Since 2003, the Distinguished Service to SSA Award has honored individuals for their outstanding service to SSA.
Past recipients have devoted their time and talents to SSA publications, the preservation of SSA history and other important Society work that helps advance our mission.
Awardees become Honorary Members of the Society.
Award Criteria
This award honors distinguished, outstanding service to SSA. Distinguished service refers to exceptional, sustained and meaningful contributions that significantly advance the mission, operations or overall well-being of SSA. It encompasses service that goes above and beyond typical expectations, demonstrating dedication, impact and long-term commitment to the Society.
Award Eligibility
Any person may be nominated for this award with the exception of any individual who is a Director, Director-elect or Officer of the Board of Directors at the time of the nomination deadline. Although it’s expected that there will be a single awardee, the Board will consider multiple awardees.
Nomination Procedure
Any SSA member, who is eligible to submit a nomination, may nominate a candidate for this award. A one-to-two-page nomination letter must be submitted. Letters of support are optional. Letters of support must not exceed two pages in length. Nomination letters should include:
- A brief summary of the nominee’s service history with SSA.
- A concise description of the nominee’s contributions to SSA and the specific ways in which these contributions constitute distinguished service.
- Examples, outcomes, or impacts demonstrating how the nominee has advanced SSA’s mission, operations, programs, or community.
Any unsuccessful nomination may be considered again in the following year’s award cycle without resubmission of the nomination package if requested by a nominator before 30 September of that year. To be reconsidered in subsequent years (beyond the year immediately following the original nomination), a new nomination package must be submitted. This package should include:
- Fresh recommendation and nomination letters.
The Executive Director will contact nominators via email prior to 30 September to confirm willingness for reconsideration of a package for a second year.
A signed nominator disclosure form submitted by the chief nominator must be included with every submission. Click here to complete the Ethics Disclosure Form for Nominators.
Awardee Selection
The Awardee is selected by the Board by a three-fourths vote. Awardees become Honorary Members of the Society.
Deadline and More Details
Nominations for all SSA awards should be sent to the SSA Secretary by 30 September, midnight PST. Electronic submissions should be e-mailed in .TXT, .PDF or .DOC files to awards@seismosoc.org.
For more information, see the SSA Honors Program guide.
2026 Distinguished Service Award Recipient
Ruth Harris is the 2026 recipient of the Distinguished Service to SSA Award for her decades of thoughtful Society leadership and energetic committee participation.
Harris, a senior research geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey, joined SSA in 1987. She was first elected as an SSA Board Member from 1997 to 2003. She served as SSA Vice President from 2005-2007, and twice as SSA President, from 2015-2016 and from 2023-2024.
Among her accomplishments in SSA leadership, Michael and Hellweg singled out Harris’ drive to create the SSA Annual Meeting’s Student Presentation Awards Program, for which she remains a regular reviewer. They also noted Harris’ support for the development of open access options for the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA) and Seismological Research Letters (SRL), and her invaluable institutional knowledge during the 2015 transition to a new executive director for the society.
Nearly every SSA committee has benefited from Harris’ active participation, including the Management Committee, the Publications Committee, the Board of Director’s Nominations Committee, the Officer Nominations Committee, the Investment Committee, the Executive Committee, the Student Awards Committee, the Membership Committee, the Frank Press Public Service Award Committee, the COSMOS/EERI/SSA Bolt Medal Committee and the 2001 Annual Meeting Committee.