Jeff Post is a GEM of a curator
On January 7, The Jewelry Information Center presented GEM Awards to four exceptional honorees in acknowledgment of their extraordinary efforts to positively influence the visibility and reputation of the gem industry, both within the trade and to consumers. Dr. Jeffrey Post,curator-in-charge of the U.S. National Gem and Mineral Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, received the GEM Award for Lifetime Achievement. He was honored for his lifetime of dedication to fostering greater public awareness of gemstones and minerals.
Dr. Jeffrey Post accepts his GEM Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jewelry Information Center in New York Jan. 7. (Photo by Billy Farrell)
Before joining the Department of Mineral Sciences at the Smithsonian in 1984, Jeff was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow for three years in the Department of Geological Sciences at Harvard University. A native of Wisconsin, he received Bachelor of Science degrees in geology and chemistry from the University of Wisconsin—Platteville, and a doctorate in chemistry, with a specialty in geochemistry, from Arizona State University. His areas of research interest include mineralogy, gemology, geochemistry, crystallography, and electron microscopy. He has published numerous scientific articles in these fields.
Academy Award-winning singer and actress Jennifer Hudson was a presenter at the award ceremony. (Photo by Billy Farrell)
As curator-in-charge, Jeff oversees one of the largest mineral (more than 375,000 specimens) and gem collections (more than 10,000 specimens) in the world. The entire mineral and gem collection is very active, with up to several thousand specimens added annually by donation, purchase, exchange and field collection. The primary use of the collection is for scientific research, with hundreds of samples supplied to scientists annually. The high monetary value of many of the specimens in the collection make it unique among the natural history collections. Jeff is also responsible for the day-to-day care of one of the most valuable objects on the planet—the Hope Diamond. In fact, he is on call 24/7, responsible for removing the one-of-a-kind treasure from its vault for photography, filming, research, press events and security upgrades.
As the lead curator for the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals, Jeff led one of the largest renovations ever undertaken by the Smithsonian Institution, which began in 1989 and was completed in 1998. He continues to play an active stewardship role to maintain, upgrade and add to the exhibits. Since its completion, the Hall has been visited by an estimated 65 million people.
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Posted: 14 January 2011
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