ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Dr. Cheryl Hapke, a research professor at the USF College of Marine Science and coordinator for the Florida Coastal Mapping Program, was selected as the 2020 Richard H. Jahns Distinguished Lecturer in Engineering Geology. The award is co-sponsored by the Environmental & Engineering Geology Division (EEGD) of the Geological Society of America (GSA) and the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists (AEG).
“I am delighted and humbled by this prestigious award,” Hapke said. “As natural and human impacts to our precious coastlines soar, we need science-based solutions more than ever. I look forward to sharing what I’ve learned doing this work for nearly 25 years.”
Hapke will receive the award at the 2020 GSA Annual Meeting in Montreal, Quebec in October. The award provides an honorarium to cover travel and expenses so that Hapke can present an annual (2020-2021) series of lectures at academic institutions. One goal of the program is to increase student awareness of careers in applied environmental and engineering geology.
Hapke’s expertise spans a variety of coastal settings, including barrier islands, rocky coastlines, and carbonate coasts. She runs a consulting company in St. Petersburg, Florida after having spent more than 20 years at the USGS. One career highlight, she said, was serving as a Coastal Science Advisor to FEMA after Hurricane Sandy, where she worked with a team of experts from NPS, FWS, EPA, and NOAA to develop a response plan for the State of New York.