This award, established in 1975 in honor of the late Professor Hans Thalmann, is presented annually to our most outstanding graduating senior for having demonstrated academic excellence and high standards of human concern, as best embodied in the memory of Professor Thalmann.
Thalmann Award Recipients
| Name(s) | Year | Name(s) | Year | Name(s) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Hart | 1975 | Nicole Peirce | 1998 | Zachary Smirnoff | 2021 |
| Bob Orlando | 1976 | Jennifer Barr | 1999 | Sarah Murphy | 2022 |
| Lisa Shomura | 1977 | Nathan Smith | 2000 | ||
| Gordon Start | 1978 | Carolyn Domrose | 2001 | ||
| James Parker | 1979 | Jim Neiss | 2002 | ||
| Michael Kruge | 1980 | Mitch Monroe | 2003 | ||
| Sandra Guldman | 1981 | Terence McGuire | 2004 | ||
| Barbara Menne | 1982 | Curtis Barnes | 2005 | ||
| Linda Bond | 1983 | Yuko Mamiya | 2006 | ||
| Greg Hilderbrand | 1984 | Peter Polito | 2007 | ||
| David Watso | 1985 | Kimberly Devillier | 2008 | ||
| Leta Smith | 1986 | John Niles | 2009 | ||
| Lori Zhang | 1987 | Steven Woodley | 2010 | ||
|
Theresa Hoyt Aurora Pun |
1988 | Carla Rosa | 2011 | ||
|
Brett Baker Jane Gill |
1989 | Kelsey Kehoe | 2012 | ||
| Adam Boers | 1990 | Miles Koelher | 2013 | ||
| Bob Abrams | 1991 | Hannah Mewhirter | 2014 | ||
| Betsy Rosenberg | 1992 | Jennifer Luscombe | 2015 | ||
| Mary Anne Brown | 1993 | Jesse Waco | 2016 | ||
| Janet Guidetti | 1994 | Laura Suddes | 2017 | ||
| Carl Schaefer | 1995 | Drew Lowdermilk | 2018 | ||
| Anna Sojourner | 1996 | Max Volen | 2019 | ||
| Jeanne Kessel | 1997 | Andrew Bays | 2020 |
About Hans Ernst Thalmann
Hans Ernst Thalmann was born January 3, 1899, in Bern, Switzerland. In 1922, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Bern.
Hans’ interests were wide ranging, covering Jurassic ammonites and stratigraphy in the Alps, the Miocene of the Bernese molasses, and the Pleistocene vertebrates. He was an avid mountaineer, and one of his early papers was on the geologic effects of lightning on mountain peaks.
From 1963 to 1971 he was a professor of geology at San Francisco State University, where he taught beginning courses in geology with the same wit and enthusiasm he had given to graduate courses at Stanford. After his retirement, Hans continued to be active in teaching, and he found that teaching undergraduate students was an exciting and exhilarating experience. At the time of his death in 1975, he was preparing for the spring semester at San Francisco State University, where since 1971 he had been a professor emeritus.
Learn more about Thalmann by reading his memorial by William Hay below.