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Latest comment: 8 hours ago by Ngalubutui in topic Article title: Eleanora Iberall Robbins

COI edit request: Point of Light award (1989)

[edit]
Latest comment: 17 hours ago5 comments2 people in discussion

I declare a conflict of interest: Eleanora Robbins is my mother. She has read her article and is deeply grateful for it. She has asked for one addition, and I am requesting it here rather than editing the article myself.

Point of Light, 1989. As part of USGS educational outreach she ran summer outdoor science activities, "What's Under Your Feet?", for inner-city children in Washington, D.C., for nine years, and for this she was awarded a Point of Light by the George H. W. Bush administration in 1989. Source: "Biography of Eleanora Iberall Robbins", norrierobbins.com, per WP:ABOUTSELF. Please add it under Awards and honours.

Thank you to every editor who has given her article your time. It means more to her, and to me, than I can say. Ngalubutui (talk) 19:37, 4 October 2026 (UTC)Reply

@Ngalubutui: we would prefer an independent source for this. I looked online and found "In November 1989, Eleanora was honored by Secretary Lujan, having been chosen as an Interior Point of Light and the outstanding USGS volunteer" in Profile of Women at Work in the U.S. Department of the Interior, 1990, see Google books. That looks like an award from her employer, rather than an award from George Bush's Points of Light organisation. I also checked the points of light website and did not find her name link. TSventon (talk) 20:59, 4 October 2026 (UTC)Reply
@TSventon: Thank you. You went looking for her and found her honour in a government record, the one thing this request lacked, and your wording is the accurate one. Following your lead I went to the USGS's own yearbooks. They confirm it, and they record a second honour from the same Secretary. I have also gone through my mother's research record paper by paper, and I have put everything together here, so that it can all be done in one visit. Every item below is checked against the source cited.
1. Awards and honours. Please add:
  • Named one of the U.S. Department of the Interior's Points of Light by Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan Jr. in November 1989, for "What's Under Your Feet?", and chosen as the outstanding USGS volunteer.[1][2]
  • Stewardship Award for Education, presented by Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan Jr., "for her outstanding contributions and unfailing dedication to the education of children of all ages and especially for minority and underprivileged children".[3]
2. Science education. After the sentence on "What's Under Your Feet?", please add: The course took the children around their own neighbourhood to learn about watershed divides, look for fossils, see how water shapes and rounds rocks, and pan a creek for gold and magnetite.[2]
3. Palynology. Please add:
With James A. Doyle she established an angiosperm pollen zonation for the continental Cretaceous of the Atlantic Coastal Plain and applied it to deep wells in the Salisbury Embayment.[4]
In 1990 she wrote the preface to a special issue of Ore Geology Reviews on the palynology of ore deposits,[5] to which she contributed studies of the organic tissues and metallic minerals of the Jerritt Canyon gold deposit in Nevada,[6] of carbon seams in the Witwatersrand goldfields of South Africa,[7] and of the host rocks of the Rum Jungle uranium field in northern Australia.[8]
She also applied palynology to the rift basins and petroleum source rocks of China: the Jiyang and Pingyi rift depressions of Shandong Province,[9] the Quaternary of the Qaidam Basin,[10] and the Mesozoic of the Tarim Basin.[11]
4. Geomicrobiology. Please add:
She mapped the wetlands of modern and ancestral Lakes Erie and St. Clair for the USGS,[12] and studied iron seeps as indicators of groundwater discharge in northern Minnesota.[13] In acid mine drainage she measured seasonal changes in the spectral reflectance of microbial flocculates and precipitates,[14] and with Sabine Gross described the acidophilic and acid-tolerant fungi and yeasts of such waters.[15] She studied the seasonal precipitation of manganese oxides in Pinal Creek, Arizona,[16] microbial life in a copper province,[17] and, in 2023, the atacamite–paratacamite biofilms that float on underground brine and petroleum pools in the White Pine copper mine, Michigan.[18]
5. Selected publications. Please add Doyle & Robbins (1977) and Gross & Robbins (2000), above.
These are the subjects my mother holds dearest, and to see them set down together in her article means a great deal to her. TSventon, or any editor with a little time, I humbly request that you make these additions. With deep and lasting thanks, from her son. Ngalubutui (talk) 01:55, 5 October 2026 (UTC)Reply

References

  1. ↑ Profile of Women at Work in the U.S. Department of the Interior. U.S. Department of the Interior. 1990. p. 58.
  2. 1 2 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook, Fiscal Year 1990 (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey. p. 37.
  3. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook, Fiscal Year 1992 (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey. p. 26.
  4. ↑ Doyle, J. A.; Robbins, E. I. (1977). "Angiosperm pollen zonation of the continental Cretaceous of the Atlantic Coastal Plain and its application to deep wells in the Salisbury Embayment". Palynology. 1: 41–78. doi:10.1080/01916122.1977.9989150.
  5. ↑ Robbins, E. I. (1990). "Preface". Ore Geology Reviews. 5 (5–6): 387. doi:10.1016/0169-1368(90)90042-L.
  6. ↑ Robbins, E. I.; D'Agostino, J. P.; Haas, J. L. Jr.; Larson, R. R.; Dulong, F. T. (1990). "Palynological assessment of organic tissues and metallic minerals in the Jerritt Canyon gold deposit, Nevada (U.S.A.)". Ore Geology Reviews. 5: 399–422. doi:10.1016/0169-1368(90)90044-N.
  7. ↑ Ebert, L. B.; Robbins, E. I.; et al. (1990). "Chemistry and palynology of carbon seams and associated rocks from the Witwatersrand goldfields, South Africa". Ore Geology Reviews. 5: 423–444. doi:10.1016/0169-1368(90)90045-O.
  8. ↑ Foster, C. B.; Robbins, E. I.; Bone, Y. (1990). "Organic tissues, graphite, and hydrocarbons in host rocks of the Rum Jungle Uranium Field, northern Australia". Ore Geology Reviews. 5: 509–523. doi:10.1016/0169-1368(90)90050-W.
  9. ↑ Robbins, E. I.; Zhou, Zili; Zou, Zhicheng (1991). "Organic tissues in Tertiary lacustrine and palustrine rocks from the Jiyang and Pingyi rift depressions, Shandong Province, eastern China". Lacustrine Facies Analysis. Blackwell. pp. 291–311. doi:10.1002/9781444303919.ch15.
  10. ↑ Jiang, Dexin; Robbins, E. I. (2000). "Quaternary palynofloras and paleoclimate of the Qaidam Basin, Qinghai Province, northwestern China". Palynology. 24: 95–112. doi:10.2113/0240095.
  11. ↑ Jiang, D.-X.; Wang, Y.-D.; Robbins, E. I.; et al. (2008). "Mesozoic non-marine petroleum source rocks determined by palynomorphs in the Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, northwestern China". Geological Magazine. 145 (6): 868–885. doi:10.1017/S0016756808005384.
  12. ↑ Robbins, E. I.; et al. (1994). Wetlands of modern and ancestral Lakes Erie and St. Clair, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New York, U.S.A., and Ontario, Canada (Report). Miscellaneous Investigations Map I-2451. U.S. Geological Survey. doi:10.3133/i2451.
  13. ↑ Robbins, E. I.; et al. (1997). "Bacterial indicators of ground-water discharge: iron seeps in the Shingobee River and Crow Wing watersheds, northern Minnesota". In Winter, T. C. (ed.). Hydrological and Biogeochemical Research in the Shingobee River Headwaters Area, North-Central Minnesota. Water-Resources Investigations Report 96-4215. U.S. Geological Survey. pp. 177–185. doi:10.3133/wri964215.
  14. ↑ Robbins, E. I.; Anderson, J. E.; Podwysocki, M. H.; Nord, G. L. Jr. (2001). "Seasonal variations in spectral reflectance of microbial flocculates, precipitates, and oil-like films associated with neutral and acidic mine drainage". Environmental Monitoring and Biodiagnostics of Hazardous Contaminants. Kluwer. pp. 243–266. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-1445-7_19.
  15. ↑ Gross, Sabine; Robbins, E. I. (2000). "Acidophilic and acid-tolerant fungi and yeasts". Hydrobiologia. 433: 91–109. doi:10.1023/A:1004014603333.
  16. ↑ Robbins, E. I.; Corley, T. L. (2005). "Microdynamics and seasonal changes in manganese oxide epiprecipitation in Pinal Creek, Arizona". Hydrobiologia. 534: 165–180. doi:10.1007/s10750-004-1503-0.
  17. ↑ Robbins, E. I.; Harthill, Michalann (2003). "Life in a copper province". In Skinner, H. C. W.; Berger, A. R. (eds.). Geology and Health: Closing the Gap. Oxford University Press. pp. 105–112. doi:10.1093/oso/9780195162042.003.0024.
  18. ↑ Robbins, E. I.; Stanton, M. R.; Young, C. D. (2023). "Geochemistry and microbiology of atacamite–paratacamite biofilms floating on underground brine and petroleum pools in the White Pine copper mine, Michigan". Micro. 3 (3): 728–738. doi:10.3390/micro3030051.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
I humbly add six more items, each confirmed against a source published by someone other than my mother (except where noted), so that the whole of her record can be reviewed in one place. The proposed wording, the source, and the words in the source that support it are given for each.
6. Awards and honours. Please add:
  • Environmental Hero award, La Jolla and Pauma reservations, presented at their Earth Day celebration in 2013, "in appreciation for your dedication to educating our tribal youth".[1]
7. Huntley Meadows. Please add, in the United States Geological Survey section: In 1986, as a member of the Citizens Alliance to Save Huntley Meadows Park, Robbins found Fairfax County's environmental assessment of a proposed four-lane road through Huntley Meadows Park inadequate and provided scientific information to the campaign against it, including her own weekend investigations of the wetland.[2][3] On November 30, 1990, the Department of the Interior refused permission for the road, the Lockheed–Van Dorn Connector, because of the damage it would cause.[2]
8. The first BioBlitz. Please add, in Science education: At the first BioBlitz, held at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C., on May 31 – June 1, 1996, Robbins documented the park's iron bacteria. The event's official species list recorded eight iron-bacteria species, among them Gallionella ferruginea, four species of Leptothrix and Siderocapsa, and was published with her slide presentation on the iron bacteria, cyanobacteria and algae of the park.[4][5][6]
9. Alaska. Please add, in Science education: In July 1997 she was the USGS participant at the Alaska Inter-Tribal Youth Practicum at the U.S. Forest Service's Kenai work station, where 21 Native Alaskan teenagers from 11 tribes worked in teams on natural-resource problems; she sought out the students interested in science and gave them field opportunities to learn about careers in science.[7]
10. Lowes Island. Please add, in Geomicrobiology or Science education: To learn whether tree stumps found under 87 feet of water in Lake Michigan had grown in a wetland or an upland forest, Robbins compared the root systems of wetland and upland trees at Lowes Island on the Potomac River, near Herndon, Virginia. Three seventh-grade students from Sue Pfeiffer's science classes at Herndon Intermediate School, chosen by written essays, joined the project as USGS volunteers, and the team measured more than 100 trees.[8]
11. Santorini. Please add, after the JIMES expedition paragraph: The Greek newspaper To Vima reported that the project began after Robbins heard about the dark waters of Kameni from her sister, and that each month the students sent their water samples and microscope slides to her for study, working under her guidance.[9]
Each item can be checked in a few minutes from the link beside it. TSventon, or anyone here with a little time: I humbly ask that you add these alongside items 1 to 5. In July her first draft was deleted within half an hour. This week, thanks to the people in this thread, the children of Anacostia, the students of Thira and the tribal youth of San Diego can find her when they look her up. Thank you for every part of that. Ngalubutui (talk) 04:10, 5 October 2026 (UTC)Reply

References

  1. ↑ "Environmental Hero" (PDF). Indian Voices. San Diego. April 2013. p. 3. Photo caption: "Dr. Eleanora (Norrie) Robbins (SDSU) receiving the Environmental Hero 2013 award at the La Jolla-Pauma Reservations Earth Day celebration… The award reads: in appreciation for your dedication to educating our tribal youth. Photograph by Rob Roy (Environmental Director, La Jolla Reservation)."
  2. 1 2 Hoffman, Norma (April 2006). "A Short History of CASH" (PDF). Friends of Huntley Meadows Park Newsletter. pp. 2–3. Hoffman was the founder and president of the alliance. "Dr. Eleanora Robbins, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and a CASH member, found the environmental assessment done by the county inadequate and provided valuable scientific information to support her position."
  3. ↑ Sheridan, David (1988). "Oasis under Siege". Defenders. Vol. 63. Defenders of Wildlife. pp. 16–24.
  4. ↑ "Eubacteria – Bacteria (May 31 – June 1, 1996), Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens – BioBlitz". U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Archived from the original on October 30, 2004.
  5. ↑ Robbins, Eleanora I. "Slide presentation about iron bacteria, cyanobacteria, and algae of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens area". U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Archived from the original on October 28, 2004.
  6. ↑ Droege, Sam. "Participants (May 31 – June 1, 1996), Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens – BioBlitz". U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Archived from the original on October 31, 2004.
  7. ↑ Activities Related to American Indians and Alaska Natives, Fiscal Year 1997 (PDF) (Report). U.S. Geological Survey. "The USGS participant sought out students who were interested in science and provided special field opportunities for them so that they had the opportunity to learn about careers in science. Contact: Elenora Robbins".
  8. ↑ Robbins, E. I.; Priestly, N. J.; Pfeiffer, S. W.; Anderson, E. V. (1994). "A federal, university, junior high school, and industry partnership: a field project at Lowes Island Wetland, Virginia" (PDF). GSA Today. 4 (2): 32–33. (Her own co-authored account, in the Geological Society of America's Forum.)
  9. ↑ Soufleri, Ioanna. "Τι γυρεύει η NASA στη Σαντορίνη" [What is NASA looking for in Santorini]. To Vima (in Greek). Athens. "…αποστέλλονται για μελέτη στην κυρία Eleanora Robbins, γεωλόγο στο Geological Survey National Center. Γιατί τα παιδιά εργάζονται υπό την καθοδήγησή της." ("…are sent for study to Mrs Eleanora Robbins, geologist at the Geological Survey National Center. Because the children work under her guidance.")
Two refinements.
Item 8, corrected wording (this replaces the wording proposed above): "At the first BioBlitz, held at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C., on May 31 – June 1, 1996, Robbins documented the park's iron bacteria. The event's official species list recorded eight iron-bacteria taxa, among them Gallionella ferruginea, Leptothrix discophora, Leptothrix ochracea, Siderocapsa sp. and Siderocystis sp., and was published with her slide presentation on the iron bacteria, cyanobacteria and algae of the park." The sources are the three given under item 8.
12. Personal life. Please add a short Personal life section: "Robbins married the zoologist C. Brian Robbins in 1972.[1] He worked on the small mammals of West Africa for the Smithsonian Institution,[2] and in 1974 described the gerbil Robbins's tateril (Taterillus arenarius).[3] They were married for fifty years, until his death in 2022.[2]" Please also add him to the infobox as her spouse. TSventon has already linked the two of them on Wikidata.
She has read every line of what is proposed here and is delighted with it. That delight belongs to everyone in this thread who helped bring her record together. Thank you. Ngalubutui (talk) 20:46, 5 October 2026 (UTC)Reply

References

  1. ↑ "Robbins, Eleanora Iberall". Who's Who in America 2004. Vol. 2 (L–Z) (58th ed.). New Providence, NJ: Marquis Who's Who. 2003. p. 4346. (The entry already cited in the article; TSventon used it for the marriage on Wikidata.)
  2. 1 2 "Biography of Eleanora Iberall Robbins". norrierobbins.com. (Her own account, for these personal details.)
  3. ↑ Robbins, C. Brian (1974). "Comments on the taxonomy of the West African Taterillus (Rodentia: Cricetidae) with the description of a new species". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 87 (35): 395–404.

Article title: Eleanora Iberall Robbins

[edit]
Latest comment: 8 hours ago1 comment1 person in discussion

I declare a conflict of interest: Eleanora Robbins is my mother. I humbly request that the article be moved to Eleanora Iberall Robbins, the form of her name the record itself uses, and that the name in the infobox be changed to match. The article's opening sentence already gives her name this way.

  • Library of Congress name authority: "Robbins, Eleanora I. (Eleanora Iberall), 1942–" (no89019927).
  • Who's Who in America and American Men & Women of Science, both already cited in the article: "Robbins, Eleanora Iberall".
  • Her Wikidata item (Q64869121) and her photograph on Wikimedia Commons (File:Eleanora Iberall Robbins in 2023.jpg) carry the same name.
  • She publishes as "Eleanora I. Robbins", for example in her US patent (US 6,485,696 B1) and in The Ohio Journal of Science (1995).

The present title would remain as a redirect, so every existing link keeps working. Thank you for considering it. Ngalubutui (talk) 05:19, 6 October 2026 (UTC)Reply

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