AGU Executive Director A. Fred Spilhaus, Jr. to step down

WASHINGTON--Timothy Grove, President of the American Geophysical Union, announced today that A.F. (Fred) Spilhaus, Jr., will step down as AGU’s Executive Director in mid-2009. AGU is preparing to undertake a worldwide search for Dr. Spilhaus’s successor.

Dr. Spilhaus, 70, joined the AGU staff in 1967 after a little more than two years in the government employment that followed his PhD in oceanography from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Three years later he succeeded the first AGU Executive Director, Waldo Smith, who himself had served over a 20-year span.

Under Dr. Spilhaus’s leadership, AGU went from being what was formally the 8,000-member U.S. National Academy of Science International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics to an independent, widely recognized scientific society with a worldwide membership of nearly 55,000. The annual budget grew from about $750,000 to over $33 million; the journals operation grew and evolved from approximately 854 articles per year to more than 5300 per year, with online publication of 20-30 articles daily; the meetings program grew from a single annual event with 2000 attendees to multiple meetings and conferences around the world, the largest attracting 15,000 scientists annually from over 100 countries.

When asked what he felt was most important among his contributions to AGU, Dr. Spilhaus noted “the openness of AGU and the ability for anyone involved in the Earth and space sciences to join and stay a member. Of equal importance to me is the fact that AGU always puts the integrity and quality of science first.” Dr. Spilhaus also said that he hoped to continue through his life to support AGU and the scientific community in whatever ways he could.

Dr. Grove said, “Through Fred’s sustained vision, AGU has grown into the premiere Earth Science society in the world. Fred has consistently remained an enthusiastic and passionate supporter of the science that we all do at AGU. After I had joined AGU as a young graduate student, I met Fred at a meeting. He took a personal interest in me, which was flattering and astonishing to a young beginning geophysicist. I know that most members have had similar experiences with Fred. We all wish him a heartfelt ‘thank you’.”

The Council of AGU, its board of directors, is developing a strategy for the successful transition, with a committee of the Council already designated to conduct the search.

About AGU: AGU is a worldwide scientific society of Earth and space scientists with approximately 55,000 members. The organization advances, through unselfish cooperation in research, the understanding of Earth and space for the benefit of humanity. AGU conducts meetings and conferences, publishes journals, books and a weekly newspaper, and sponsors a variety of programs in education, sciencepolicy, and public information.