This week, Stacia Gordon was one of thousands of geoscientists attending the Geological Society of America’s annual conference, but she was one of only 28 who were named Fellows of the GSA this year.
At the annual meeting, Gordon was recognized at a special ceremony for the 2025 GSA award recipients. Eligibility requirements to be honored as a GSA Fellow include a record of sustained engagement with and service to GSA and an established career in geology or a related field, typically at least 15 years of professional experience. Gordon is early in her career to have received the award, having received her Ph.D. in 2009.
“I appreciated that … both the science and the community contributions are important to the society to receive this honor,” Gordon said.
Gordon has earned nearly $4 million in research funds, including significant funding from the National Science Foundation. Gordon took a sabbatical last year to work on a variety of research projects with colleagues in Australia, including one project studying rocks from Papua New Guinea. These rocks moved very quickly from the 60-mile depths in the Earth’s mantle (the layer beneath the crust) to the surface, capturing records of fluids that help shape magmas that eventually make their way to volcanoes.
“It's one of the only places in the world where we have a track record of these fluids, because normally, there's a variety of things that alter the fluid and melt by the time it makes it to the surface,” Gordon said.
On her sabbatical, Gordon studied new samples she received from a colleague in New Zealand as well as existing samples that have been a part of a long -term project with 91·çÃùÄñ³ª faculty member Joel DesOrmeau and Emeritus Professor Tim Little of Victoria University, Wellington. Unfortunately, piracy and other instabilities in the Goodenough Bay and Solomon Seas around Papua New Guinea have prohibited researchers from visiting the site again, so the samples Gordon was able to access during her sabbatical are very valuable.
Within the GSA, geologists are grouped by geography to convene for smaller regional meetings. Gordon is part of the Cordilleran section of the GSA and has dedicated significant time to service of the section. Gordon has led several conferences, including a smaller conference with field workshops and talks in 2024, a virtual conference in 2021 and an in-person conference in 2023. She also serves as an associate editor for the GSA Bulletin. Currently, Gordon serves as vice president of the Cordilleran section.
“I found working with GSA and getting to know a broader spectrum of people in the geoscience community really rewarding,” Gordon said. She added that she appreciates the Cordilleran section’s emphasis on students and its provision of travel awards for students to attend sectional and national meetings.
Beyond her service to the GSA, Gordon has also been a dedicated member of the Department of Geological Sciences and Engineering and the College of Science, organizing seminars and social events, serving on committees and more. She received the Berninsone Outstanding Service Award for her service activities in 2023.
Gordon has also made a guest appearance on the popular geology YouTube channel hosted by Nick Zentner, accruing over 200,000 views over several videos and helping reach audiences with interests in geology from around the world.
According to Robert Miller, Gordon’s longtime collaborator and nominator for the fellowship, Gordon and her “expertly mentored students” have make significant headway in understanding mechanisms and timescales of rocks moving through the Earth’s crust.
Some of Gordon’s research about the movement of rocks through the Earth’s crust and mantle is on display in a gallery on the first floor of the W. M. Keck Earth Science and Mineral Engineering Museum.
“Stacia Gordon is the youngest GSA Fellow to be nominated, and this is an extraordinary career achievement,” Paula Noble, chair of the Department of Geological Sciences and Engineering, said.
