Ann Wintle

Last updated

Ann Wintle
Born1948
Alma mater University of Sussex (BS),
University of Oxford (PhD)
Spouse(s) J.A. Jacobs, m. 1982 [1]
Scientific career
Fields Geophysics, Archaeology
Institutions Aberystwyth University

Ann Grace Wintle is a British geophysicist and is the pioneer of luminescence dating, by increasing the precision of existing methods and maximum age of fossil the method is able to reliably date. She also set up the NERC luminescence dating facility in Aberystwyth, Wales. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Wintle was born in 1948 in Hampshire. [3] She studied physics at the University of Sussex in 1969, however she also had a fondness for archaeology, which she credits her mother and Sir Mortimer Wheeler’s TV and radio programmes. She combined both of these interests in her PhD from the University of Oxford. [2]

Career and research

After completing her studies, she completed a post-doc at Oxford and then spent two years at Simon Fraser University. In 1979, she moved to Cambridge, and in 1987 was a lecturer at Royal Holloway. She moved to Aberystwyth in 1989 where she was appointed to a personal chair in 1998. [4] In 2000, she spent time at Uppsala University in Sweden as a guest professor. [4]

Wintle became an Emeritus Professor at Aberystwyth University in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences in 2001. [4] [3]

Her work focuses on luminescence dating, a field at the intersection of archaeology, geology and physics. She studies and applies techniques to date samples from sedimentary deposits containing minerals such as quartz or feldspars. [5] This process is used in archaeology, to date traces of human activity or fossils, and in geology, to trace changes in climate conditions. [2] [5] [6]

Awards and honours

Wintle is an Honorary Member of the Quaternary Research Association [5] and a Senior Fellow of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research in Cambridge University. [4]

In 2008, she won the Institute of Physics Edward Appleton Medal and Prize for her outstanding contribution in the development and application of luminescence properties of minerals as a geological dating tool applicable to the past one million years. [7]

In 2015, she was awarded the Liu Tungsheng Distinguished Career Medal For Distinguished Service To The International Community In Quaternary Science. [8]

In 2018, she received the James Croll Medal from the Quaternary Research Association. [9]

She has received Honorary Doctorates from the University of Uppsala in 2001, [6] the University of Wollongong, Australia, in 2016 [6] as well as the University of Sussex in 2019. [10] She is recognised for her contributions to the development of the field of luminescence dating, for her collaborative work in establishing luminescence dating research laboratories around the world, and for her mentorship. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geochronology</span> Science of determining the age of rocks, sediments and fossils

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loess</span> Sediment of accumulated wind-blown dust

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberystwyth University</span> University in Wales

Aberystwyth University is a public research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 students studying across three academic faculties and 17 departments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Wollongong</span> Public university in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

The University of Wollongong (UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Sydney. As of 2023, the university had an enrolment of more than 33,000 students, an alumni base of more than 176,000 [LC1] and over 2,400 staff members including 16 Distinguished professors.

In physics, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) is a method for measuring doses from ionizing radiation. It is used in at least two applications:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luminescence dating</span> Form of dating how long ago mineral grains had been last exposed to sunlight or heating

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Martin Jim Aitken FRS was a British archaeometrist.

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Minze Stuiver was a Dutch geochemist who was at the forefront of geoscience research from the 1960s until his retirement in 1998. He helped transform radiocarbon dating from a simple tool for archaeology and geology to a precise technique with applications in solar physics, oceanography, geochemistry, and carbon dynamics. Minze Stuiver's research encompassed the use of radiocarbon (14C) to understand solar cycles and radiocarbon production, ocean circulation, lake carbon dynamics and archaeology as well as the use of stable isotopes to document past climate changes.

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Margaret Adebisi Sowunmi is a Nigerian botanist and environmental archaeologist. She was Professor of Palynology and Environmental Archaeology at the University of Ibadan. She pioneered the study of environmental archaeology and palaeoethnobotany in Nigeria and is the founder and president of the Palynological Association of Nigeria.

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Ashok Kumar Singhvi is an Indian geoscientist and former Dean of Physical Research Laboratory. His field of expertise is Geophysics, Quaternary Sciences and Quantitative Geomorphology.

Zenobia Jacobs is a South African-born archaeologist and earth scientist specialising in geochronology. She is a professor at the University of Wollongong, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paula Reimer</span> Earth scientist and scientific archaeologist

Paula Jo Reimer is a radiocarbon and archaeological scientist. Reimer is the former director of the 14Chrono Centre for Climate, the Environment, and Chronology at Queen's University Belfast.

Elizabeth Niespolo is an American geologist. Her work utilizes geochemical methods to understand archaeological sites and human activity on multiple continents. Niespolo integrates laboratory and field work studying natural materials such as ostrich egg shells, corals, and minerals in rocks to quantify potential human environmental signatures preserved in these materials and their relevance in piecing together understanding of Homo sapiens through time. In the absence of archaeological sites, Niespolo uses high precision isotopic dating of minerals from volcanoes to determine their petrologic and eruptive history.

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John Arthur “Jack” Jacobs was a British geophysicist and mathematician, whose primary area of research was geomagnetism. He worked at multiple universities in Canada and the UK, and was awarded the Gold medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 2002.

References

  1. "Obituaries - John Arthur "Jack" Jacobs, 1916–2003". Astronomy & Geophysics. 45 (5): 5.34–5.35. 2004. doi:10.1046/j.1468-4004.2003.45534.x . Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 "Ann Wintle | TrowelBlazers". trowelblazers.com. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Ann Wintle". The British Library. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Aberystwyth University - Staff". www.aber.ac.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 "Ann Wintle - Aberystwyth Research Portal". pure.aber.ac.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Ann Wintle - University of Wollongong – UOW". www.uow.edu.au. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  7. "Edward Appleton Medal and Prize recipients". Edward Appleton Medal and Prize recipients | Institute of Physics. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  8. "Awards - International Union for Quaternary Research". INQUA. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  9. "Medal Winners - archaeologists, botanists, civil engineers, geographers, geologists, soil scientists, zoologists". Quaternary Research Association. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  10. Bealing, Jacqui. "GRADUATION: Honorary degree for the physicist who sheds light on the past". The University of Sussex. Retrieved 14 March 2021.