Cynthia Dusel-Bacon
Personal Information
Born: 1946
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
San Jose State University BA Geology 1975; San Jose State University Secondary Teaching Credential (Spanish) 1969; University of California Santa Barbara BA Spanish 1968
"“After chewing on my right shoulder, arm and side repeatedly,” Dusel-Bacon told Kanuit, “the bear began to bite my head and tear at my scalp. As I heard the horrible crunching sound of the bear’s teeth biting into my skull, I realized it was all too hopeless. I remember thinking, ‘This has got to the worst way to go.’ I knew it would be a slow death because my vital signs were all still strong. My fate was to bleed to death.” (craigmedred.news); "
— Cynthia Dusel-Bacon
Professional Life
Field of Study: Geology
Institution/Corporation: USGS
Degrees & Memberships: Member: Geological Society of America (1974, Fellow since 2005, former Associate Editor GSA Bulletin); Mineralogical Society of America (1980);American Geophysical Union (1980); Geological Association of Canada (1996); Society of Economic Geologists (1998)
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 2011 US Department of the Interior Meritorious Service Award; 1981 Outstanding Handicapped Federal Employee (1 of 10);
Achievements: has worked to decipher the geology, geologic setting of syngenetic and epigenetic mineral deposits, and tectonic history of east-central Alaska.
joined the USGS Branch of Alaskan Geology, headquartered in Menlo Park, California, in 1975 & retired 2014
1977, during her third field season of geologic mapping in east-central Alaska, she was mauled by a black bear and lost both arms as a result of her injuries