Citation: Jorge MRS Relvas SGA-KGHM KROL MEDAL
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am honoured to present the citation of Dr. Jorge Manuel Rodrígues de Sancho Relvas – the fourth recipient of the very prestigious SGA-KGHM KROL MEDAL.
Jorge Relvas was born on November 27th, 1960 in Lobito, Angola where his parents worked for 7 years. After elementary and high school education in Sintra and Lisbon, he attended the University of Lisbon from which he graduated in 1991. In the year 2000, he successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis on “Geology and Metallogenesis at the Neves Corvo Deposit, Portugal” at the same university and became Assistant Professor. Habilitation from the University of Lisbon came in 2007 and since 2013 Jorge has been Associate Professor with Habilitation. Jorge has played an important role in the development of the SGA during past decades. He joined the Society in 2001 and actively served for two terms as Council member (from 2006 to 2009 and from 2010 to 2013). During these eight years, he worked closely with Anna Vymazalová (and other Council members) on student affairs, which included initiating a new strategy for making SGA attractive for global student community. This long-term and time-consuming effort was very successful, resulting in a steep growth of SGA student membership (from 126 in 2006 to 425 in 2013) while also increasing number of SGA Chapters. Much of this success is owed to Jorge´s talent for communicating with students, but also to his always friendly, very open and incredibly pleasant personality. I remember hardly a moment without a smile on his face. His strong dedication to SGA is also reflected by his activities as Vice-President (2014- 2015), when he chaired the newly established SGA Educational Fund whose main goal was to seek donations and provide sustained financial support for students and economically disadvantaged professionals to participate in various SGA
organized or co-sponsored events. At that time, he was also actively involved in preparation of the 13th SGA Biennial Meeting in Nancy, France (2015) where SGA celebrated its 50th Anniversary. His strong dedication to SGA continued. Well experienced with SGA administration, Jorge was elected as SGA President for 2016-2017. The election of this position itself is already a reflection of the high level of trust, confidence and appreciation of the SGA Council and membership at large for Jorge´s interest and engagement in SGA affairs. His top priority was to keep SGA a strong, healthy and renowned organization, with a highly ranked scientific journal, a large, truly global and actively involved membership, and a vibrant network of student chapters. The highlight of his presidency was surely the very successful 14th SGA Biennial Meeting in Quebec City (Canada 2017), the first of its kind on the North American continent, where he was heavily involved in its preparation. Another example that illustrates Jorge´s heart-felt support for, and interest in SGA matters is when, after finishing his presidency and his intention of leaving SGA management, he without hesitation stepped in as interim Promotion Manager in response to a sudden resignation. Jorge served in this position for another two years (2018-2019). He was an active member of several SGA Committees (on membership, awards, and nominations). Besides, Jorge Relvas has been an excellent scientist and teacher, well recognized especially in the field of VMS deposits, especially those in the Iberian Pyrite Belt and with a lifelong focus on Neves Corvo for which he became THE expert. During his 35 years of teaching and supervisory experience at the University of Lisbon and, for some time, at the Portuguese Military Academy,he supervised 10 PhD students and many MSc students. His strong interest in outreach projects can be documented on developing the extremely successful Science Centre of Lousal, of which he is president. Many of us have had the pleasure of interacting and collaborating scientifically with Jorge, who remains to be active member of global economic geology community. His deep attachment to SGA continues to date. Jorge Relvas is surely one of those pillars on which SGA managed to build its success and on behalf of SGA, I would like to thank him for all his efforts in favour of SGA and congratulate him on this and other successes, wishing him all the best in his professional and private endeavours. Thank you for your attention.
Prepared and presented by:
Jan Pašava
Rotorua, March 28, 2022
Letter of acceptance by Jorge Relvas
Thank you so much for your kind words, Jan.
Dear President, Council and SGA members,
Dear colleagues
It is with great honor that I receive the SGA-KGHM Kroll Medal.
I joined the SGA Council in 2006 and since then I served the Society in severa different ways until 2019, including a term as SGA President in 2016-17. These years were challenging and vibrant times for me. I believe we all feel very proud for what SGA has accomplished over its history. The Society has always gathered inspired and inspiring people in a wide variety of global activities, including our successful Biennial Meetings, metallogeny short courses and sponsored student activities, and our widely acknowledged journal - Mineralium Deposita. Moreover, the Society became a respected organization worldwide, recognized for its pioneering role in supporting graduate students and young professionals through the SGA Educational Fund.
None of this would have been possible without the generous effort and dedication of many presidents, council members, editors, student chapters, and many other volunteers. I wish that, in my person, this medal may distinguish all of them, without exception, but I cannot fail to highlight some people to whom I will forever feel indebted for their tireless collaboration during my term as SGA president: Jan Pasava, the SGA Executive Secretary, who is truly the backbone and soul of the Society; Karen Kelley and Anna Vymazalova, SGA VP and SGA VP for Student Affairs, respectively; Hartwig Frimmel, treasurer of the SGA, Bernd Lehmann and Georges Beaudoin, editors of Mineralium Deposita, John Slack, editor of the SGA Special Publications, and Massimo Chiaradia, by that time editor of SGA News.
When President David Huston told me that I had been awarded this highly prestigious distinction, I got very proud, but very surprised as well. The truth is that I hardly feel worthy of such recognition because I feel that any possible contribution that I might have given to SGA was far less than what I received in return. Serving the SGA was probably the most pleasant and certainly one of the most rewarding components of my professional life. Being able to learn from the best and being encouraged to raise my standards to the most demanding criteria, were structural aspects of my growth as a scientist and as a man. Moreover, during the many years that I have served at the Council, I had the privilege of sharing unforgettable moments with unforgettable people, as SGA is a huge universe of good and generous people, where I only made good friends for life.
I want to address a special and sincere thanks to David Leach, the previous recipient of this award, who, as SGA President, has always been an inspiration to me.
Finally, I want to take this opportunity to urge all the non-member, graduate students and young professionals who might be listening today, to join the SGA and bring with you as much young colleagues as you can. At a time when the world is moving at a dizzying speed and the reality of life seems to lack time for reflection and sharing, it is when it becomes more crucial to unite around common values and interests, and build new horizons cemented by a strong sense of belonging. Join the SGA; it really makes a difference!
Once again, my dear friends, being awarded the SGA-KGHM Kroll Medal by the SGA
Council means a lot to me and I will never find words to thank you enough.
I wish all the best for our SGA!! Thank you very much!
Jorge M.R.S. Relvas
March 28th, 2022