LAUSR

My first words this evening must of necessity be directed to the Paleontological Society and its selection committee for choosing me to receive this prestigious medal. I am profoundly grateful and deeply honored. I assure you that this award is one I shall treasure for the rest of my days and, although I have every intention of continuing my work in paleontology, I see it as a crowning tribute to a career that already has brought me boundless joy, pleasure, and satisfaction. On occasions such as this it is only natural to reflect on one’s career, to recall its high points, and to remember those who helped advance it through selfless gifts of time and knowledge, far exceeding that to be expected of any teacher or mentor. In my case, such reflection takes me back many years, to my initial ventures in paleontological research as a University of Michigan graduate student. There I first described a new Ordovician trilobite under the watchful eye of Professor Erwin Stumm and, based on that, published …