W. DAN HAUSEL
Geologist, Martial Artist, Artist, Writer,
Musician, Astronomer
When I grew up I was bored, so bored I lived in a dream world to escape (which got me into trouble). I went to college & dreamed of searching for gold, diamonds & other gemstones. I dreamed of being a professor of budo (martial arts). I dreamed of being a public speaker, I dreamed of stars & other worlds, I dreamed of playing guitar in a rock n' roll band. I dreamed I would write a book.
My interest in life didn't begin until 1964 after myself & 3 other teens grew our hair - we wanted to be like the Beatles. We built a popular Rock n' Roll band. But our hair was anti-establishment & people took exception. We became one of the more popular bands in Utah. I couldn't quite grasp how people could judge others based on hair, but they did. To be sure their judgement was limited, the band signed up for self-defense lessons at the local dojo (karate school) in Surgarhouse, a suburb of Salt Lake City. After 45 years, I'm still kicking!
College gave me freedom to be an individual. In high school, one had to be gregarious & this was not in my genetic code. I was a dreamer ostrasized by teachers & colleagues who felt threatened. What was so wrong with dreaming?
I became an astronomer. The Hansen Planetarium employed me to talk about stars. I led tours for people & aliens (yes, we had visitors from other planets, although they looked human to me) through geology & astronomy exhibits. A promotion to astronomy lecturer led to weekly discussions on stars & the origin of the universe in the planetarium dome. Astronomy evolved into geology & I studied igneous rocks from Apollo projects in graduate school.
I specialized in diamond exploration at the Wyoming Geological Survey. My first project was to map all diamondiferous kimberlites in the State Line district so Wyoming could assess this resource. What a great job.
I'm now a consultant. I searched for diamonds, gold in the West & Kuskokwim of Alaska. I found two world-class colored gemstone deposits, a new gold district, a palladium-nickel occurrence, opal, peridot, ruby, sapphire, iolite & more. I built a diamond exploration company from scratch for an Australian company & found hundreds of probable diamond deposits & two very nice kimberlites with diamond resources. Not bad for a recluse who was once told by his high school advisor that he would never make anything of himself.
I mapped >1000 km2 of geology (much had never been visited by a geologist before) from a tent. I worked in historic mining districts, the two largest kimberlite districts in the US and the largest lamproite field in North America (kimberlites & lamproites are host rocks for diamonds). I found diamonds, colored gemstones, base and precious metal deposits, giant opals & two of the largest iolite (water sapphire) gemstone deposits on earth. I collected the two largest iolite gems in the world & left others at the outcrop too heavy for my back (>a million carats). I found a third deposit - potentially the largest in the world (estimated resource >2.4 trillion carats), but retired from the WGS in January, 2007.
I enjoy writing. So I wrote or co-authored >600 papers and geological maps and contributed to 30 books. I lectured to hundreds of groups around North America. I was awarded the AAPG's President's Award & the WGA's Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Endeavors & Contributions. I was a Distinguished Speaker for the Laramie Lyceum & Distinguished Lecturer for the University of Wyoming Dept of Geology & Geophysics & was presented the Prospector's Best Friend Award by the Rocky Mountain Prospectors & Treasure Hunters. In 2001, I was presented the Education Award & elected to the National Rock Hound and Lapidary Hall of Fame. I was elected to the Colorado Chapter of the International Order of Ragged Ass Miners & the recipient of the WGA's Distinguished Service Award for Contributions to the Understanding of the Geology of Wyoming. My achievements were highlighted in several Who’s Who compendiums including Who's Who in Science & Engineering, Who's Who in the West, Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the World, 2,000 Notable American Men, 5,000 Personalities of the World, Men of Science & 2,000 Outstanding Scientists of the 20th Century. I was inducted into the ABI's Milleniuum Hall of Fame, receipient of the Man of Science Award & Archimedes’s Award for Contributions to the Geological Sciences & nominated for one of the Top 100 Scientists of 2008. The ABI elected me as 1996 Man of the Year, the IBC elected me as 1997 International Man of the Year.
And then there was martial art. I had a dream - to be a sensei (teacher). I became a kyoju a professor of martial arts at four major universities. I became a shihan (master of martial arts). In 1999, I became a Soke (grandmaster) - something I thought was never a possibility. I was promoted to Judan (10th degree black belt) in 2004. I spent time in 14 halls of fame scattered worldwide. What a wonderful life I've had. My dreams have seen reality.
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