Horace R. “Buzz” Collins, State Geologist of Ohio

Buzz Collins, State Geologist of Ohio from 1968 to 1988, passed away on December 19, 2018 in Canton, Ohio. Buzz received degrees in geology from Ohio and West Virginia Universities, and he served as an Officer and Pilot in the U.S. Army. He began with the Ohio Survey in 1959 as a Coal Geologist, and was appointed State Geologist in 1968. His focus was on serving the people of Ohio, through effective mechanisms such as a Severance Tax to support an aggressive program of County geologic mapping, and mineral production statistics. In the mid-1990s, the Ohio laboratory and core repository was named the Collins Laboratory.

2018 Association of American State Geologists (AASG) Journal

AASG Editor Dave Norman, State Geologist of Washington, working with his highly capable staff, has released the 2018 AASG Journal, which outlines the ongoing, comprehensive role played by state geological surveys across the USA. The Journal illustrates the earlier quantitative report by AASG Statistician Rick Allis, State Geologist of Utah, who reported that funding to state geological surveys in FY17 was stable as a whole at $223 million, and total staffing was at 1869 person-years. A slight increase was projected for FY18. A few years ago, total funding dropped from an all-time high of $237 million in 2012, a value related to the federal stimulus. Gender balance among geoscientists is gradually rising, and is now at 28%. The Journal is available here.

Don Hoskins, former State Geologist of Pennsylvania

Don Hoskins, State Geologist of Pennsylvania from 1986 to 2000, has died of a sudden and unexpected cerebral hemorrhage. Upon his passing, he still had a geologic map in progress. While AASG President in 1994/1995, he played a key role in enhancing the National Geologic Mapping Program. Previous to that, Don was AASG Secretary-Treasurer from 1990 to 1992. Don played a leadership role in the commemoration of the AASG Centennial in 2008. He will be missed.