Honors & Awards

Solo and shared awards for scientific research, leadership, teaching, writing, and journalism.  Shared awards indicated by asterisk.*

  • 2025 – Nominee – National Outdoor Book Award  for Stone By Stone (Bloomsbury, 2002) as a classic.
  • 2024 – Honorary Member of Phi Beta Kappa.  Elected and inducted May, 2024. More….
  • 2024 – Best History Writing of 2023,  History News Network (Feb 6, 2024).  For “How Stone Walls Became the Signature Landform of New England,” Smithsonian.
  • 2023 – *Teaching, Learning, and Student Success Award. UConn’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for leading the Anthropocene Initiative (2019-2023) within the Department of Earth Sciences. Shared with professors Benjamin Chilson-Parks and Tammo Reichgelt.
  • 2018-2020 – Three-time Nominee from Department of Earth Sciences, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor.
  • 2019 – Director’s Service Award, Center for Integrative Geosciences, University of Connecticut.
  • 2018 – American Antiquarian Society, Elected Member. For historical scholarship. More…
  • 2016 – 100 Books Across America, Stone by Stone selected to represent Connecticut nonfiction in a scholarly national list by LitHub.
  • 2015 – Elected Fellow – Geological Society of America. Based on original scholarly research and service to the profession.
  • 2012 – Lifetime Achievement Award, People’s Action for Clean Energy, a regional environmental advocacy organization since 1975.  Award was for environmental journalism in the Hartford Courant.
  • 2011 – *New England Museum Association’s Book Award. Shared third place award (206 entries by 64 museums) for Hill-Stead: The Country Place of Theodate Pope Riddle. (Princeton: Princeton Architectural Press, Edited by James F. Gorman, 2010).
  • 2010 – Honors Faculty Member of the Year, University of Connecticut.
  • 2004 – *Connecticut Book Award (nonfiction) shared as chapter author for Voices of the New Republic, edited by Howard Lamar and Christopher Bickford (New Haven: Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences).
  • 2004 – *Bookbuilder’s Guild of New York, shared as chapter author for Voices of the New Republic, edited by Howard Lamar and Christopher Bickford (New Haven: Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences).
  • 2004 – *Homer Babbidge Award for the Association of Connecticut History, shared as chapter author for Voices of the New Republic, Edited by Howard Lamar and Christopher Bickford (New Haven: Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences).
  • 2003 – David Blick Award For Science Education, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut.
  • 2003 – Connecticut Book Award (nonfiction), Connecticut Center for the Book, a Library of Congress Affiliate, for Stone by Stone: The Magnificent History in New England’s Stone Walls (New York: Walker & Company, 2002).
  • 2003 – *Thomas Wellman Award for Community Service – shared as member of original board of contributors to the Hartford Courant’s “Place,” American Association of Opinion Page Editors” (that year I was the most frequent contributor).
  • 2000   “Worn-out dissertation award” – Self-award in jest based on a letter from the Office of the State Geologist, Washington Department of Natural Resources, requesting a new copy of my dissertation because the original was worn out from overuse. Imagine too many readers of your disseratation.
  • 1998 – Fulbright Scholar – Bilateral Fulbright Commission.  Environmental Geology in Chile. Servicio Nacional de Geologia y Mineria, Santiago, La Universidad de Chile, and Universidad Tecnica de Federico Santa Maria. (A first for the department). 
  • 1998 – Smithsonian Institution – Notable Book for Children (shared with Kristine Thorson and Gustav Moore) for Stone Wall Secrets (Gardiner, ME, Tilbury House Publishers, 1998).
  • 1997 – Outstanding Alumni Award, Bemidji State College, Minnesota.
  • 1990 – Special Achievement Award, University of Connecticut.
  • 1990 – Mellon Foundation Fellow, Yale University University-College Regional Program.
  • 1986 – Special Achievement Award, University of Connecticut.
  • 1983 – *Choice “Best Reference,” shared with chapter authors for Late Quaternary Environments of the United States, Stephen C. Porter, Ed., Minneapolis, Univ. Minn. Press (I was co-author for two of four chapters on glaciation).
  • 1974 – Penrose Bequest Grant, Geological Society of America.
  • 1973 – Summa cum laude, Bemidji State College (Minnesota).