A newly discovered mineral species of the tourmaline group has been named after tourmaline expert and Gemological Institute of America (GIA) Governor Barbara L. Dutrow, PhD. 

Dutrowite, discovered in the Apuan Alps of Tuscany, Italy, formed from the compression and heating of a volcanic rock called rhyolite, according to GIA. This unique mineral is now recognised by the International Mineralogical Association.

Researchers from Austria, Italy and Sweden who discovered dutrowite named the mineral after Dutrow in recognition of her many contributions to mineral sciences and crystal chemistry, and particularly for her well-known and comprehensive research into tourmaline and its embedded geologic information. Of the 34 tourmaline species, dutrowite is the first species named after a woman.

“Gems, and especially minerals, have been my life’s passion. It is tremendously gratifying to receive this honor,” said Dutrow. “Discoveries such as this show us that there is still much to learn about our earth and its many minerals and the geologic information they contain.”  

Six GIA contributors have been honored through the years with minerals named after them for their work. This began more than four decades ago with former GIA President Richard T. Liddicoat who was honored with liddicoatite, a species of tourmaline; rossmanite, another tourmaline species, was named after former GIA Governor Dr. George R. Rossman; the magnetic mineral known as valleyite was named after GIA Governor Dr. John Valley; G. Robert Crowningshield, a pioneering researcher at GIA, was honored with crowningshieldite; and in 2019, johnkoivulaite was named after GIA researcher John Koivula.