GRA Presents 2005 Annual Awards

At the GRA Annual meeting in Sacramento, the Lifetime Achievement Award for 2005 was presented to Dr. Luna P. Leopold , Professor Emeritus of Geology at the University of California, Berkeley and formerly Chief Hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. Because Dr. Leopold was unable to attend the meeting, his colleague and long-time acquaintance, Dr. David K. Todd, made the presentation in absentia. In the presentation Dr. Todd recalled how the two of them met at the Darcy Centennial Symposium in Dijon France in 1956 where, in addition to participating in the international conference, they shared samples of Burgundy wine in the vineyards surrounding the city. Dr. Leopold has contributed significantly to the fields of stream and fluvial mechanics and surface water including several authored and co-authored books: Water A Primer (1974); Water in Environmental Planning (with Dunne, 1978); and Waters, Rivers and Creeks (1997).

Tom Mohr, GRA Vice President, also presented the organization's President's Awards on behalf of Tom Johnson. The 2005 recipients (pictured from left to right) are Sarah Raker of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, Robert Van Valer of Roscoe Moss Company, Tim Parker of Schlumberger Water Services, and (not shown) Jim Strandberg of Malcolm Pirnie, Elie Haddad of Locus Technology, and Tom Mohr of the Santa Clara Valley Water District. President's Awards are issued to those GRA officers, Directors, Event Chairs, and other volunteers who have provided outstanding service to GRA in the past year. The recipients chaired committees, organized events, and provided key services to GRA. Congratulations to all!