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2009 MEDALS & AWARDS

MARY C. RABBITT emeritus since 2004. During his time at But there is more. As he is credited Calvin he was for a year a Fellow at the to be in several web sites, he is a noted HISTORY OF Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship. conservative evangelical Christian who is AWARD He is a member of GSA, the Mineralogical also a —and is a fine example of Society of America, the American Scientific both. As such, he has access to venues that Presented to Davis A. Young Affiliation, the Affiliation of Christian few of us can address, and is a spokesman , of which he has been president, for our science with a unique authority. His and the International Commission on the reviews of important books in the history of History of the Geological Sciences. geology speak to a wider audience than many In his long teaching career, I’m sure of us can reach. Dave will tell us more of his Dave has steered many a young person to journey. The Rabbitt Award is most fitting geology, and his department has just instituted recognition of Davis Young. a student Summer Research Fellowship in his name. He co-led a course on Hawaiian geology in the best of places, Hawaii itself. Response by Davis A. Young Reading the program for that, I envy the My profoundest gratitude to the History students who were able to take part in it. With of Geology Division for bestowing this student help, he has also assisted with the honor on me. To have my name on a list curating of Calvin College’s and mineral with previous Rabbitt award honorees, such collection. as Rudwick, Oldroyd, Marvin, Albritton, Dave’s publication record is remarkable. Bork, and Torrens, leads me to believe that I Davis A. Young I first became aware of his work in the MSA accidentally awoke in a parallel universe this Calvin College (emeritus) publication of 1998 titled N.L. Bowen and morning. Crystallization-Differentiation: The Evolution At the age of twelve, I was introduced to of a Theory. This is a thorough and lucid a modest collection of apophyllite, prehnite, history of Bowen’s pioneering work in the and zeolite specimens from the flows diversification of igneous rocks via Citation by Sally Newcomb of northern New Jersey at a friend’s home. development, one of the true milestones in The beauty of the crystals produced in me Dave Young has had a most interesting geology. The book was informed by the close the determination to spend my life working trajectory in his career. Along the way he has cooperation and advice of our late colleague, with minerals. My newfound passion was written and published extensively for general Hatten Yoder. Dave has also published further stimulated by collecting staurolite, and specialized readers in a number of areas. technical articles in the GSA Bulletin, the almandine, and kyanite crystals from He has been, and is, an effective spokesman Journal of Petrology, the Proceedings of nearby outcrops of Wissahickon in and liaison for the science of geology as the Fourth Lunar Scientific Conference, Philadelphia. In college and graduate school well as having a long and varied teaching the Encyclopedia of , Earth my interests matured to include petrology career. He has published cutting edge Sciences History, Northeastern Geology, and , which I learned from technical works and highly regarded history Lithos, Canadian Mineralogist, and a GSA Dick Holland, Arthur Buddington, Dick of geology, but has also published a number Special Paper, as well as two major papers in Jahns, Peter Wyllie, Don Eckelmann, and of books, reviews, and papers that speak to two Geological Society of London Special Dick Yund. My doctoral dissertation focused a community that many of us frequently are Publications. A real landmark was his on the granulite orthogneisses and not able to address, and is an intelligent and publication in 2003 of Mind over Magma: paragneisses in the New Jersey Highlands. thoughtful communicator between the two The Story of . This was a In 1968 my teaching career began at New worlds. part of the that had had York University and the University of North Dave was educated in the public schools no coherent explication to that point, and his Carolina at Wilmington where I taught hard of Abington Township, Pennsylvania, the careful and fascinating story is a valuable rock geology. son of a professor of the Old Testament. He reference as well as being a treat to read. He Concurrent with my enthusiasm for earned a B.S. in engineering with honors is currently working on the fourth and final geology was another passion. My father in geological engineering from Princeton article for ESH about the inception of the was a professor of Old Testament. One of University in 1962. He earned his M.S. CIPW system for quantitative classification his professional interests was the Genesis in mineralogy and geochemisstry from of igneous rocks originated by four American creation story. I became ever more curious Pennsylvania State University in 1965, and petrologists, a system first reviled and later about the relationship of geology and the his doctorate in geological sciences from appreciated by budding petrologists. It is biblical creation account. Realizing in Brown University in 1969. He has since a true intellectual history, and has all the graduate school that young-Earth creationism been assistant professor of geology at New elements of a gripping story, friendships, was spreading throughout the Christian York University, associate professor at the travel, difficulties, and even death, as well as community, I set out to explain the fallacies University of North Carolina at Wilmington, insight into the thoughts of excellent minds of young-Earth creationism and flood and associate, full professor, and department grappling with an almost insurmountable geology to church and college audiences in chair of the Dept. of Geology, Geography, problem. Dave’s expertise has also been articles, books, and talks. I spent the final and Environmental Studies at Calvin College brought to bear in numerous book reviews. 26 years of my 36-year teaching career in in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has been Grand Rapids at Calvin College, a Christian

THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2009 MEDALS & AWARDS liberal arts college operated by the Christian the way, I received much encouragement of geology and history of science. Carl- Reformed Church. Calvin takes it for granted and insight from numerous petrologists Henry Geschwind and John Servos wisely that its faculty members will integrate history, and geochemists. Hatten Yoder, Julian counseled me to tone down my excessive philosophy, and theology into their specific Goldsmith, Peter Wyllie, Tony Morse, adulation for some of the petrologists about disciplines. That was the ideal environment Alexander McBirney, and many others were whom I wrote, particularly Bowen. After for me. enormously helpful. Given the critical role all, I am a petrologist who took up writing In writing on the relationship between of N. L. Bowen (of reaction series fame) in about the history of geology as a hobby. Christianity and geology, the important role of the development of experimental petrology, As an internalist, my admiration for the religion in the historical development of our I planned to devote an entire chapter to his externalists knows no bounds. I possess science was driven home to me. I also learned achievements. That chapter quickly evolved neither the knowledge nor skill to evaluate that young-Earth creationists often made into a separate book, N. L. Bowen and in a meaningful way the social factors that inaccurate comments about the history of Crystallization-Differentiation: the Evolution influenced the development of scientific geology. My writing increasingly incorporated of a Theory. In 2003, the more extensive theory and practice. I will leave that to others. historical aspects of the relation between history, Mind over Magma, my magma opus, Since retiring from Calvin College in Christianity and geology. Because of my as my colleagues at Calvin liked to call it, 2004, I have resumed writing for Christian uncompromising stance against a 6000-year- was published. The appreciative response audiences, because various forms of pseudo- old Earth and against flood geology, my was incredibly gratifying. No controversy, science doggedly persist within large books became controversial in some Christian no one overly annoyed with me. Just thanks segments of the church. My most recent circles. During the late 1980s, I and two expressed for undertaking and accomplishing book, The Bible, Rocks and Time, co-authored other colleagues at Calvin College became the task. Writing that book, however, made with my paleontologist colleague at Calvin the targets of vocal constituents within our me conscious that so much work remains College, Ralph Stearley, was specifically denomination. Calvin strongly defended the for historians of igneous petrology. We need targeted at the “geology” of young-Earth three of us, but that didn’t make me any more critical biographies of igneous petrologists creationism. We determined to root it out once popular with the advocates of young-Earth as well as investigations of the history of and for all, but, of course, that is an unrealistic creationism. ideas about specific rock types, classification dream. Still, we have received many responses In 1995, I published The Biblical schemes, magmatic emplacement, the from individuals indicating that their eyes Flood, a book on the history of ecclesiastical generation of , and solar system have been opened. The first five chapters interpretation of the flood story. There was petrology. of this book summarize in popular form the plenty of history of geology in that book. More recently Joseph P. Iddings, arguably development of ideas, mostly geological, Around that time, I needed a breather from America’s greatest igneous petrologist prior about the age of the earth. Although I have the controversy that often swirled about my to Bowen, has occupied my attention. I returned to addressing science-religion issues, writing. Increasingly intrigued by the history am currently writing a series of articles on history of geology has irrevocably become an of geology, and aware that the only history the origin of the remarkable quantitative important component of my intellectual life. of igneous petrology, by then woefully out- classification system devised by I am humbled, delighted, and most of-date and a scant 85 pages, was originally Cross, Iddings, Pirsson, and Washington and grateful for the award. My profound thanks written in Russian by Loewinson-Lessing in published in 1902. to GSA’s History of Geology Division for 1936 and translated into English in 1954, I Martin Rudwick, David Oldroyd, Ronald bestowing this incredible honor on me. decided, just for fun and no doubt naively, to Numbers, and David Livingstone have write a history of igneous petrology. Along served as my role models in writing history

THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA