2022 Katherine Palmer Award to Kent Gibson
2022 Katherine Palmer Award recipient Kent Gibson with some of his fossil discoveries, including skulls of dolphins and other vertebrates.
Kent Gibson with his 2022 Katherine Palmer Award.
September 7, 2022
Each year, the Paleontological Research Institution recognizes an individual who is not a professional paleontologist for the excellence of their contributions to the field. This award is named for PRI's second Director, Katherine Palmer, who was an avid supporter of avocational paleontology.
PRI is pleased to announce that Kent Gibson has been selected by PRI’s Science Committee as the recipient of the 2022 Katherine Palmer Award.
Kent was nominated for this award by Dr. Edward Davis, Associate Professor at the University of Oregon and Curator of Fossil Collections at the UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History. Excerpts from Dr. Davis’s nomination letter follow:
I have known Kent for about ten years, and I am consistently impressed by the dedication he brings to his work as a fossil collector. Kent [worked for 33 years] for the Port of Newport on the Oregon Coast, so he [spent much of his career] working in and around the fossiliferous rocks of the Astoria Formation and the Nye Mudstone. He discovered his eye for fossils by accident, picking up his first marine mammal skull because of his dog’s interest in the specimen. Very quickly, he learned that he could spot the cobbles in the surf zone that held interesting fossils and began building his collection.
Kent has always taken his collecting practice seriously, planning his trips based on the tides and the annual cycle of sand movement that leaves these Oregon beaches clear for prospecting during the winter, but covered with sand in the summer.
When Kent approaches a likely beach, he plans out a grid search pattern and proceeds to methodically work through every loose cobble and collect the ones that hold important fossils.
Not only is he methodical in his collecting practice, but Kent also desires to see the specimens get into the hands of museums, where both researchers and the public can learn from them over time. Some folks might see these specimens as a way to make money, but Kent has a focus on the science. He is a role model for the way avocational paleontologists can support the educational and research mission of the discipline. [Recognizing him with the Katherine Palmer Award is] both an appropriate reward for the selfless way he has conducted his work and a way to more broadly publicize his approach to paleontology.
Kent has specimens in both our museum at the UO and in the National Museum of Natural History, so his legacy as a paleontologist is secure. Even so, he continues to go out to the coast, discovering new treasures and sharing them with the world. I expect Kent to continue contributing to the work of paleontology in Oregon for many years to come, and I am glad that I get to work with him in following this passion.
In recognition of Kent’s many important contributions to the advancement of the science of paleontology, we are pleased to present him with the 2022 Katherine Palmer Award.
Information about the Katherine Palmer Award, including instructions for how to make a nomination and a listing of past recipients, may be accessed here.
