Barbara Dutrow (born 1956) is an American geologist who is the Adolphe G. Gueymard Professor of Geology at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. Dutrow wrote the textbook ''Manual of Mineral Science''. Also, she was elected President of the

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hi ...

in 2021.

Early life and education

Dutrow is from

Chadron, Nebraska Chadron ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Dawes County, Nebraska, United States, in the Great Plains region. The population was 5,206 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is home to an 11-story high-rise on the campus o ...

. Her father was a

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

dealer. She has stated that she developed an interest in geology at a young age, and collected purple quartz from

Lake McConaughy Lake McConaughy (known locally and affectionately as ''Lake Mac'') is a reservoir on the North Platte River. It is located north of Ogallala, Nebraska, United States, near U.S. Highway 26 and Nebraska Highway 61. The reservoir was named for C ...

. She was an undergraduate student at

Chadron State College Chadron State College (CSC) is a public college in Chadron, Nebraska, United States. It is one of three public colleges in the Nebraska State College System. It practices open admissions. The school opened in June 1911, although a previous ins ...

. She moved to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

for graduate studies, joining the

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

and working on vertebrate

palaeontology Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geo ...

. Dutrow remained at the Southern Methodist University for her doctoral studies, switching her focus to

vertebrate paleontology Vertebrate paleontology is the subfield of paleontology that seeks to discover, through the study of fossilized remains, the behavior, reproduction and appearance of extinct vertebrates (animals with vertebrae and their descendants). It also t ...

and

pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

mammoth assemblage. She was appointed an

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation () is a foundation that promotes international academic cooperation between scientists and scholars from Germany and abroad. Established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, it is funded by t ...

Fellow at the

University of Münster The University of Münster (, until 2023 , WWU) is a public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over 120 fields of study in 15 departments, it is Germany's ...

Institut für Mineralogie. After her return in 1989 to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, Dutrow was appointed a research associate at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

Research and career

Dutrow joined

as an assistant professor, and was promoted to the Adolphe G. Gueymard Professor in 2002. In 2009 she was elected president of the

Mineralogical Society of America The Mineralogical Society of America (MSA) is a scientific membership organization. MSA was founded in 1919 for the advancement of mineralogy, crystallography, geochemistry, and petrology, and promotion of their uses in other sciences, industry, ...

, and has remained on the executive committee since. In 2020, the

International Mineralogical Association Founded in 1958, the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) is an international group of 40 national societies. The goal is to promote the science of mineralogy and to standardize the nomenclature of the 5000 plus known mineral species. ...

named a newly discovered mineral in her honour, Dutrowite. The mineral, Na(Fe²⁺_2.5Ti_0.5)Al₆(Si₆O₁₈)(BO₃)₃(OH)₃O, was discovered in the

Apuan Alps The Apuan Alps () are a mountain range in northern Tuscany, Italy. They are included between the valleys of the Serchio and Magra rivers, and, to the northwest, the Garfagnana and Lunigiana, with a total length of approximately . The name deri ...

and formed from the metamorphism of

Rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture (geology), texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained matri ...

. Of the many

tourmaline Tourmaline ( ) is a crystalline silicate mineral, silicate mineral group in which boron is chemical compound, compounded with chemical element, elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. This gemstone comes in a ...

species, Dutrowite is the only one to be named after a woman. She was elected President of the

in 2021.

Awards and honors

* 2002 Elected Fellow of the

* 2007 Elected Fellow of the

* 2009

Distinguished Alumni Award * 2021 Elected President of the

Selected publications

* * *

Books

Personal life

Dutrow is a long distance runner. She is married to Darrell Henry, a geology professor at

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutrow, Barbara 21st-century American geologists 1956 births Louisiana State University faculty People from Chadron, Nebraska Chadron State College alumni American female long-distance runners Living people Presidents of the Geological Society of America 21st-century American women scientists 20th-century American scientists 20th-century American geologists Fellows of the Mineralogical Society of America 20th-century American sportswomen