Newly Discovered Mineral Named For LSU Geology Professor

LSU Professor of Geology Barbara Dutrow doesn't just know her stuff when it comes to rocks - She's the best.  Even among the upper crust of the geological societies her name is spoken with the utmost respect and admiration.  After all, not just any old geologist gets a gemstone named after them.

Professor Dutrow's extensive work with tourmaline has inspired many a budding rock scientist, including the team who discovered the new gemstone in a cave in the Apuan Alps of Tuscany, Italy.  According to US News, the mineral formed due to the:

compression and heating of a volcanic rock called rhyolite during the collision of the African and European tectonic plates.

This new gemstone will be henceforth known as "dutrowite"  In a statement to the press, the Italian researchers that discovered the mineral said that they named it after Dutrow for her "contributions to mineral sciences, especially her research showing that tourmalines."