Brooklyn College Professor Receives Top Honor in Geology

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April 26, 2000

Brooklyn College Professor Receives Top Honor in Geology

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Alice Newcomb-Doyle (718) 951-5882

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- Gerald M. Friedman, distinguished professor of geology at Brooklyn College, is the recipient of the Sidney Powers Memorial Award for 2000. Named for a geologist renowned for his contributions to the science of petroleum geology, the award is the highest honor given by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG). Friedman received the award at the annual meeting of the association, April 17 through 19, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Friedman, who is both a pioneer in sedimentology research and an expert in applied sedimentology, is the only person in his field elected to honorary membership in all three professional societies in sedimentary geology: AAPG, the Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM), and the International Association of Sedimentologists (IAS). In addition, he has been elected an honorary fellow of the Geological Society (London) and the Geological Society of Israel. As a leader in these geological organizations, he was effective in bridging the worlds of academia and industry. He also founded three geologic journals of regional and international importance: Earth Sciences History, Northeastern Geology and Environmental Sciences, and Carbonates and Evaporites. Friedman's scholarship has helped shape the thinking of generations of scientists. He has authored or coauthored more than 300 papers and is the coauthor of two textbooks.

"I feel very fortunate to be acknowledged by my colleagues for my work," said Friedman. "To me, though, teaching young people who become inspired to pursue careers in science is the greatest reward of all."

In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate students at Brooklyn College, Friedman teaches doctoral students in earth and environmental sciences at the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York and serves as president of the Northeastern Science Foundation, an organization affiliated with Brooklyn College.

Friedman has taught both fellow geologists and students all over the world, including Europe, South America, Asia, Australia, and the Bahamas. By his own count, he has had more than 10,000 students in both classroom and field courses.

A native of Berlin, Friedman left Germany in 1938. After studies in London, he immigrated to the United States and earned a Ph.D. in geology from Columbia University, and, later, a doctor of science from the University of London. Friedman is also the recipient of an honorary doctor's degree from the University of Heidelberg, Germany.

Brooklyn College, founded in 1930 and located on a twenty-six acre tree-lined campus in Flatbush, is one of the eleven senior colleges of the City University of New York. It enrolls 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students who are representative of the diverse population of Brooklyn and New York City. The school is nationally known for its core curriculum, which has been hailed as one of the "bright spots" in American higher education.
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