Acceptance of the Mineralogical Society of America Award for 2009
First and foremost, I would like to thank my colleagues who nominated me for this award and thank the selection committee and the Mineralogical Society of America for this great honor; it is truly the highlight of my career. I would also like to thank the organizers of the Frontiers in Mineral Sciences Session at the Geological Society of America Meeting held in honor of this year’s award recipients. This session presented a phenomenal array of high impact talks, and it was both very humbling and a great honor to share the session with Alexandra Navrotsky, the 2009 Roebling Medal winner, who is truly a pioneer and intellectual leader in the mineral sciences.

When reflecting on the work that led to the MSA award, it was very clear to me that this is a shared award among the many colleagues and collaborators that took part in the studies. It was also clear that I have had very good fortune to work with a highly talented and motivated group of individuals, and that I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. In order to thank some of the people that have contributed to my progress over the last decade, I would like to briefly note some …