Bureau Leaders Receive Top Jackson School Awards

UT Jackson School of Geosciences Dean Claudia Mora recently announced that key leaders of the Bureau of Economic Geology have been awarded two of the school’s top awards. Dr. Mark Shuster, Deputy Director, and Dr. Seyyed Hosseini, Research Professor and Senior Technical Advisor to the Director, were honored for their significant contributions to the Bureau last year with individual Walter Awards. The Jackson School’s Walter Awards recognize top talent among the school’s faculty, researchers, and staff. These awards are the school’s most prestigious internal awards and were provided for in an endowment created by Joseph C. Walter Jr. in 1977. Award winners receive a certificate, a trophy, and a cash prize.

Mark Shuster was presented with the Jackson School Outstanding Service Award for his exemplary and long-extended service as Interim Director of the Bureau. In addition to coordinating the specific activities of the organization’s Energy Division, Mark masterfully assumed all of the obligations as leader of the very large and complex Bureau of Economic Geology. He was no caretaker director, though, as he moved the Bureau forward on several fronts. Noteworthy of these was his “The Texas Imperative” initiative, creating large multi-disciplinary teams of researchers under the umbrella of the Bureau’s role as the State Geological Survey to assess Texas’ natural resources including critical minerals, water, natural hydrogen and helium, and geothermal energy.

Seyyed Hosseini earned the school’s top award, the Joseph C. Walter Jr. Excellence Award. This honor is presented annually to a Jackson School faculty, researcher, or staff member in recognition of outstanding service and special contributions to teaching and research programs. Seyyed’s contributions to the Bureau over the past year were numerous, including organizing and leading a Bureau-wide AI and machine learning workshop, conducting pioneering work in geologic carbon sequestration and underground hydrogen storage, serving as mentor to many colleagues, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students, and chairing key Bureau leadership committees.

Please join all of us at the Bureau of Economic Geology and the Jackson School of Geosciences in congratulating these remarkable professionals!