CFES Mentorship Medal
The CFES mentorship award was created in 2008 to recognize the sustained and inspirational mentorship of colleagues and employees including peers, graduate students, undergraduate students and technicians. The award was set up in honour of Paul F. Williams, a geologist known for scientific and mentoring excellence, candour and integrity.
Mentorship is recognized as a critical part of professional and academic development and is vital to the health of any professional community. With this award, CFES/ recognizes an earth scientist from Canadian industry, academia or government. The award is given annually, provided someone who meets the criterion is nominated.
The sole criterion for the award is excellence in mentoring over a sustained period of time.
CFES Mentorship Medal Nominations
The nominations period for the 2022 CFES Mentorship Medal is open and the application form can be found here as a .pdf or .doc. The deadline for nominations is January 15th, 2022.
2021 Recipient: Sandra Barr
Citation:
Sandra Barr is awarded the 2021 CFES Mentorship Medal for her role in training and fostering several generations of geology students in Canada, and for her second to none contribution in the advancement of the geological understanding of the Northern Appalachians in Atlantic Canada
Past Recipients of the Mentorship Medal
2020 Recipient
Dr. Dominique Weis
Left: Dr. Dominique Weis receives the CFES mentorship medal from CFES Past Communications Director Diane Hanano socially-distanced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Citation by Diane Hanano.
2019 Recipient
Dr. Georgia Pe-Piper
Left: Dr. Georgia Pe-Piper receives the CFES mentorship medal from CFES Past President Iain Samson at the GAC-MAC-IAH conference in Québec City in May 2019.
Citation by Iain Samson.
2018 Recipient
Dr. Herb Helmstaedt
Left: Dr. Shoufa Lin (Chair of the Medal Award Committee) presents Dr. Herb Helmstaedt (left) with his medal on September 29, 2018 in Saint Martyrs Canadiens, Quebec, during the annual field trip and meeting of the Canadian Tectonics Group of the Geological Association of Canada.
Citation by Kathryn Bethune.
2017 Recipient
Prof. Anthony E. (Willy) Williams-Jones, McGill University
Left: Iain Samson presented Dr. Williams-Jones with his medal at SGA (Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits) meeting in Québec City in August.
View the citation here.
Acceptance by Dr. Williams-Jones.
2016 Recipient
Valerie Jackson, Northwest Territories Geological Survey
Left: Scott Swinden presents Valerie Jackson with her Mentorship Medal at GAC-MAC 2016. Photo credit: James Conliffe (GAC).
Citation read by Scott Swinden.
Acceptance by Valerie Jackson.
2015 Recipient
Professor John Thompson, Cornell University
Left: CFES President Scott Swinden (right) presenting Professor John Thompson with National Earth Science Mentorship Medal at GAC President's Reception during the Joint Assembly in Montreal on May 4, 2015. Photo by Vivien Cummings.
Citation read by Scott Swinden.
Acceptance by John Thompson.
2014 Recipient
Fred Longstaffe, Western University
Citation and acceptance by Fred Longstaffe.
Left: Dr. Fred. J. Longstaffe (left) receives the CFES mentorship medal from CFES President Scott Swinden at the Geological Association of Canada Presidents' Reception in Fredericton, May 20, 2014.
2013 Recipient
Andrew Hynes, McGill University
Citation read by Brendan Murphy.
Left: Mentorship Medal Committee Chair Shoufa Lin (left) and Andrew Hynes.
2012 Recipient
Otto van Breemen, Geological Survey of Canada.
Citation read by Mike Villeneuve.
Acceptance by Otto van Breemen.
Left: Otto van Breemen (left) and Mentorship Medal Committee Chair Shoufa Lin.
2011: Douw Steyn, University of British Columbia
2010 : Bob Hodder, University of Western Ontario
2009 : Paul Williams, University of New Brunswick
On the occasion of awarding the inaugural CFES Mentorship Medal to Paul Williams, a symposium celebrating his contribution to the Geosciences was held at the annual GAC-MAC Convention in Toronto. This symposium resulted in a special issue of the International Journal of Structural Geology. The foreword to this issue can be found here.