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Bill Dillon Receives Distinguished Service Award
During the September 4 Department of the Interior awards ceremony in Washington, DC, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) senior researcher Bill Dillon was one of a small group to receive the Department's highest merit award, the Distinguished Service Award. The award was given in recognition of Bill's exceptional accomplishments and leadership in the fields of continental-margin geology and marine-gas-hydrate research. The citation speaks eloquently of Bill's many contributions:
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Bill Dillon, recipient of the Department of the Interior's Distinguished Service Award.
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Dr. Dillon is an internationally recognized authority on continental-margin evolution, and particularly on marine gas hydrates and their geological origin. In the 1970's, he was among the first researchers to recognize the occurrence of gas hydrates off the East Coast of the United States. His career studying these elusive and widespread methane deposits has helped pioneer new fields of research: the distribution of gas hydrate, controls on its accumulation, its potential role in global change, its effect on sea-floor stability, its hazard to drilling, and its resource potential as an energy source. For much of the last 25 years, he has been the main proponent of gas-hydrate studies in USGS. He has led researchers from within the Department of Energy, the Office of Naval Research, and the National Science Foundation in field efforts for an active at-sea program, all of which has resulted in major strides forward in scientific knowledge. He has briefed Senate staffers and testified in hearings of the U.S. House of Representatives on H.R. 1753 (Methane Hydrate Research and Development Act of 2000), which specifies that Department of Energy support USGS and other groups to conduct gas-hydrate research. He has guided national steering committees on gas-hydrate research and hosted international government visitors seeking to develop their own federal research programs in gas hydrates. He has been instrumental in involving numerous scientists in gas-hydrate research, both within and outside of USGS. In addition, Dr. Dillon is an acknowledged expert and leader in studies of continental-margin structure and development, primarily for the southeastern U.S. Atlantic margin, but also for the continental margins of West Africa, Spain, and Central America. He has worked as a leader in Caribbean geology and tectonics, where his expertise includes the complex faulting around Haiti, the origin of the Yucatan Basin, and plate interactions along the northern Greater Antilles. |
Congratulations to Bill for his outstanding research accomplishments and service to the scientific community.
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October 2002
in this issue:
cover story:
Tsunami Deposits in the Geologic Record
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Tenth Anniversary
Earth Science Week - Woods Hole
Chinese Scientists Visit Gas-Hydrate Labs
Blacks In Government
Briefing Congress on Coastal Hazards
Distinguished Service Award - Bill Dillon
Distinguished Service Award - Bill Normark
Superior Service Award - Marlene Noble
Superior Service Award - Florence Wong
Environmental Champion Award - Sue Hunt
Safety Award - Ellen Mecray
30th Annual Falmouth Road Race
Barth Joins Menlo Park Team
Walk for Multiple Sclerosis
Twichell to University of Nevada
Woods Hole Softball
October Publications List
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U. S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
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