Geologist Honored for Public Service
James Slosson has spent most of his life dealing with nature, but it was his continuous efforts to help people that earned him the American Institute of Professional Geologists’ public service award.
Slosson, 74, founder of the Van Nuys consulting firm Slosson and Associates, received the John T. Galey Sr. Public Service Award for a career that includes creating unified building codes concerning landslide and earthquake safety.
“At the time, Los Angeles was undergoing tremendous growth, yet there were no regulations on the books concerning landslide potential and seismic activity,” said Stephen Testa, the institute’s president-elect and committee member who nominated Slosson. “He helped change that.”
Slosson also served on state boards under several California governors, including Gov. Pete Wilson and former governors Jerry Brown and Ronald Reagan.
“He was strictly a nonpartisan player in government,” Testa said. “Jim’s concern is always the people, never the politics. He is the consummate professional.”
The award comes after roughly 50 years of service as a geologist, which included teaching stints at Valley College, USC and Harvard University. Slosson has also written several articles and books on geology.
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