Spear receives 1997 Norman L. Bowen Award

Frank S. Spear was given the Norman L. Bowen Award by the Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology Section of AGU. The award is given for a single outstanding contribution to volcanology, geochemistry, or petrology made during the preceding 5 years.Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to have the honor of introducing Frank Spear as the 1997 recipient of AGU's Norman L. Bowen Award. The Bowen Award is given by the Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology section for a single outstanding contribution to volcanology, geochemistry, or petrology made during the preceding 5 years. Frank Spear is a remarkable metamorphic petrologist, who literally “wrote the book” on how quantitative petrologic analysis can be used to gain insight into the tectonic evolution of crystalline orogenic belts. Like Bowen, the father of modern petrology, Frank believes that the key to understanding rocks lies in a thorough understanding of physical chemistry, equilibrium relationships, and field and experimental observations.