GIA Governor Rodney Ewing Dies at 77

Award-winning scientist Rodney Ewing, who served as a governor on the board of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), died earlier this month at the age of 77. 

With over 50 years of experience in geoscience and mineral science, among other fields, Ewing held many positions on several boards, the company said Wednesday. From 2006 to 2015, he was a member of the institute’s board of governors, strategically guiding the institute and supporting its gemological research. He also encouraged the establishment of the Richard T. Liddicoat Postdoctoral Fellowship program, which expanded GIA’s research capabilities. 

Ewing was a member of the US National Academy of Engineering and a foreign fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2015, he received the International Mineralogical Association’s Medal of Excellence in Mineralogical Sciences, as well as the American Geosciences Institute’s Medal in Memory of Ian Campbell for Superlative Service in the Geosciences. An additional accolade included the Lomonosov Gold Medal from the Russian Academy of Sciences. In 2017, the mineral ewingite was named in his honor. 

Throughout his career, Ewing served on 13 National Research Council committees. In that capacity, he chaired the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board under President Barack Obama. Prior to his death, Ewing was a professor in the department of geological and environmental sciences at the School of Earth Sciences at Stanford University.