dr inda immega 71 dr inda immega 71 the first woman to graduate from texas a&m with an undergraduate geology degree was honored with the michel t halbouty geosciences medal after graduating from texas a&m with a bachelors degree in geology in 1971 immega earned her masters in 1973 and phd in 1977 both from indiana university she was then hired by shell and served the energy industry for 25 years prior to retiring from shell e&p international ventures in 1999 by all accounts dr immega was a trailblazer through her educational and professional path and these efforts alone merit the exceptional honor of the halbouty medal said award presenter dr julie newman head of the department of geology and geophysics one of her nominators praised her substantial advancement of the techniques for applying geoscientific knowledge to technological economic and social problems and farsighted and dynamic direction of resource development efforts but immega did not stop there after retiring from shell she began donating countless hours volunteering for the houston geological society and as a docent for the houston museum of natural science leading tours and sharing her passion for geology with thousands of visitors over the years from kindergarteners to heads of state dr immegas impact on the perpetuation of curiosity academic pursuits and appreciation for the geological sciences makes her one of the most influential recruiters for the geologic professions said one of her nominators through her work as a volunteer and teacher she has ignited the passions for so many future geologists that our schools and universities are full of the very students she influenced she is a self-proclaimed ambassador for the profession and serves society brilliantly in this capacity newman said dr dawn wright 86 (ms) dr dawn wright chief scientist of esri was awarded the geosciences innovator award at esri wright works to strengthen the scientific foundation for esri software and services while also representing the company to the scientific community nicknamed deepsea dawn wright is an ocean scientist a geographer and a gis thought leader a specialist in marine geology she has authored and contributed to some of the most definitive literature on marine gis she joined esri in 2011 to help formulate and advance the intellectual agenda for the environmental conservation climate and ocean sciences aspect of esris work as a scientist wright brings a background of rigor that will strengthen our alignment with the requirements of the scientific community said esris founder and president jack dangermond she also maintains an affiliated faculty appointment as a professor in the college of earth ocean and atmospheric sciences at oregon state university she is a fellow of the american association for the advancement of science the geological society of america and stanford universitys leopold leadership program and she holds lifetime achievement awards from the american association of geographers and the geological society of america wright has traversed numerous expeditions across oceans and she worked as a seagoing marine technician for the international ocean discovery program which is operated and managed by texas a&m geosciences she served on numerous iodp legs aboard the joides resolution from 1986 to 1989: legs 109 113 0115 117 119 121 123 124 126 and 128 wright holds an individual interdisciplinary phd in physical geography and marine geology from uc-santa barbara an ms in oceanography from texas a&m and a bs cum laude in geology from wheaton college wright was not able to attend the event and pamela kersh esri solution engineer accepted the award on her behalf