2016 AIPG HONORS AND AWARDS
from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he specialized in regional ground- water studies and hydraulics. Dr. Leahy worked for the U.S. Geological Survey for 33 years, serving in various technical and managerial positions. He authored or co-authored more than 80 publications on a wide array of earth-science topics. In 2005-2006, Dr. Leahy served as acting Director of the U.S. Geological Survey. He concurrently served as Chair of the Civil Applications Committee, a multi- agency consortium tasked to enable the use of classified assets for civilian purposes.
Prior to his current position, Dr. Leahy served as Associate Director for Geology of the U.S. Geological Survey, where he had responsibility for Federal basic earth science programs, which include worldwide earthquake hazards moni- toring and research, geologic mapping of land and seafloor resources, volcano and landslide hazards, and assessments of energy and mineral resources. In March of 2007, he was named Executive Director of the American Geosciences Institute (AGI). Since 2014, he has also served as interim Executive Director of the American Geosciences Institute Foundation. He is both a certified pro- fessional hydrogeologist (HG-952) and professional geologist (CPG-10507).
Dr. Leahy is a Fellow and Trustee of the Geological Society of America and a mem- ber of the American Geophysical Union, the American Institute of Hydrology (Former President), International Association of Hydrogeologists (Former U.S. President), Sigma Xi, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the National Ground Water Association, and the Geological Society of Washington. He is a former board member of GeoScienceWorld. Dr. Leahy is also a Commissioner for the United States Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He has testi- fied before the U.S. Congress on more than 30 occasions on a variety of geo- sciences topics. He serves as an expert advisor to the U. S. Senate on mineral resource issues and he serves as chair of the Mineral Science and Information Coalition to educate federal policy- makers on the importance of mineral research and information.
Dr. Leahy was the recipient of the 1996 Department of the Interior Meritorious Service Award, and the 2006
Department of Interior Distinguished Service Award, and he was recognized by President George W. Bush in 2003 with a Meritorious Senior Executive Award and again in 2007 as a Distinguished Senior Executive. Dr. Leahy received the Khan Medal (the highest award for a non- Afghan citizen awarded by Afghanistan) from President Hamed Karzai. In 2005, He visited Afghanistan and met with the King and Vice President of Afghanistan to discuss mineral, energy, water and geologic hazard issues.
He was the recipient of the 2009 John T. Galey, Sr., Memorial Public Service Award from the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG). From 2008-2011, Dr. Leahy served as a judge for the National Engineering Excellence Awards. He also has received recogni- tions from the International Council of Scientific Union and the World Meteorological Organization for his efforts in support of the International Polar Year. His contributions have also been recognized by the National Association of Black Geoscientists, the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists, the American Association of State Geologists, the Heinz Center (for his contributions to producing the first ‘State of the Nation’s Ecosystems’ report) and the AIPG, Ohio State Section.
Response
It is a great honor for me to accept the Outstanding Service Award of the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG). As some of you may know I am retiring as Executive Director of the American Geosciences Institute in the next few days so I guess it is natu- ral to take time to reflect on my career in the geosciences. I joined the AIPG a bit more than 20 years ago in 1996. At the time I was an employee of the U.S. Geological Survey, having been a practicing hydrogeologist. I was active in several hydrogeologic professional and scientific societies and had the good fortune to serve as President of two of them, the International Association of Hydrologists and the American Institute of Hydrology. I was named Chief Geologist of the USGS in 1995 and I was most anxious to interact with the broader geologic community. The AIPG was a perfect match for me. I wanted the status and credibility provided by becom- ing a Certified Professional Geologist. I believe that it was important for several reasons. First personal satisfaction in that it seemed to me as an appropriate
step to highlight my academic training and professional experience. Secondly, being Chief Geologist for the USGS, in my opinion, required a professional cre- dential to demonstrate the significance of professionalism to other geologists and to the broader public. Finally and most importantly, the opportunity to network and make friendships with other profes- sionals was absolutely vital in terms of helping me decide the priorities for the work of the USGS.
I attended my first AIPG meeting in Columbus, Ohio many years ago and was very favorably impressed with the presentations, the attention to students, the field trips, and the networking oppor- tunities. AIPG had clearly met my expec- tations. Since these modest beginnings, I have served on several committees, was a trustee on the AIPG Foundation, provided articles for the The Professional Geologist, attended and presented at Executive Committee meetings, partici- pated in numerous annual meetings, and was fortunate to be recognized as a Galey Award winner and with a recognition from the Ohio State Section.
As Executive Director of AGI, I worked very closely with AIPG elected leader- ship and with Bill Siok, former Executive Director of AIPG. This cooperation led to many productive, fulfilling and mutually beneficial collaborations. I believe the relationship between AIPG and AGI is the strongest it has ever been and I look forward to seeing the collaboration move to even greater heights in the future. AIPG leadership has often moved on to become the leadership of AGI when their terms at AIPG were completed. Several names comes to mind that are well known among AIPG and include Russ Slayback, Rick Powers, Mike Lawless, Bill Siok, and now Keri Nutter to name but a few.
In closing, let me say how pleased I am to accept this award. The AIPG serves a critical role in the geoscience community. Your student participation has increased significantly and in my opinion is vital to the strength of our profession in to future. My involvement with AIPG through the years has been reward enough. Being recognized by AIPG is clearly “the frosting on the cake.”
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