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Why GSA Membership first: independent fieldwork in the Wasatch Mountains of
Is Important to Me Utah fully funded by a GSA Graduate Student Research
Grant. It’s safe to say that up to that point, I had virtually no
Szymanski at the Pan de Azúcar ash flow tuff near the town of understanding of my own potential as a scientist or citizen.
Bagaces in the Guanacaste Province of Costa Rica.
With a bit more encouragement, I went on to graduate school
Without a hint of hyperbole, becoming a member of for igneous petrology and forensic science, applying the analyti-
GSA changed my life. From field camp to the halls cal skills of a chemist essential to both fields. I cut my teeth in
of the U.S. Capitol, my journey as a professional science communication by testifying as an expert witness in
earth scientist was made possible by the opportunities and the court, convincing lawyers, judges, and juries that geology has a
people of GSA. Like many geologists, my relationship with lot to say about the chemical composition of synthetic glass.
GSA began as an undergraduate student member. I learned The challenge of using science for the public good revealed the
how to navigate a section meeting, not fully understanding at less obvious connections between geoscience and society, and
the time what it meant to coauthor an abstract, much less pre- once again my membership in GSA opened new doors.
sent research to an audience that clearly knew more than I did
about the topic. With requisite time and good mentoring, that In 2008, I moved to Washington, D.C., and served for a year
gateway North-Central Section Meeting prepared me for my as the GSA-USGS Congressional Science Fellow. I worked a
first Annual Meeting in Denver in 1996, followed by another portfolio of energy, climate, and environmental issues for Sen.
Jon Tester and learned the real value of science in policymak-
ing, wrapped up in the competing interests of economics and
public opinion.
And there was the next big change. I decided to teach busi-
ness students the role of science and policy in a better, more
sustainable society. Over the past eight years, GSA has helped
me do this, through meetings and leadership opportunities in
the Geology & Public Policy Committee and the Geology and
Society Division. I not only share our work at Bentley
University with my geoscience community, but I also have a
direct conduit to similarly passionate colleagues and an entire
network of geoscience difference-makers.
David W. Szymanski
Associate Professor of Geology, Bentley University
GSA Member since 1997
2008–2009 GSA/USGS Congressional Science Fellow
Geology & Society Division Chair
The Web of Science’s #1 ranked geology journal for 10 years in a row.
FREE online access to every 69
Geology issue is now included with
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