Top award for Doug Benn

Congratulations to Professor Doug Benn of the School of Geography and Sustainable Development, who has been awarded the Seligman Crystal – the highest award from the International Glaciological Society.

The Crystal is awarded annually to a glaciologist who has made an outstanding contribution to our understanding of glacier behaviour. The citation for the award notes Professor Benn’s “enthusiastic inquisitiveness, ability to see to the heart of a problem and willingness to identify and pursue unorthodox approaches has led to transformational innovations across multiple areas of glaciology”.

These include a general theory of glacier surging, novel numerical models to predict iceberg calving losses from marine-terminating glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica, the development of a new science (glacio-speleology) to determine the three-dimensional pathways of meltwater within glaciers, and quantification of the processes that govern the response of debris-covered Himalayan glaciers to climate change.

Professor Benn has also made a major contribution to collaborative research that demonstrates the role of orbital forcing in the Neoproterozoic ‘Snowball Earth’ panglaciations and developed novel methodologies for the analysis of glacial sediments and landforms. Successive generations of Geography and Earth Science students will be familiar with his work through his book Glaciers and Glaciation, which is regarded globally as the most comprehensive text in the field.