The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) has announced Sharon Mosher, dean of The University of Texas at Austin’s Jackson School of Geosciences, as its 2013 president. Mosher will be inducted at the Friends of AGI Reception held during the Geological Society of America annual meeting in Charlotte, N.C. on Nov. 5.
Dean Mosher is the William Stamps Farish Chair at the Jackson School of Geosciences. She received degrees in geology from the University of Illinois at Urbana (B.S. 1973, Ph.D. 1978) and Brown University (M.S. 1975), and has been a full professor since 1990 specializing in structural geology and tectonics. She served as chair of the Jackson School’s Department of Geological Sciences before becoming dean in 2009.
Among past leadership positions, Mosher has served as president of the Geological Society of America (2000-2001), chair of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents (2004), chair of GeoScienceWorld (2004-2009), and a member of the National Science Foundation Advisory Committee for Geosciences (2003-2005) and the Texas State Board of Education, Earth Science Task Force (2002-2005).
Describing Mosher in a public statement, AGI called her “a dynamo [who] serves as an exemplary model for researchers and professors everywhere. She has extensive experience both in the classroom and out in the field, including 38 years of field mapping experience, and 34 years of teaching at both undergraduate- and graduate-levels.”
Mosher’s accomplishments in research and education have been recognized with awards from several geoscientific societies, including the Joseph C. Walter Jr. Excellence Award (2005), the GSA Distinguished Service Award (2003), the University of Illinois Department of Geological Sciences Alumni Achievement Award (2001) and the Association for Women Geoscientists’ Outstanding Educator Award (1990). She is a GSA Fellow and an Honorary Fellow of the Geological Society of London, and has mentored and advised scores of successful graduate and undergraduate students.
“The American Geosciences Institute is fortunate to have an incoming president as widely venerated and respected as Sharon Mosher,” said Dr. P. Patrick Leahy, executive director of AGI. “AGI will benefit from Sharon’s extensive experience as an educator and effective science communicator.”
The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 250,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. AGI 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.
