The Abraham Gottlob Werner Silver Medal is the highest distinction awarded by the German Mineralogical Society and recognizes exceptional contributions to mineralogical research and related disciplines. In 2017, the medal was awarded to Joseph R. Smyth ("Joe"), Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder (USA).

Joe's research in mineralogy and crystal chemistry established the field investigating the role of water in nominally anhydrous minerals and its significance for the global water cycle. He has been widely recognized for his prediction, made nearly 30 years ago, that wadsleyite—a high-pressure polymorph of olivine (Mg₂SiO₄) in the mantle transition zone—could represent the Earth's largest geochemical reservoir of water. This pioneering idea has had far-reaching implications for our understanding of plate tectonics, mantle dynamics, and even the origin of water on Earth.