AZGS celebrates Phil Pearthree's career
Phil Pearthree's retirement celebration at AZGS on Thursday, July 2
On Thursday July 2, the AZGS community gathered to celebrate the career of outgoing State Geologist and Director Phil Pearthree. Phil has worked at AZGS since 1988 (for 38 years!), and assumed the role of Director in 2017. AZGS staff and colleagues shared stories of Phil's numerous exceptional contributions to Quaternary geology, geologic mapping, and seismic studies in Arizona. These contributions are discussed in the latest issue of our Arizona Geology newsletter, which was published on Thursday. Without exception, each person who spoke about Phil's career also spoke about his kindness, calm demeanor, and the genuine pleasure of being his colleague and friend. As part of his retirement celebration, Phil received a commendation placard from Governor Katie Hobbs, thanking him for his decades of civil service to Arizona. Colleagues also presented Phil will a framed geologic map that showcases the lake-spillover origins of the lower Colorado River, honoring Phil's important contributions to developing and advancing that hypothesis.
It goes without saying that Phil's impact on our organization has been tremendous. After a short break, he will return to AZGS in mid August, to continue conducting research in a part time capacity.
Today, Brian Gootee assumes the role of State Geologist and Director of AZGS. We are looking forward to his leadership as he guides the Survey into its next chapter of scientific excellence and public service.