Barnard
Medal of Distinction Citation for Susan Hendrickson
Susan
Hendrickson, you have adventured into what are
for most of us only realms of the imagination.
Your early interest in "finding things" led you
to become a professional diver and underwater
explorer. Only later, like the creatures whose
bones you discover, did you "evolve" and become
a terrestrial hunter, devoting annual treks to
searching for fossilized remains of long-extinct
forms of life on land.
Thus
it was that on an August evening almost eleven
years ago, you followed a hunch and glimpsed on
a cliff face what turned out to be the intact
skeleton of a carnivorous dinosaur, 90% intact
and the largest tyrannosaurus yet discovered.
And you knew what it was. What you didn't know
was that it would be named for you, that its ownership
would become the subject of protracted legal and
public concern, and that you yourself would receive
intense media scrutiny. Your find was called "Sue"
from the beginning, and you have remarked that
"When the theory came out that the biggest baddest
beast in all creation might be female, I thought
that was about the coolest thing I'd ever heard."
Although
the very important discovery of "Sue" has captured
the attention of the public, your earlier and
continuing achievements in paleontology and marine
archeology are scientifically significant as well,
yielding objects that grace the collections and
exhibits of major museums. Your own shell collection
is extensive, and the fossils in amber that you
have gathered in the Dominican Republic include
a number of unusual entomological species. More
recently you have participated in major shipwreck
explorations and the uncovering of Cleopatra's
palace in Egypt, also underwater.
Largely
self-trained, you have all the characteristics
of a genuine scholar. You have always valued scientific
knowledge above personal gain, and have given
researchers and museums access to whatever you
discover. We are privileged to count you as a
true member of the academy.
.jpg)
