Admin GP Research and Resources Opportunities Education Societies
Back to Main Page
A GP Section Award: The William Gilbert Award
The Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism (GP) Section has established the William Gilbert Award to recognize outstanding and unselfish work in magnetism of Earth materials and of the Earth and planets, including the whole range of research activities in which GP members are engaged. The award is named for William Gilbert (1544-1603) and will not be given more than once per year. With the approval of the AGU Executive Committee, the first Gilbert Award was presented to Subir Banerjee in 2003 (full list of recipients). The GP Section has now established the Gilbert as a permanent Section award.
Scope of the GP Field
GP research activities extend into virtually all branches of geoscience, as well as into related disciplines, and are notably interdisciplinary in both goals and methods. The purpose of the proposed William Gilbert Award is to enable formal recognition of superlative contributions over the very broad range of GP research specialties.The GP Section is home to researchers using magnetism in many ways to study the composition, structure, dynamics, and history of the Earth and planetary bodies from the planetary to nano scales. Geomagnetism comprises the magnetic field of the Earth generated by the outer-core dynamo (including its variations in space and time) and anomalies related to crustal structure. Closely related to geomagnetism is electromagnetism, a line of research in the Earth science which deals with the electromagnetic response of Earth materials to excitation by natural and artificial sources. Paleomagnetism extends geomagnetic studies back in time, but also uses the paleofield orientations stored in natural remanence to track tectonic displacements of lithospheric plates, as well as the evolution of smaller-scale structures. Rock magnetism strives to understand the fundamental physics governing acquisition of remanence and its modification by time, temperature, and stress. Magnetic anisotropy and environmental magnetism use readily measurable magnetic properties to characterize rock and sediment fabrics and the causative processes in sedimentation, magmatic emplacement, deformation, metamorphism, etc. Magnetic parameters can also identify spatial and temporal variations in sediment mineralogy and grain size, with associated interpretation of the underlying environmental and climatic changes.
Type of Award
The award will consist of a certificate and a terrella or other suitable artifact of very modest monetary value. Presentation of the award will usually be made in conjunction with the GP Section business meeting at the Spring Joint Assembly or Fall Meeting.
Funding
The cost of the award will be covered by GP Section funds.
Eligibility
In 2007, any AGU member is eligible to be nominated.
Selection Process
The GP Fellows and Awards Committee will select a candidate from nominees submitted through an open process and based on the candidate's excellence in at least one of the following categories: scientific rigor, originality, and impact; leadership and service to the GP research community; development of new cross-disciplinary research areas and methods. Any member can nominate an outstanding candidate. The nomination should be accompanied by a CV, and by at least 3 but not more than 5 supporting letters. The nominating letter should explain in what way the candidate meets the criteria listed above, and should include a one-sentence citation.
Nominations can be submitted by email, by fax, or by mail and should reach the Committee Chair by July 1st of the selection year. Electronic submissions in the form of a single pdf file containing the entire package are prefered. The selection committee will submit a decision letter for review and approval by the Executive Committee of the GP Section. The letter should include the total number of candidates considered, the number of holdover candidates, the number of new candidates, and the number of nominations that resulted from the general call versus the number actively solicited by the committee.
The GP Executive Committee have the responsibility to accept or reject the recommendations of the committee on the basis of its judgement of the process and its knowledge of the candidates. GP Section officers may not nominate or support specific candidates for this award. If any member of the Fellows and Awards Committee is also a member of the Executive Committee, he or she will recuse himself or herself during consideration of the recommendation.
The award and call for nominations will be advertised in EOS, the AGU GP Section web page, and on the gpmag list-server. The awardee will be selected and notified by 31 July. The goal of the early selection is to provide sufficient time for the recipient to arrange to attend the AGU Fall Meeting for the award presentation.