Polymath of Martial Arts, Geology, Writing, Sketching, Prospecting, Music, Astronomy

Recent books by Professor Hausel include: (1) A Guide to Finding Gemstones, Gold, Minerals and Rocks (2014), 368 p.,  (2)GOLD - Field Guide for Prospectors and Geologists (2011), 365 p.  co-authored with Eric Hausel, and (3) Gems, Minerals and Rocks of Wyoming, (2009), 175 p. 

Check Amazon Books author listings for these and other books. Other books and contributions are found at Open Library,  Wyoming Authors wiki, and the GemHunter website.

Professor Hausel

I was bored in public school; so bored that I lived from daydream to daydream to escape. This did not sit well with my teachers; but by the time I reached college, a few were more forgiving, a couple were even open minded, although many still demanded attention. I gave it reluctantly while dreaming of exploring for gold, diamonds & colored gemstones and at the same time dreaming of being a karate expert, public speaker, writer and astronomer. I dreamed of leading classes in budo (martial arts); being a public speaker; an astronomer; I dreamed of rock n' roll bands and would someday write a book. As these dreams became my affirmations or goals, and over time, they slowly began to take shape.

My interest in life began after 1964 when a group of 4 teens grew long hair and wanted to be like the Beatles. We became a popular Rock n' Roll band in Utah and called ourselves the Churchmen. But hair was anti-establishment & people took exception. I couldn't quite grasp how people could judge others based only on hair, but they did. To be sure their judgement was peaceful, the band and myself signed up for self-defense lessons at the local dojo (karate school) at the Black Eagle Federation Dojo in Surgarhouse, a suburb of Salt Lake City and began training in Kyokushin Kai Karate!

College provided the freedom to be an individual. At South High School in Salt Lake City, one had to be gregarious & this was not in my genetic code. I was a dreamer ostrasized by teachers. When I later entered college at the University of Utah and at the University of New Mexico, I was finally accepted, as some college professors searched for dreamers (but many still wanted me to be a robot).

While at the University of Utah, I became a professional astronomer. I was employed as a gallery attendant and then as an Astronomy Lecturer and talked about the universe at the Hansen Planetarium. While in graduate school at the University of Utah, I studied igneous rocks from Apollo projects and terrestrial igneous rocks which originated at great depth in the earth's crust and upper mantle. And my son followed in my footsteps and graduated with degrees in geology, astrophysics, astronomy and physics with a math minor, all at the same time!

I later specialized in igneous rocks related to diamond exploration at the Wyoming Geological Survey, such as kimberlite, lamproite and lamprophyre. My first project was to map all diamondiferous kimberlites in the State Line district so Wyoming could assess this resource. He found several new diamond deposits.

I searched for diamonds, gold in the West & in the Kuskokwim of Alaska: 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 & acquired two kimberlites with diamond resources. Not bad for a recluse who was once told by his high school advisor that I would never make anything of myself.

Over the years, I mapped >1000 km2 of geology from a tent and 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 opal deposits with extensive common opal, fire opal and some precious opal, & two of the largest iolite (water sapphire) gemstone deposits on earth. I found the largest iolite gem in the world (>24,000 carats) & left others at the outcrop too heavy to carry (>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 and the project remains incomplete.

I wrote or co-authored more than 650 papers and geological maps and contributed to 30 books. Including abstracts, I contributed more than 1,000 published works and I continue to write for various magazines including the ICMJ Prospecting and Mining Journal and Treasure Magazine. Some of his adventures were captured by Outside Magazine (http://www.outsideonline.com) and Mountain of Gold (http://GoldMtn.Blogspot.com) .

I lectured to hundreds of groups around North America abd was awarded the AAPG's President's Certificate & 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. In 2009, six other geologists and myself were presented one of the more coveted awards in economic geology: the PDAC's Thayer Lindsley Award for a major international discovery for their part in the discovery of one of the largest gold deposits to be found in the 20th century, that of the 41 million plus ounce gold deposit at Donlin Creek, Alaska: a gold deposit as rich as the Homestake!

And then there was martial art. I had a dream - to become 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) and was later promoted to Judan (10th degree black belt) in 2004. in 2012 I was promoted to 12th dan. I spent time in 16 halls of fame scattered worldwide. What a wonderful life to see one's dreams come to reality. My son (Eric) and daughter (Jessica) followed me in martial arts, both being recognized as Soke-Dai of Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai. No dad could be prouder of his children for their accomplishments. Everything I have accomplished was because of God. After all, no one person with such low grades in public school could have accomplished all that I have - it is definitely a miracle.