I am pleased to nominate Ms. Maria Jhonnie Villareal for this year’s Presidential Thesis Award. For her thesis, Hydrogeological Characterization of a High-discharge Coastal Freshwater Spring System: Ayuyu Cave, Northwest Guam, Ms. Villareal organized, led, and carried out the kind of classic exploratory fieldstudy upon which the reputations of geologists have been made since the 18th Century. She meticulously mapped an interesting and challenging geologic feature; compiled, organized, and analyzed her observations and data using both classic techniques and cutting-edge tools; and then brilliantly interpreted the results, not only producing a state-of-the-art…