Lisa White honored with Geological Society of America's first Bromery Award

Associate dean founded innovative program to introduce underrepresented minorities to geosciences

SAN FRANCISCO, October 4, 2008 – Since happening upon geology as an undergraduate at San Francisco State University, Lisa White has championed opportunities for minorities in the geosciences.

For her work, White, the new associate dean of the College of Science and Engineering, will be honored by the Geological Society of America with its first Randolph W. "Bill" and Cecile T. Bromery Award for the Minorities at The Geological Society of America's annual meeting in Houston on Oct. 4. The award recognizes and supports minorities who have made significant contributions to research in the geological sciences or those who have been instrumental in opening the geosciences field to other minorities.

White, who is also a professor of geosciences at SF State, founded SF Rocks in 2001 to help urban youth connect with earth and environmental sciences through hands-on learning and interaction with SF State faculty. The program, which earned a five-year grant from the National Science Foundation, has been recognized as a leader in fostering opportunities to minorities in the geosciences.

As an undergraduate at San Francisco State, White initially studied art and photography before taking a prerequisite geology class. She connected with the subject and soon switched her major. An internship at the United States Geological Survey in Menlo Park gave her hands-on training and cemented her passion for the geosciences.