GIA Board and Researchers Assemble at Carlsbad Headquarters
Institute honors Rodney C. Ewing for his nine years of service on the board
CARLSBAD, Calif. – Nov. 16, 2015 – More than 50 GIA researchers from across the globe gathered for the Institute’s ninth annual research meeting in Carlsbad, Nov. 5-7, to review their current gemological research projects. Immediately following, from Nov. 7-9, GIA’s Board of Governors convened for their scheduled biannual meeting where Rodney C. Ewing, Ph.D., Frank Stanton Professor in nuclear security at the Center for International Security and Cooperation in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, retired from the board after nine years of service.During the research meeting, the scientists reviewed a variety of topics including diamond treatments; digital photomicrography; origin determination of colored gemstones; advances in instrumentation and other related topics. “The excellent work of this research team directly supports GIA’s mission to ensure the public trust in gems and jewelry. The findings shared during this meeting help enable us to provide products and services using the most-up-to-date research,” said Susan Jacques, GIA’s president and CEO.
Among the attendees were the research associates of the Richard T. Liddicoat Postdoctoral Research program, which GIA launched in 2014.
Much of the research conducted under the Institute’s auspices is published in scientific journals and Gems & Gemology, GIA’s quarterly professional journal. GIA research staff also regularly present at relevant scientific conferences around the world.
Dr. Ewing, a professor in the department of geological and environmental sciences in the School of Earth Sciences at Stanford University, served on the GIA Board of Governors from 2006 to 2015. He has published widely on issues related to nuclear materials, and has served on 11 National Research Council committees and two terms on the Board of Nuclear and Radiation Studies. In 2011, he was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. In 2015, Dr. Ewing was honored with the International Mineralogical Association’s Medal of Excellence in Mineralogical Sciences and the American Geosciences Institute’s Medal in Memory of Ian Campbell for Superlative Service in the Geosciences.
