2008 Medals & Awards

Subaru combination of geological and mathematical Response by Lorraine E. Lisiecki skills, Lorraine first developed the tools, a set I am deeply honored to receive the Outstanding of software packages, that allowed her (and Subaru Outstanding Woman in Science Award Woman in Science now the scientific community) to analyze in memory of Doris Curtis. I sincerely thank and understand the meaning and limitations the GSA, Subaru, my friends and family, and Award of paleoclimate data. Using these tools, she especially my mentors and advisors, Timothy was then able to make significant scientific Herbert at Brown University and Maureen Presented to Lorraine E. Lisiecki contributions to the understanding of Plio- Raymo at Boston University. evolution through the On my first day of graduate school at construction of the “LR04 stack,” a record Brown, I announced that I wanted to switch of the behavior of global ice volume and from planetary science to paleoclimate. temperature over the last 5.3 million years. The department could not have been more The LR04 stack and timescale have, in an supportive. With the help of my advisor Tim astoundingly short time, become the “gold Herbert and, ironically, a conversation with standard” for global isotope stratigraphy, not my husband Philip Lisiecki over Valentine’s just within the paleoceanographic community, dinner, I soon found my niche. Tim showed but the international ice core community great faith in me by allowing me to pursue and terrestrial paleoclimate community as my own research direction, provided shrewd well. This data set is now also the standard guidance, and even decided to forego co- representation of the climate history of the authorship on some of my papers to ensure last five million years as reproduced in many that I received appropriate recognition for my media, education, and science resource outlets. work. With her phenomenal database, I am also extremely fortunate to have had Lorraine E. Lisiecki Lorraine has been able to examine competing the opportunity to work with Maureen Raymo, University of California, Santa Barbara hypotheses proposed to explain the influence a truly great scientist and an invaluable of orbital variations on climate and, with a mentor. When I sent her drafts of my work, companion set of carbon isotope records, her responses were always incredibly has been able to map the geographic-time insightful and remarkably prompt. She has Citation by Maureen E. Raymo evolution of nutrient gradients in the deep offered great advice, shared with me some of over the Pleistocene, again allowing the unwritten rules of science, and helped me It is my pleasure to present the citation us to test hypotheses about how deep ocean get invitations to speak around the world. for the 2008 Subaru Outstanding Woman in circulation responds to climate change. In My success would not have been possible Science Award to my colleague, Professor summary, Lorraine’s unique combination of without great mentors like Tim and Mo of UC-Santa Barbara. Quite scientific skills, combined with her drive and and opportunities to discover and research simply, Lorraine produced a groundbreaking single-minded dedication to her long-term scientific questions about which I am truly doctoral thesis that had, and continues to have, scientific goals, has resulted in one of the best, passionate. I am proud to be recognized by a wide-ranging impact on the climate sciences. most interesting, and most influential doctoral an organization dedicated to providing these An outstanding scientist with a unique theses I have ever seen. opportunities to all. Thank you again.

The Geological Society of America