Distinguished Lecturer Awards

The Geological Society of America’s Continental Scientific Drilling Division Distinguished Lecturer awardees are outstanding scientists who highlight the outstanding discoveries and science undertaken through continental drilling, through a series of lectures at academic institutions, GSA events, and the public during the year of the award.   

How to Nominate a Candidate or Apply:

If you would like to apply or nominate a candidate for the award, please submit:

  • the name of your nominee
  • a 2-3 sentence justification for their selection
  • the nominee's CV

Send nominations to the Chair of the Division Nominating Committee. Self-nominations are also welcome. The final selection will be made by the Division Management Board. 

CSD Distinguished Lecturers should be outstanding researchers with a history of leadership and engagement in continental scientific drilling projects. Lecture topics will focus on results from CSD research, and should be broadly accessible and of interest to the geosciences. 

Structure of the Lectures and Award:

The award will pay for part or all of the travel costs (depending on institutional need) for the awardee to give lectures on their research, with the option for remote/virtual lectures. Similar to other distinguished lectureships, the lectures will be advertised widely. We anticipate the awardee will give 6-10 lectures per year. 

How to apply to host a lecturer:

The CSD Division and GSA will advertise the lecturer and their research, and interested institutions or events should contact the lecturer directly and/or the Division Chair. The lecturer will work with the institution to schedule the lecture and determine funding levels, with input from the Division as needed. Preference for funding will be given to smaller institutions. 

The Continental Scientific Drilling Division is proud to announce its 2024-2025 Distinguished Lecturer, Mattia Pistone.

To schedule a lecture, please email the speaker (Mattia.Pistone@uga.edu) or the Division Chair. The Division can cover a portion of transportation costs for in-person talks. Remote talks are also welcome. 

Headshot

Mattia Pistone, University of Georgia: “Moho Mission to the Foundation of Continents: The ICDP DIVE Drilling Project”

Abstract: It is more difficult to access the Earth’s interior a few miles below our feet than it is to explore the surface of another planet hundreds of thousands to million miles away. Drilling has made possible to explore the Earth’s interior and thus, go deep. But the thrill to drill is quickly contrasted by the challenging pressure exerted by the rocks with increasing depth. Since Project Mohole in the 1960s, scientists have worked to reach the boundary between the crust and the mantle known as the Moho. This boundary representing the foundations of continents is usually beyond the reach of our present-day technology. However, in some places on Earth, it is possible to reach the crust-mantle frontier without going as deep. The Ivrea-Verbano Zone in the Italian Alps is the golden target to explore the crust-mantle transition zone in less than 1 mile depth. This is because the collision between tectonic plates that generated the European Alps brought the crust-mantle boundary to a shallow depth and thus, under conditions of low pressure, present-day drilling technology can sustain a borehole to this depth. Based on the collaborative effort led by more than 50 scientists, I will present the major outcomes of Phase 1 of the ICDP DIVE (Drilling the Ivrea-Verbano zonE) project tackling key questions related to the chemistry and architecture of the crust-mantle transition, the geophysical signatures, and insights into the deep biosphere.

Mattia Pistone is Assistant Professor in Petrology and Volcanology at the University of Georgia (USA). He is director of the MAGMA MIA Laboratory, one of the seven PIs leading the ICDP DIVE (Drilling the Ivrea-Verbano zonE) project, and an enthusiastic researcher investigating the mechanics of multiphase magmas, eruption dynamics, and volatile cycles in the Earth’s interior using a combination of experimental, analytical, and field-based approaches.  

 
Past Distinguished Lecturers
2023 - Brandy Toner, University of Minnesota: "Investigating microbial life in rock fractures within the continental deep biosphere"
2023 - Jefferson Tester, Cornell University: "How advances in subsurface science and engineering will accelerate the development of geothermal district heating"
2022 - Sarah Ivory, Penn State University: “Muds and models: insights from scientific drilling for addressing future global environmental challenges”

2022 - Sean Gulick, University of Texas at Austin: “Life and Death by Impact: Drilling for Clues”

2021 - Gerilyn S. Soreghan, University of Oklahoma: “Using scientific drilling to test the controversial hypothesis of glaciation in late Paleozoic equatorial Pangaea”

2021 - Andrew S. Cohen, University of Arizona: “Scientific drilling in ancient African lakes: Unlocking the history of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems”

2020 - Julie Brigham-Grette, University of Massachusetts, Amherst: “The Impact of Lake El’gygytgyn, NE Russia, on our Knowledge of Polar Climate: this changes everything”

2020 - John Eichelberger, U. Alaska Fairbanks: “Drilling to Magma”