SOCORRO, N.M. – Twenty-eight New Mexico Tech administrators, faculty members, and students recently returned from the Geological Society of America Conference. Fifty-four students and faculty members were either authors or co-authors on presentations at the annual national conference held Oct. 9-12 in Denver, Colorado.

Daniel John Koning, senior field geologist from the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, received the 2022 GSA Florence Bascom Geologic Mapping Award at the conference. The Bascom Geologic Mapping Award is given for a recipient who has authored high-quality geologic maps, cross sections, and summary reports that have received scientific acclaim. Specific criteria include: 1. Excellence of the nominee’s published geologic maps, 2. Record of greater understanding of fundamental geologic processes and concepts, emerging directly from the meritorious quality of the geologic mapping, and 3. Peer acclaim of new discoveries that emerged from the mapping and their societal applications. New Mexico Tech President Stephen G. Wells nominated Koning for the award.

Koning has published 36 high-quality geologic maps that have proved to be useful for understanding the geologic history, geologic processes, and groundwater resources of critical areas of New Mexico, including the Albuquerque and Española basins. From this mapping, Koning has published 19 first-authored, peer-reviewed papers, and helped make three 3D geologic maps of aquifers in the northwestern Albuquerque Basin and most of the Española Basin, including the areas beneath the cities of Santa Fe and Española.

Tech students and staff participated in presentations and poster sessions on a variety of geological topics, including environmental issues concerning the Navajo Nation and sessions on critical minerals. 

Attendees from New Mexico Tech included: Snir Attia, Mackenzie Best, Daniel Cadol, Kent Condie, Nelia Dunbar, Kyle Gallant, Jacob Gehrz, Ethan Haft, Bruce Harrison, Zoe Havlena, Matthew Heizler, Lynn Heizler, Noah Hobbs, Daniel Jones, Daniel Koning, Lewis Land, Loc Luong, Virginia McLemore, Anthony Morgan, Veronica Prush, Nafis Sazeed, Jason Simmons, Laila Sturgis, J. Michael Timmons, George Veni, Sai Wang, Stephen Wells, and Mason Woodard.