Geophysicists Honored by AGU

Geophysicists honored by AGU

The American Geophysical Union recently named the recipients of its 2005 medals and awards in recognition of contributions to geophysics and society. Designation of awards took place in May at AGU’s joint assembly meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, and medals will be presented at the society’s fall meeting in December in San Francisco.

Johannes Geiss has been chosen to receive the William Bowie Medal, AGU’s highest honor. He is being recognized for his “fundamental contributions to our understanding of the composition of the universe, including the composition of the solar system.” Geiss is a professor of physics at the International Space Science Institute in Bern, Switzerland.

François M. M. Morel takes home the Maurice Ewing Medal for “his leadership in the revolution in low-temperature aqueous geochemistry that has resulted in a new field of studies at the interface between marine chemistry and biology.” Morel is the Albert Blanke Professor of Geoscience at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey.

Margaret Galland Kivelson has been selected as winner of the John Adam Fleming Medal “for her remarkable career in the fields of solar-terrestrial physics, heliospheric and planetary science and, in particular, planetary magnetism.” Kivelson is a Distinguished Professor of Space Physics at UCLA.

The Harry H. Hess Medal goes to Sean C. Solomon, director of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, DC, “for his outstanding and influential scientific achievements in planetary science, seismology, and marine tectonics.”

The Robert E. Horton Medal recipient is Gedeon Dagan, professor emeritus of hydrology at Tel Aviv University in Israel. He is being honored “for his undisputed leadership in stochastic groundwater hydrology and the mechanics of groundwater aquifers.”

Thomas H. Jordan will receive the Inge Lehmann Medal “for his fundamental contributions to our understanding of the structure, composition, and dynamics of the Earth’s mantle.” Jordan is director of the Southern California Earthquake Center in Los Angeles and is the W. M. Keck Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Paul D. Asimow, A. Hope Jahren, and James T. Randerson will each collect a James B. Macelwane Medal from AGU. This award acknowledges significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by outstanding young scientists. Asimow is an associate professor of geology and geochemistry at Caltech in Pasadena. Jahren is an associate professor of geobiology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Randerson is an assistant professor of Earth system science at the University of California in Irvine.

The Edward A. Flinn III Award goes to Yvon Balut for his “unselfish cooperation in research through facilitating, coordinating and implementing research activities in paleoceanography and the study of quaternary climate change.” Balut is chief of the oceanographic department of the French Polar Institute in Brest.

Uppugunduri Aswathanarayana takes home the Excellence in Geophysical Education Award “for his outstanding contributions and dedication to the improvement of geoscience education, institutional development, and environmental management in developing countries.” Aswathanarayana is a professor and the Honorable Director of the Mahadevan International Centre for Water Resources Management in Hyderabad, India.

Tim Appenzeller, National Geographic magazine’s senior editor for science, is being acknowledged with the Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism—Features. He receives the honor for his article, “The Case of the Missing Carbon,” which appeared in the February 2004 issue of the magazine.

Jeffrey Kluger, a senior writer for TIME magazine, receives the David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism—News for his article “Secrets of the Rings,” which he wrote for the magazine’s 12 July 2004 issue.