1 Celebrating the Genius of William ‘Strata’ Smith: Bicentennial Anniversary of Smith’s Revolutionary Map I

Sunday, 1 November 2015
8:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Room 327/328/329

PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW OF GSA'S BICENTENARY CELEBRATION OF THE PUBLICATION IN 1815 OF WILLIAM SMITH'S MAP 'A DELINEATION OF THE STRATA OF ENGLAND AND WALES, WITH PART OF SCOTLAND', THE FIRST GEOLOGICAL MAP OF AN ENTIRE COUNTRY

Paper number: 1-1
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 8:05 AM

Authors

Abstract

This year is the bicentenary of the publication of William Smith’s groundbreaking geological map of England, Wales and part of Scotland, the first national geological map of an entire country. Through this Pardee Keynote Symposium, GSA celebrates both the map and Smith’s genius. The 1815 map is extraordinary, scientifically and artistically, and it is both humbling and invigorating to witness how it ‘stands up’ to modern inspection. Part of the program focuses on the immense impact of Smith’s contributions, including geological mapping and 3D visualization, stratigraphy, paleontology, and applied geology. Our keynote speaker, Professor Hugh Torrens (Keele University), is the foremost Smith scholar. He will examine Smith’s complex early ‘career paths’ in a way that frames the dynamics of Smith’s life and times, the obstacles, and Smith’s overarching and extraordinary professional versatility. The program, viewed broadly, contains a number of complementary segments: past, contemporary, and future-directed mapping in difficult places (e.g., seafloor, crust, mantle, planets); geological mapping and 3D data sets in relation to natural resources and applied geology; and conceptual and philosophical views of mapping and reasoning that go well beyond geological mapping per se. Interwoven throughout the symposium are Smith’s brilliant natural capacities and their honing through experience; the cultural/historical framework within which he worked; the many disciplines across which Smith practiced professionally; the personal/financial hardships that accompanied his life and work; and his legacy.

The symposium is linked to some other engaging, celebratory sessions and activities: a field excursion to view a copy of the 1815 map at the Academy of Science in Philadelphia; a public lecture (Geology and Society Division sponsorship) by Simon Winchester, author of ‘The Map that Changed the World’; a field trip to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal; related topical sessions such as ‘The Great Images in Geology’ (History and Philosophy of Geology Division sponsorship); and the AASG Session on ‘Third Century of William Smith Geological Mapping Vision’. Moreover, a William Smith re-enactor (Franklin & Marshall Professor Robert Thomas) will roam the conference halls, reflecting in a personal way on Smith’s life’s work.