KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Two of the nation’s major geological organizations will be directed next year by scientists educated at the University of Tennessee.

Dr. Robert Hatcher, who earned his Ph.D. at UT-Knoxville in 1965, will be president of the Geological Society of America in 1993.

Dr. Donald Haney, who received his doctorate from UT in 1966, recently was elected president of the American Geological Institute, beginning October 1992.

”The appointments of these two geologists reflect the quality of the faculty and the strength and tradition of the geology program at UT,” said Dr. Harry McSween, head of geology at UT-Knoxville. ”We are honored to have people associated with this department reach such prestigious positions in their field.”

Hatcher has been a geology professor at UT-Knoxville and a UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distinguished Scientist since 1986. He will be the 105th president of the society and only the third from the Southeast.

His specialty is geological mapping, and he is widely recognized for having charted much of the geology of the Eastern United States. Hatcher is a native of Madison, Tenn.

Projects sponsored by the 16,000-member GSA include research in geology, education and environmental problems.

Haney, a native of Ferguson, Ky., is the state geologist for Kentucky. He is on the board of advisors for the geological sciences department at UT.

As AGI president, Haney said he will advocate national geologic mapping, more earth-science education in public schools, and attracting more women and minorities to the geosciences.

The AGI is a federation of 20 major geological associations, including the GSA. The organization publishes several magazine and reference materials, and has more than 60,000 members.

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