Student Prizes

Undergraduate Students

Ernest L. Ohle, Jr. Award is presented to the senior judged to have the greatest promise for a successful career in the earth or planetary sciences and who has demonstrated superior academic achievement. The prize, an engraved Brunton compass, is funded by endowed donation from Dr. Ernest L. Ohle, Jr., an alumnus who compiled a distinguished career as a mining geologist.

Courtney Werner Memorial Prize is awarded to a senior student who has majored in Earth and Planetary Sciences and who has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement. The prize is a $75 gift certificate to the campus bookstore. Courtney Werner was an associate professor in the Department Geology and Geological Engineering at Washington University. He joined the Department in 1923, having worked as a geologist for Gulf Oil Company. The prize is funded by endowed donations from his friends and former students.

Margaret E. Bewig Memorial Field Camp Award is awarded to an EPSc major selected by the faculty from those attending summer field camp, based on a combination of academic merit and financial need. Prize is currently a $250 check to the student, to defray part of the cost of summer field camp. Margaret Bewig was the Department Secretary and later the Administrative Assistant from 1963 to 1986. She died on May 26, 1991. The prize is funded by endowed donations from her friends, faculty, and former students.

Graduate Students

The Carl Tolman Prize for outstanding graduate teaching assistant in Earth and Planetary Sciences was inaugurated in October, 1996. The Prize, consisting of an award certificate and a cash award, is made possible by the generosity of Dr. Tolman's family and approximately one hundred of his friends, admirers, and former students. Their donations have established the Tolman Prize as an endowed award, to be given annually to the graduate student assistant who best demonstrates excellence in teaching. The graduate student is chosen by the faculty, based on the recommendation of a selection committee that considers both faculty and student course evaluations. The cash prize is currently $300. The prize amount is determined by the fund's endowment income.

Carl Tolman (1897-1995) was a member of the Department for sixty-eight years, serving as Professor and Chairman, as well as Dean of the Graduate School, Dean of Faculty, and Chancellor of the University. He was a field geologist, with particular interest in the Precambrian. He and his students provided much of the pioneering information about the St. Francois Mountains in Missouri. After retirement from the University, he became Scientific Attaché to our embassy in Tokyo and then served as consultant for the United Nations in the Philippines. He remained active and interested in the Department following his appointment as Emeritus Professor in 1965, visiting his campus office frequently. His stories and commentaries were highly prized by faculty, students and staff - and even at age 97, they were as entertaining and insightful as they were during his teaching career.

We are deeply grateful to those who have already donated to the Carl Tolman Prize fund, so that we can honor the memory of this distinguished scientist, teacher, and leader by recognizing excellence in teaching by graduate student assistants. In accepting the award, they accept the challenge to maintain the high academic standards set by Dr. Tolman. Those who wish to contribute to the Tolman fund may send their gifts to the Department for processing. Checks should be made payable to Washington University, designating the Tolman Prize fund.