Bureau Rainmakers Honored

The Bureau of Economic Geology is an entrepreneurial organization wherein the hard work and ingenuity of researchers to develop grant proposals and make pitches to a diverse list of government, industry, and foundation funders is acknowledged and rewarded. These researchers are the Bureau’s “rainmakers,” bringing in external grants to further the organization’s work and fulfill its mission.

The rainmakers recognized this year, listed alphabetically, include Shuvajit Bhattacharya, Alex Bump, Jake Covault, Brent Elliott, Kelly Hattori, Sue Hovorka, Toti Larson, Tip Meckel, Jeff Paine, Alexandros Savvaidis, Bridget Scanlon, Katie Smye, Zoltan Sylvester, James Thompson, Justin Thompson, Ramón Treviño, and Esti Ukar.

The generosity of Bureau Visiting Committee member Elliott Pew and his family allowed for the creation of the Pew Family Bureau of Economic Geology Rainmaker of the Year Award which for several years has provided a cash award to be presented to that year’s top rainmaker. The recipient of the 2025 Rainmaker of the Year Award is James Thompson whose efforts facilitated a generous amount of grants to the Bureau.

Join us in celebrating the 2025 rainmakers for their remarkable research and efforts to acquire vital external funding for the Bureau and its mission!