Martin “Mike” Pasqualetti — an ASU sustainability scientist, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning professor and energy expert — will be awarded the 2015 Alexander and Ilse Melamid Memorial Medal by the American Geographical Society at its annual fall symposium. The medal is conferred on scholars who have done outstanding work on the dynamic relationship between human culture and natural resources.

Pasqualetti has conducted research concerned with energy education, the nexus of energy and society, energy security, the social acceptance of renewable energy, and the recognition and remediation of energy landscapes for more than 40 years. According to AGS Honors and Awards Committee Chairperson Douglas Sherman, Pasqualetti was cited for substantial and sustained contributions to our understanding of the geography of energy.

"While the medal may be in recognition of my individual contributions to the geographical study of energy," says Pasqualetti, "much of my work would have been impossible — and certainly not as pleasant — without the enthusiasm of my students, the camaraderie of my colleagues or the leadership of Gary Dirks, director of GIOS®, and ASU President Michael Crow. I am therefore particularly pleased to be able to say that I am associated with ASU, my academic home since 1977.”