papers'', ''Memoirs'', and ''Field Guides''. A third major activity is awarding research grants to

graduate student Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and s ...

Position statements

GSA issues Position Statements "in support of and consistent with the GSA's Vision and Mission to develop consensus on significant professional, technical, and societal issues of relevance to the geosciences community. Position Statements, developed and adopted through a well-defined process, provide the basis for statements made on behalf of the GSA before government bodies and agencies and communicated to the media and the general public." For example, in 2006, the GSA adopted a Position Statement on ''Global Climate Change'': :The Geological Society of America (GSA) supports the scientific conclusions that Earth’s climate is changing; the climate changes are due in part to human activities; and the probable consequences of the climate changes will be significant and blind to geopolitical boundaries. Furthermore, the potential implications of global climate change and the time scale over which such changes will likely occur require active, effective, long-term planning. :Current predictions of the consequences of global climate change include: (1) rising sea level, (2) significant alteration of global and regional climatic patterns with an impact on water availability, (3) fundamental changes in global temperature distribution, (4) melting of polar ice, and (5) major changes in the distribution of plant and animal species. While the precise magnitude and rate of climate change cannot be predicted with absolute certainty, significant change will affect the planet and stress its inhabitants.

Past presidents

Past presidents of the Geological Society of America: * James Hall, 1889 *

James Dwight Dana James Dwight Dana FRS FRSE (February 12, 1813 – April 14, 1895) was an American geologist, mineralogist, volcanologist, and zoologist. He made pioneering studies of mountain-building, volcanic activity, and the origin and structure of continent ...

, 1890 * Alexander Winchell, 1891 * Grove Karl "G.K." Gilbert, 1892 * J. William Dawson, 1893 * Thomas C. Chamberlin, 1894 * Nathanial S. Shaler, 1895 *

Joseph Le Conte Joseph Le Conte (alternative spelling: Joseph LeConte) (February 26, 1823 – July 6, 1901) was a physician, geologist, professor at the University of California, Berkeley and early California conservationist. Early life Of Huguenot descent, h ...

, 1896 *

Edward Orton, Sr. Edward Francis Baxter Orton Sr. (March 9, 1829 – October 16, 1899) was a United States geologist, and the first president of The Ohio State University. Biography Orton came from New York State, born in the town of Deposit in Delaware County a ...

, 1897 * J.J. Stevenson, 1898 * Benjamin K. Emerson, 1899 *

George Mercer Dawson George Mercer Dawson (August 1, 1849 – March 2, 1901) was a Canadian geologist and surveyor. Biography He was born in Pictou, Nova Scotia, the eldest son of Sir John William Dawson, Principal of McGill University and a noted geologis ...

, 1900 *

Charles D. Walcott Charles Doolittle Walcott (March 31, 1850February 9, 1927) was an American paleontologist, administrator of the Smithsonian Institution from 1907 to 1927, and director of the United States Geological Survey.Wonderful Life (book) by Stephen Jay Go ...

, 1901 * N.H. Winchell, 1902 * Samuel F. Emmons, 1903 *

John Casper Branner John Casper Branner (July 4, 1850 – March 1, 1922)Memorial Res ...

, 1904 *

Raphael Pumpelly Raphael Pumpelly (September 8, 1837 – August 10, 1923) was an American geologist and explorer. Biography Early life and ancestors He was born on September 8, 1837, in Owego, New York, into a family with deep New England roots that trace back ...

, 1905 * Israel Cook Russell, 1906 * C.R. Van Hise, 1907 * Samuel Calvin, 1908 * G.K. Gilbert (2nd term), 1909 * Arnold Hague, 1910 * William M. Davis, 1911 * H.L. Fairchild, 1912 * Eugene A. Smith, 1913 * George F. Becker, 1914 * Arthur P. Coleman, 1915 * John M. Clarke, 1916 * Frank D. Adams, 1917 * Whitman Cross, 1918 * J.C. Merriam, 1919 * Israel C. White, 1920 * James F. Kemp, 1921 * Charles Schuchert, 1922 * David White, 1923 *

Waldemar Lindgren Waldemar Lindgren (February 14, 1860 – November 3, 1939) was a Swedish-American geologist. Lindgren was one of the founders of modern economic geology. Biography Waldemar Lindgren was born in Vassmolösa, Kalmar Municipality, in the historica ...

, 1924 * William B. Scott, 1925 * Andrew Cowper Lawson, 1926 *

Arthur Keith Sir Arthur Keith FRS FRAI (5 February 1866 – 7 January 1955) was a British anatomist and anthropologist, and a proponent of scientific racism. He was a fellow and later the Hunterian Professor and conservator of the Hunterian Museum of the R ...

, 1927 *

Bailey Willis Bailey Willis (March 31, 1857 in Idle Wild-on-Hudson, New York, United States – February 19, 1949 in Palo Alto, California) was a geological engineer who worked for the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and lectured at two prominent Amer ...

, 1928 *

Heinrich Ries Heinrich Ries (April 30, 1871 – April 11, 1951) was an American economic geologist, born in Brooklyn, New York, and educated at Columbia University and at the University of Berlin. He was employed principally at Cornell University, initially as ...

, 1929 * R.A.F. Penrose Jr., 1930 * Alfred C. Lane, 1931 * Reginald Aldworth Daly, 1932 * C.K. Leith, 1933 * W.H. Collins, 1934 *Nevin M. Fenneman, 1935 * W.C. Mendenhall, 1936 * Charles Palache, 1937 * Arthur Louis Day, 1938 *

T. Wayland Vaughan Thomas Wayland Vaughan (September 20, 1870 – January 16, 1952) was an American geologist and oceanographer. He worked with the United States Geological Survey and United States National Museum, investigating the geology of the West Indies, Pan ...

, 1939 * Eliot Blackwelder, 1940 *Charles P. Berkey, 1941 * Douglas W. Johnson, 1942 *E.L. Bruce, 1943 *

Adolph Knopf Adolph Knopf (December 2, 1882 – November 23, 1966) was an American geologist. Educated at the University of California, Berkeley, he held professional appointments at the United States Geological Survey, Yale University, and Stanford University ...

, 1944 * Edward W. Berry, 1945 * Norman L. Bowen, 1946 * A.I. Levorsen, 1947 * James Gilluly, 1948 * Chester Ray Longwell, 1949 * William Walden Rubey, 1950 *Chester Stock, 1951 *Thomas S. Lovering, 1952 *Wendell P. Woodring, 1953 *Ernst Cloos, 1954 * Walter H. Bucher, 1955 * George S. Hume, 1956 *Richard J. Russell, 1957 * Raymond Cecil Moore, 1958 *

Marland P. Billings Marland Pratt Billings (March 11, 1902 – October 9, 1996) was an American structural geologist who was considered one of the greatest authorities on North American geology. Billings was Professor of Geology at Harvard University for almost his ...

, 1959 * Hollis Dow Hedberg, 1960 * Thomas B. Nolan, 1961 * M. King Hubbert 1962 * Harry H. Hess 1963 * Francis Birch 1964 * Wilmot H. Bradley 1965 * Robert Ferguson Legget 1966 * Konrad B. Krauskopf 1967 *Ian Campbell, 1968 *Morgan J. Davis, 1969 *

John Rodgers John Rodgers may refer to: Military * John Rodgers (1728–1791), colonel during the Revolutionary War and owner of Rodgers Tavern, Perryville, Maryland * John Rodgers (naval officer, born 1772), U.S. naval officer during the War of 1812, first ...

, 1970 *Richard H. Jahns, 1971 *

Luna Leopold Luna Bergere Leopold (October 8, 1915 – February 23, 2006) was a leading U.S. geomorphologist and hydrologist, and son of Aldo Leopold. He received a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin in 1936; an M.S. in physics-meteor ...

, 1972 *John C. Maxwell, 1973 * Clarence R. Allen, 1974 *Julian R. Goldsmith, 1975 * Robert E. Folinsbee, 1976 * Charles L. Drake, 1977 * Peter T. Flawn, 1978 * Leon T. Silver, 1979 *

Laurence L. Sloss Laurence L. Sloss (August 26, 1913 – November 2, 1996) was an American geologist. He taught geology at Northwestern University from 1947 until his retirement in 1981. He was president, Geological Society of America (GSA), with his tenure beginni ...

, 1980 *Howard R. Gould, 1981 * Digby J. McLaren, 1982 *Paul A. Bailly, 1983 *

M. Gordon Wolman Markley Gordon Wolman (August 16, 1924 – February 24, 2010) was an American geographer, son of Abel Wolman. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended Haverford College before being drafted into the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the wa ...

, 1984 *Brian J. Skinner, 1985 * W. Gary Ernst, 1986 * Jack E. Oliver, 1987 * Albert W. Bally, 1988 *

Randolph Bromery Randolph Wilson ("Bill") Bromery (January 18, 1926 – February 26, 2013) was an American educator and geologist, and a former Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Amherst (1971–79). While Chancellor, Bromery established the W.E.B. Du B ...

, 1989 *

Raymond A. Price Raymond Alexander Price, (born March 25, 1933) is a Canadian geologist. He has used his research on the structure and tectonics of North America’s lithosphere to produce extensive geological maps. He has also provided guidance for nuclear fue ...

, 1990 * Doris Malkin Curtis, 1991 * E-An Zen, 1992 *Robert D. Hatcher, 1993 * William R. Dickinson, 1994 *David A. Stephenson, 1995 * Eldridge M. Moores, 1996 * George A. Thompson, 1997 *Victor R. Baker, 1998 * Gail M. Ashley, 1999 *

Mary Lou Zoback Mary Lou Zoback ( Chetlain; born July 5, 1952) is an American geophysicist and seismologist. A specialist in tectonic stress and natural hazards risks, she spent most of her career as a research scientist with the United States Geological Survey ...

, 2000 * Sharon Mosher, 2001 *

Anthony J. Naldrett Anthony James "Tony" Naldrett, FRSC (1933 – 21 June 2020) was an English and Canadian geologist. He was an authority on the geology and origin of nickel-copper-platinum group element deposits, the tectonic setting in which they occur, the petr ...

, 2002 * B. Clark Burchfiel, 2003 *Rob Van der Voo, 2004 *William A. Thomas, 2005 *Stephen G. Wells, 2006 * John M. "Jack" Sharp, Jr., 2007 *Judith Totman Parrish, 2008 *Jean M. Bahr, 2009 *Joaquin Ruiz, 2010 *John Geissman, 2011 *George H. Davis, 2012 *

Suzanne Mahlburg Kay Suzanne Mahlburg Kay (née Mahlburg) is the William & Katherine Snee Professor of Geological Sciences at Cornell University. She studies the origin and evolution of the continental crust. She is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America, the A ...

, 2013 *Harry "Hap" McSween, 2014 *Jonathan G. Price, 2015 * Claudia I. Mora, 2016 * Isabel P. Montañez, 2017 *

Robbie Gries Robbie Rice Gries is an American petroleum geologist who was the first female president (2001–02) of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), president of the Geological Society of America (2018–19), and founder of Priority Oi ...

, 2018 * Donald I. Siegel, 2019 *J. Douglas Walker, 2020 * Barbara Dutrow, 2021

References

External links