19 Nov 07

Professor Tony Watts is to receive the Arthur Holmes medal

Three members of Oxford University’s Department of Earth Sciences are to receive prestigious awards from the European Geosciences Union. Professor Tony Watts, Dr Ros Rickaby, and Professor John Woodhouse have all been recognised for their contribution to geological science.

Professor Tony Watts, Professor of Marine Geology and Geophysics, is to receive the Arthur Holmes Medal and Honorary membership of the EGU. This forms one of the three-equally ranked most prestigious awards made by the union. It is reserved for scientists who have achieved exceptional international standing in Solid Earth Geosciences, defined in their widest senses, for their merit and their scientific achievements. The award is in recognition of his work into isostasy and the phenomena of lithospheric flexure. Isostasy refers to the state of gravitational equilibrium between the earth’s lithosphere and asthenosphere; between the solid crust of the uppermost mantle, and the soft zone of the upper mantle.

Dr Ros Rickaby, University Lecturer in Biogeochemistry, is to receive the EGU’s Outstanding Young Scientist Award. This award recognises scientific achievements in any field of the Geosciences, made by a recently established scientist under-35. Dr Rickaby’s research interests include the jigsaw of interaction between the evolution of mineralising organisms, ocean chemistry, atmospheric composition, and Earth’s climate.

Professor John Woodhouse, Professor of Geophysics, is to receive the Beno Gutenberg Medal, reserved for individuals in recognition of their outstanding contributions to Seismology. The medal, awarded since 1996, has been established by the section on Solid Earth Geophysics (SE) in recognition of the scientific achievements of Beno Gutenberg.

The European Geosciences Union (EGU) was founded in 2002 as a merger of the European Geophysical society and the European Union of geosciences, and is a dynamic, innovative, and interdisciplinary association, devoted to the promotion of the sciences of the earth and its environment, planetary and space sciences, and the co-operation between scientists.

The awards will be presented at the European Geosciences Union annual assembly in Vienna in April 2008.