The 2018 AAPG Geosciences in the Media Award

On December 1, 2017 I received the following note from the President of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG):

Dear Wayne,

Good news! As president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, I have the privilege of informing you that you are the 2018 Geosciences in the Media Award recipient from AAPG! In reviewing your body of work, including webpages and wonderful geology books, it is clear to me that AAPG is very proud to recognize you with this very well deserved recognition. There will be an article in the December issue of the Explorer. AAPG Headquarters will be following up soon.

I am delighted that I will be the one to present the award to you at Opening Ceremony, at ACE in Salt Lake City, Sunday, May 20, 2018! Congratulations, well deserved, all the best!

Charles A. Sternbach, AAPG President 2017-2018 

This award comes as an utter and complete surprise. However, it is a distinct honor to receive it. Many readers of my books, articles or this blog may know of my passion for sharing geology, landscapes and deep time with anyone not fortunate enough to have studied them formally. But I thought that I was working out here in the wilderness of tourism and adventure travel. I was unaware that such a prestigious organization was paying any attention at all to my earthly musings, books or articles. I thought that my work could hardly ever be recognized by those who make a living in academia or industry.

I am deeply touched and honored to accept this award. Here is a link to the formal announcement that was published yesterday in the December issue of the AAPG Explorer. Here is a link to the AAPG home page.

Those that know me well will not be surprised to learn that on the morning of the award ceremony (May 20, 2018), I will wake up in a hotel room in Lisbon Portugal. I will have just completed a 23-day Private Jet excursion with TCS World Travel as a geologic lecturer. I will have lectured to a group of 54 people in Lithuania about the "Ice Age in the Baltic Sea," the "Tectonic Assembly of the Asian Supercontinent" while in Turkmenistan, and in Oman about the "The Natural History of Oil and Petroleum in the Middle-East." As that trip comes to a fitting end, I hope to catch a flight from Portugal to Salt Lake City and accept the award in person.

Thanks to all of my loyal readers who have made this award possible!

Description of the award in the AAPG Explorer, December, 2017