Joseph Bencloski receives lifetime achievement award from PA geographical society

Dr. Joseph W. Bencloski received the 2014 Ruby S. and E. Willard Miller Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pennsylvania Geographical Society (PGS) at its annual meeting in State College, Pa., on November 7, 2014. The award is given occasionally to an individual for exemplary long-term dedication to the discipline of Geography and to the PGS. Bencloski is only the fifth recipient of the award, which was established in 2002 in honor of the late Penn State professor E. Willard Miller and his wife Ruby S. Miller.

Bencloski said that the award has special meaning, because his very first graduate assistantship assignment at Penn State was to work with Professor Miller. It was also special, because it was awarded at Penn State, his Ph.D. alma mater. The Miller Award is the latest of numerous national, regional, and university teaching and service awards and recognitions he received during his career as a university professor.

A professor emeritus at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Bencloski taught in the Department of Geography and Regional Planning for 24 years until his retirement in 2013. His specialties include climatology, remote sensing, and geomorphology.