For Immediate Release
Contact:
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Leigh Kish (412) 622-3361
KishL@CarnegieMuseums.org

February 2, 2009

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Announces the
Winner of the 2008 Carnegie Mineralogical Award

Pittsburgh…. Carnegie Museum of Natural History has announced Frank Hawthorne of Winnipeg, Manitoba as the recipient of the 2008 Carnegie Mineralogical Award. The award will be presented by Dr. Samuel M. Taylor, Director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, on February 14th at the 2009 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show.

The award, established in 1987 by Carnegie Museum of Natural History and underwritten by the Hillman Foundation, honors outstanding contributions in mineralogical preservation, conservation and education that match the ideals advanced in the museum's Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems. It is considered one of the most prestigious awards in the fields of mineralogy, lapidary art and geology. “Frank is the first Canadian to receive the award and only our second non-U.S. awardee, the late Miguel Romero of Mexico being the first,” said Marc Wilson, Head of the Section of Minerals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. “It would be hard to choose a better academic mineralogist to honor.”

Frank Hawthorne was born in Bristol, England, in 1946, and educated at the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, London, and McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. He was a Post-doctoral Fellow and held an NSERC University Research Fellowship at the University of Manitoba, Canada, where he is now Canada Research Chair in Crystallography and Mineralogy and Distinguished Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences.

His academic interests include topological and electronic aspects of crystal structures, graph-theoretic and combinatorial approaches to crystal structure, the crystal chemistry of rock-forming minerals, short-range order in minerals, diffraction and spectroscopic methods, microbeam analysis, and solution of unknown mineral structures. His personal interests include English poetry, biography, painting and sculpture, the history of Europe and Central Asia, the history of Science, detective novels, chocolate and coffee. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and has received many awards for his scientific work, including the Killam Prize in Natural Sciences.

According to Thomson Scientific, Hawthorne was the most cited geoscientist in the world for the decade 1997–2007. He has interacted extensively with the Mineral Collector and Mineral Dealer communities in the identification of mineral species and the recognition and description of new minerals.

Recipients of the Carnegie Mineralogical Award include the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society in 1987, the late John Sinkankas in 1988, the late Dr. Frederick Pough in 1989, the late Paul E. Desautels in 1990, the late Dr. Miguel A. Romero Sanchez in 1991, Dr. Carl A. Francis in 1992, the late Dr. Cornelius Searle Hurlbut III in 1993, The Mineralogical Record in 1994, Marie Huizing in 1995, Dr. Cornelis Klein in 1996, Bryan Lees in 1997, Robert Jones in 1998, Sterling Hill Mining Museum in 1999, the late Dr. F. John Barlow in 2000, Dr. Wendell E. Wilson in 2001, Dr. Terry C. Wallace in 2002, Dr. Eugene S. Meieran of Intel in 2003, Joel A. Bartsch of the Houston Museum of Natural Science in 2004, June Culp Zeitner in 2005, Richard C. Whiteman in 2006, and Jeffrey A. Scovil in 2007.

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2009 award. Private mineral enthusiasts and collectors, educators, curators, mineral clubs and societies, museums, universities and publications are eligible. For a nomination form, go to www.carnegiemnh.org/minerals/hillman/Award.html or contact Marc L. Wilson, Section of Minerals and Gems, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4080, by phone at (412) 622-3391, e-mail at wilsonm@carnegiemnh.org or by fax (412) 622-8837.