Eos,Vol. 83, No. 16,16 April 2002 office and more time in the workshop where, toward the end of his career, he returned to the problem of seismic sources, leading the pioneering development of shear wave generators on the sea floor. Above all else, John was a family man. His heart was broken in 1996 when his eldest daughter Val died after a long illness. His wife and lifelong partner—Betty has always been at his side one cannot imagine them being apart. His younger daughter Martha and son Tom both live in Massachusetts. I remember very clearly the first time I saw him. It was in Switzerland in 1973 at a recep- tion hosted by the mayor of Zurich for the attendees of a European Geophysical Society meeting. He was at the other side of the room, sipping a large tumbler of whisky his tall figure towering over his surrounding colleagues.This was the great John Ewing—the author of the chapter in volume 3 of "The Sea" on the "Ele- mentary Theory of Seismic Refraction and Reflection Measurements"—the bible for any marine seismologist in the 1970s. I dared not approach him. It was many years later that we first met. And then, for more than a decade, we worked closely together many months at sea, many late nights grappling errant computers, many moments of elation, too many moments of disappointment. He taught me so many things. John had so many of us on his shoulders; I do not understand how he kept standing so long. Author GM. Purely Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, N.Y, USA Chui Receives 2001 David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism - News Glennda Chui received the David Perlman Award at the 2001 Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony on 12 December in San Francisco, California. PAGES 175-176 Citation "It is a tremendous honor to present AGU's 2001 David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism to Glennda Chui, science reporter for the San Jose Mercury News. "For those of you who don't know, we have two great newspapers in the San Francisco Bay area: the San Francisco Chronicle, where David Perlman has spent much of his distin- guished career as science editor, and the San Jose Mercury News, which is headquartered in San Jose and bills itself as the 'Newspaper of Silicon Valley Covering Silicon Valley, the cen- ter of science and technology innovation in the world, is a tall order for a science writer, and Glennda has ably filled that niche. Through riveting and in-depth articles over the past 15 years, she has kept Bay area readers informed and excited about scientific discov- eries, environmental problems, and the beauty and hazards of the natural world around us. "One of the most difficult tasks for the seven of us who nominated Glennda was selecting only a few articles in the past year as represen- tative of her skill and range. We chose three articles of particular interest to AGU audiences: Acid Mountain Inside an Old Mine: Researchers discover how nature's chemistry brews a toxic soup and cleanup nightmare';'From Sea to Teeming Sea: Tests are underway on ballast tanks of ships to try to halt invasions by stow- away species'; and 'Team Says Fossil is Heart of Stone: Images suggest warm-blooded dinosaurs' "A hallmark of a committed science writer is to seek out opposing viewpoints rather than consult only the champions of a new finding. Glennda actively tracks down the scientists behind the stories as well as those who are skeptical of announced findings. For example, in her 'Heart of Stone' story some of the skep- ticism she reported on by other scientists has proven to be well-founded. Now nearly a year and a half later the fossil heart remains to be authenticated; in fact, an article earlier this year claimed the 'fossil' was actually a lump of minerals. Other news stories on the initial find uncritically heralded it and its implications as beyond dispute. "Glennda also captures the thrill of scientific discovery In Acid Mountain,' she did not dwell solely on the risks from mine pollutants, but also captured the excitement of scientists down a hot 1500' deep mine shaft in space suits discovering acids with an unheard-of pH of -3.6. She presented her readers with both the importance of the hazard and the new understanding of rock mineralization that those hazards serendipitously revealed.This gives her articles a depth and duality that make them immensely appealing to readers. "Through her reporting, Glennda makes the point to readers that their tax dollars, by sup- porting government- and university-funded research, are used to increase our knowledge of the Earth at large, and of our neighborhoods. This is a crucial connection for which AGU members should be very grateful, since the vast majority of the Earth and space science enterprise is federally funded. "Glennda's deep love and understanding of the Earth sciences permeates her work, as was obvious in the remarkable series of articles she wrote in 1999 on the devastating Izmit.Turkey earthquake. These were written from the field in the first days after the disaster and were informed by her understanding of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake that so many of her readers had experienced, and also by her compassion for the enormous suffering she saw around her in Turkey. "Because of her solid record of reporting accurately and responsibly on scientific issues, Glennda is trusted by researchers and enjoys unparalleled access to scientists.The fact that many of us have shared home phone numbers with her and carry around her home number is a good indication of value we place in that trust. We thank the committee for their wisdom in selecting Glennda Chui; we cannot think of a more deserving and appropriate recipient of the Perlman award, which was named for another highly revered San Francisco Bay area science writer."—Mary Lou Zoback and Ross Stein, USGS, Menlo Park, Calif, USA Response "It is both a great honor and a pleasure to accept an award named after David Perlman. Many of you know Dave as one of the nation's leading science journalists, winner of numerous awards during his long and distinguished career. But you may not know how instrumental he has been in nurturing the careers of younger science writers and in fighting for equal rights for women in the newsroom. He has been a friend and mentor to many of us over the years, and has helped to make science journalism the intensely competitive yet warmly collegial field it is today Thanks, Dave. "I would also like to thank the AGU and the people who went to considerable time and trouble to nominate me. 'And I'd like to acknowledge the many people who have made my work possible over the years. "First and foremost is my husband, Bill Parks, who has supported me in every hare- brained thing I have ever tried to do. "Then there are my editors. Editing is a lot like peer review; when done right, it is a col- laborative process that polishes a rough piece of work into a much more refined and useful product. I've been fortunate to have a series of highly skilled editors at the Mercury News whose help has not only greatly enhanced my work, but also made it fun. "Finally, I'd like to thank all of you. "I've never taken a formal class in the Earth sciences. A dozen years ago, while on a jour- nalism fellowship at MIT, I did audit a number of courses taught by the likes of Allan Robinson, Ron Prinn, Michael McElroyand Marcia McNutt. However, most of them soon veered off into thickets of calculus, where, unfortunately I could not follow. "But that's OK, because over the years I have learned from the best of teachers—the