PHOENIX – SWCA announced that Jim Railey, a cultural resources principal investigator in Albuquerque, is the 2017 recipient of the Steven W. Carothers Scientific Merit Award for 2017.
The award is designed to recognize individuals for demonstrating passion, creativity, and scientific excellence in a manner that advances SWCA’s purpose, mission, vision, and values.
Jim started with SWCA in 2003 and has served as the Cultural Resources Program Director. His scientific leadership has earned the respect and trust of colleagues, agency archaeologists, and our clients. Building on Albuquerque’s numerous data recovery efforts, Jim has expanded his expertise in lithic analysis and established himself as a nationally recognized scholar in this area. He has leveraged project data and his regional overviews to publish in scholarly venues and present findings at professional meetings every year.
Jim has also served on the Science Leadership Program Committee, led brownbag presentations, and mentored junior scholars on staff. His broader service to the cultural resources and archaeology world includes three years as editor of NewsMAC, the newsletter of the New Mexico Archaeological Council.
The Steven W. Carothers award honors a scientist following in the footsteps of our founder by using excellent scientific skills to solve client problems. It is awarded annually to one of the four quarterly Larry Semo Scientific Merit Award winners.