'Minerals and Life' lecture offered by Gem & Mineral Society

FALLBROOK – On Thurs., Nov. 12, Fallbrook Gem and Mineral Society will feature an intriguing presentation, "Minerals and Life", by Mark Mauthner. The public is invited to come and hear this very interesting speaker at the FGMS building at 123 W. Alvarado St. at 7 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.

Mauthner's lecture will focus on the scientific premise that minerals are part of every cycle in the universe, that minerals are part of life and life part of minerals, in ways that are only beginning to be understood.

An internationally recognized geologist, miner, museum curator, mineral dealer, photographer and author, Mauthner’s interest in earth science began as a child alongside his miner father in Canada. Simultaneously armed with a Brownie camera, he developed his photographic skills capturing images of his rock, mineral and fossil collection, as well as the splendors of nature.

After earning a master’s degree in geology from the University of British Columbia, he turned his hobbies into professions. Over a 20 year period, Mauthner curated at renowned museums, specifically the Pacific Mineral Museum (Vancouver), Houston’s Museum of Natural Science and the Gemological Institute of America (Carlsbad, CA).

Interspersed with these endeavors were stints of exploration geology in the Arctic, underground mining at the Oceanview mine in Pala, mineral and gemstone marketing, and publishing numerous mineral related articles and books, most recently, The World of Tourmaline: The Gerhard Wagner Collection (2015, Ivy Press, Inc.).