INNOVATION Mar-Apr 2020

C O M M U N I T Y

Dr. Peter Bobrowsky, P.Geo.

BC GEOLOGIST WINS PRESTIGIOUS INTERNATIONAL AWARD Dr. Peter Bobrowsky, P.Geo., a highly regarded BC-based professional geologist with 35 years of national and international experience, has been awarded the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) prestigious James M. Harrison Award for Distinguished Service. Dr. Bobrowsky—a Smithsonian Journey’s Expert, Emeritus Scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada, and Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University—has authored over 400 scientific publications, such as the Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology and a host of papers on landslide and tsunami science. He is a member/fellow of several societies including the Canadian Geotechnical Society and Geological Society of America. His awards include the Eugene Shoemaker Communications Award for Best Book, the Edward B. Burwell Jr. Award for Engineering Geology, the GSA Ambrose Medal, and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. IUGS is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to cross-border cooperation in the field of geology. The IUGS represents over one million geologists spread across its 120 member nations. Among its expansive initiatives, the IUGS partners with UNESCO in the International Geoscience Programme (IGCP), which promotes research cooperation among geoscientists around the world, through joint projects and

research. To date, IGCP has supported over 600 active projects involving thousands of scientists from about 150 countries. Dr. Bobrowsky’s involvement with IUGS is extensive. He was elected vice president for a four-year term in 2000, and then served as secretary-general for two four-year terms, beginning in 2004. During his leadership positions with IUGS, Dr. Bobrowsky says he “fought hard” to ensure IGCP retained prominence in IUGS and UNESCO—and it’s that work of which he is the proudest. “IGCP…is one of the only opportunities in the world to work scientifically with developing countries,” he said. “It funds about 20 international projects per year, and they last about 4 years or so. They address a key topic, like hazards or deep earth—but the team composition has to be international. Globally, it is important. It’s about saying to colleagues, ‘let’s break some rocks in Yemen, rather than exchange papers across million-dollar labs’. That’s a big chunk of what IUGS is about.” Outside of his work with IUGS, Dr. Bobrowsky is also proud of the open-access Landslide Handbook — A Guide to Understanding Landslides , which he co-authored with Lynn Highland. The book is an education piece written for a broad audience, and has been translated, and published, into Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish.

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