Harry Hammond Hess was an American geologist and a United States Navy officer in World War II who is considered one of the "founding fathers" of the unifying theory of plate tectonics. He is best known for his theories on sea floor spreading, specifically work on relationships between island arcs, seafloor gravity anomalies, and serpentinized peridotite, suggesting that the convection of the Earth's mantle was the driving force behind this process.
The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international fields within the Earth and space sciences. The geophysical sciences involve four fundamental areas: atmospheric and ocean sciences; solid-Earth sciences; hydrologic sciences; and space sciences. The organization's headquarters is located on Florida Avenue in Washington, D.C.
The William Bowie Medal is awarded annually by the American Geophysical Union for "outstanding contributions to fundamental geophysics and for unselfish cooperation in research". The award is the highest honor given by the AGU and is named in honor of William Bowie, one of the co-founders of the Union.
The Charles A. Whitten Medal was established by the American Geophysical Union to honor Charles A. Whitten for his contributions to research in crustal movements, such as plate tectonics. This medal, which was first awarded to Charles A. Whitten, recognizes outstanding achievement in research on the form and dynamics of the Earth and planets. The Charles A. Whitten Medal is given no more than every other year.
The James B. Macelwane Medal is awarded annually by the American Geophysical Union to three to five early career scientists. It is named after James B. Macelwane, a Jesuit priest and one of the pioneers of seismology. The medal is regarded as the highest honor for young scientists in the field of Geological and Planetary Sciences. In 1984, Mary Hudson became the first woman to receive the award.
Eric J. Rignot is the Donald Bren, Distinguished and Chancellor Professor of Earth system science at the University of California, Irvine, and a Senior Research Scientist for the Radar Science and Engineering Section at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He studies the interaction of the polar ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica with global climate using a combination of satellite remote sensing, airborne remote sensing, understanding of physical processes controlling glacier flow and ice melt in the ocean, field methods, and climate modeling. He was elected at the National_Academy_of_Sciences in 2018.
The Roger Revelle Medal is given out annually by the American Geophysical Union to recognize "outstanding accomplishments or contributions toward the understanding of the Earth’s atmospheric processes, including its dynamics, chemistry, and radiation; and toward the role of the atmosphere, atmosphere-ocean coupling, or atmosphere-land coupling in determining the climate, biogeochemical cycles, or other key elements of the climate system". The award was created in 1991 and named after Roger Revelle.
The Inge Lehmann Medal is given out by the American Geophysical Union to recognize "outstanding contributions to the understanding of the structure, composition, and dynamics of the Earth's mantle and core". The award was created in 1995 and named after seismologist Inge Lehmann who discovered Earth's inner core.
The Robert E. Horton Medal is given out by the American Geophysical Union to recognize "outstanding contributions to the geophysical aspects of hydrology". The award was created in 1974 and named after Robert E. Horton to honor his contributions to the study of the hydrologic cycle. It was awarded biennially until 1995 and then annually thereafter.
Sean Carl Solomon is the director of the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, where he is also the William B. Ransford Professor of Earth and Planetary Science. Before moving to Columbia in 2012, he was the director of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institute in Washington, D.C. His research area is in geophysics, including the fields of planetary geology, seismology, marine geophysics, and geodynamics. Solomon is the principal investigator on the NASA MESSENGER mission to Mercury. He is also a team member on the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission and the Plume-Lithosphere Undersea Melt Experiment (PLUME).
Jasper A. Vrugt is a Dutch scientist/engineer/applied mathematician known for his work in the earth sciences: surface hydrology, soil physics, hydrogeophysics, hydrometeorology, and geophysics. Vrugt is an assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine and holds a joint appointment in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Department of Earth System Science. He also holds a part-time appointment as associate professor at the University of Amsterdam, Faculty of Science (CGE).
The William Gilbert Award is presented annually by the Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism section of the American Geophysical Union and is "in recognition of outstanding and unselfish work in magnetism of Earth materials and of the Earth and planets." The awardees are chosen based on demonstrated excellence in: (1) scientific rigor, originality, and impact; (2) leadership and service to the geomagnetism and paleomagnetism research community; and/or (3) development of new cross-disciplinary research areas and methods. Every other year, the award is designated for an early-career scientist. The award is named after William Gilbert who first proposed the concept of a geomagnetic field in De Magnete.
Diane McKnight is a professor of civil, environmental, and architectural engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder and a fellow at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR). McKnight is a founding principal investigator of the National Science Foundation's Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica.
Rajdeep Dasgupta is a professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Rice University. In his research, he studies the role of subsurface melting and magma on the origin and evolution of the Earth and other terrestrial planets.
Thomas Francis Malone was a noted American geophysicist best known for his contributions to atmospheric science and meteorology. His career ranged from a tenured academic appointment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to a senior vice presidency at the Travelers Insurance Company, to dean of the graduate school at the University of Connecticut, then Director of the Holcomb Research Institute at Butler University, and finally Executive Scientist for the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.
Emily V. Fischer is an atmospheric chemist and an associate professor in the department of atmospheric science at Colorado State University. She earned notoriety from her work on the WE-CAN project and on PAN, specifically its role in changing the distribution of oxidants in the troposphere. She has received many honors including the prestigious James B. Macelwane Medal which is "given annually to three to five early career scientists in recognition of their significant contributions to Earth and space science." Fischer is also a role model and activist in galvanizing support for women in STEM fields.
Penelope King uses geochemistry and cosmochemistry to study planetary processes to better understand past and future planetary environments, and what this information may tells us about climate change. She is a professor at the Australian National University (ANU) in the Research School of Earth Sciences (RSES). King holds many awards, including Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the Mineralogical Society of America in 2019, and winning the AGU Joanne Simpson Medal for Mid-Career Scientists the same year. She currently leads a research group examining surface and interior processes on planetary bodies.
The Ambassador Award is one of the most prestigious union-level awards of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and recognizes individuals whose excellence and leadership in research, education, and innovation have significantly advanced Earth and space science. The Ambassador Award recognizes the value of AGU members’ outstanding contributions that benefit society above and beyond their own research.
Yafang Cheng is a Chinese geoscientist at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, in Mainz, Germany. She specialises in atmospheric chemistry and physics.
