Joel Bartsch: The Carnegie Mineralogical Award

Monday, January 30, 2023

The Carnegie Mineralogical Award

A mineralogist for over 40 years, Joel A. Bartsch began his role as the Houston Museum of Natural Science’s president and CEO in 2004. In recognition of his professional achievements, Joel Bartsch received the Carnegie Mineralogical Award in 2004.

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History, alongside the Hillman Foundation, gave out the first Carnegie Mineralogical Award in 1987. It celebrates not only individuals but also groups or publications that educate academics or the public. Interested parties submit nominees by either late November or early December of the award year, and the ceremony takes place in Q1 of the following calendar year.

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History recognizes groundbreaking research in the field and the recipient’s work in the community. The 2020 winner, Dr. John C. Medici, for instance, received the award for collecting, preserving, and distributing thousands of mineral specimens throughout the United States and Canada to museums. The 2021 award, given to DR. Barbara Lee Dutrow, praised her work on mineralogy courses for attracting students and mentoring women and underrepresented students entering mineralogy.

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About Joel Bartsch

Since 2004, Joel A. Bartsch has led the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) as president and CEO. In this capacity, he coordinates and leads museum staff and curators in the creation and maintenance of immersive exhibits, implements renovation strategies, and promoting museum-wide leadership. Through these efforts and many others, Joel A. Bartsch has nearly doubled both the institution’s annual attendance and membership base. He also oversaw two major expansions at the museum that added more than 250,000 square feet of space.

Mr. Bartsch began gaining experience in museum leadership more than three decades ago, when he joined the Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum as a curatorial assistant and assistant to the director. He held this role during his last years as a mining engineering student at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. From there, Mr. Bartsch took on staff roles at the Texas Memorial Museum and HMNS, curator of earth sciences at Lyman House Memorial Museum in Hawaii, and director and curator of the California State Mining & Mineral Museum.

Through these positions, Joel Bartsch gained extensive experience in everything from managing daily operations and directing fundraising efforts to writing corporate grant requests. He drew on this experience when he returned to HMNS as a curator, project manager, and director of earth sciences, the positions he held immediately prior to his current role as the president and CEO.