MEDIA, Pa. — Laura Guertin, distinguished professor of Earth sciences at Penn State Brandywine, was awarded the Neil Miner Award by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) and the Geosciences Faculty Mentor Award from the Council on Undergraduate Research on Sept. 26. The Neil Miner Award, which has been awarded since 1953, is given to those who have made exceptional contributions to the stimulation of interest in Earth sciences.
“When I started my academic career at Penn State Brandywine, I knew I was coming to a campus that for many students was a two-year feeder school in the Penn State system, and I would be teaching just introductory-level geoscience courses for non-science majors. I started with enthusiasm, and then very quickly saw that there's only so many ways you can talk about how igneous rocks formed, and I needed to find other ways to excite myself to be able to then get the students excited,” she said during the ceremony. “So, I do have to thank NAGT and the Geological Society of America Education Division for all the workshops you've had all across the years, online and at the annual conferences. I also want to thank the communications organizations for allowing me to expand my toolkit not only for teaching, but outreach into the community as well, whether that be with podcasting or my science storytelling that I'm doing through quilts.”
The Neil Miner Award presenter Beth Doyle, geology instructor at Northern Virginia Community College, noted how Guertin has made her students excited and inspired about science.
“Laura does a lot, and she does it exceptionally well. In the process, Laura changes lives. I first met her a few years back when she brought my students aboard a research vessel virtually and connected them with a scientist on the ship. It was such an inspiring experience that one student switched her major to geology,” she said. “Like Neil Miner, Laura has a generous spirit. She guides faculty, students and colleagues with practical wisdom and a contagious excitement for science. She includes students as co-authors, giving them the full experience of scientific scholarship.”
Guertin is involved with Earth sciences both inside and outside the classroom. She has gone aboard research vessels multiple times to analyze the sea floor, survey various fish populations and more. She has also appeared on local news stations to explain Earth phenomena like earthquakes.
In addition to the Neil Miner Award, Guertin was also awarded the 2025 Geosciences Division of the Council of Undergraduate Research (GeoCUR) faculty undergraduate mentor award during the ceremony. GeoCUR recognizes individuals each year who serve as role models for productive and transformative student-faculty mentoring relationships and for maintain a sustained an innovative approach to the enterprise of undergraduate research.
During her time at Brandywine – since 2001 – Guertin has supervised 61 undergraduate students on 54 independent or group research outside of course-based projects. Some students completed multiple projects with Guertin. She also mentored 27 undergraduate students as lead/co-authors on publications, including peer-reviewed journals and reviewed magazine articles, and 50 conference presentations.