AGU Fellows Research Articles

Reflections and Thoughts on the Future of Science From AGU Hydrology Section Fellows

AbstractAt the inaugural Frontiers in Hydrology Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico in the summer of 2022, the Hydrology Section organized a poster session and invited our 2020 and 2021 Classes of AGU Fellows, with the initial goal of both celebrating their careers as well as to provide an opportunity for an informal exchange and connection between the section's early career members and our more senior and established scientists and engineers. Due to the challenges of time zones, virtual poster presentations and other logistics, the formal poster session was adjourned but continued as a hybrid “meet‐up” with six of our Section's Fellows (Suzanne Anderson, Paul Brooks, Aaron Packman, Remko Uijlenhoet, Andrew Western, and Xubin Zeng) from around the world. As you will see, what started as an informal chat quickly took deep dives into pressing issues in our section and science in general, including thoughts on how our community values (or in some cases doesn't value) multi‐ and interdisciplinary accomplishments, critiques of our system of rewards and awards including how we assess publication impacts and finally, a frank and honest discussion of our current efforts to diversify our community and where/why are we still failing. We hope that by sharing this open and impromptu dialogue that these discussions can expand to our entire community, and to encourage future Fellows exchanges such as this to reach our entire community of scientists and engineers.

The Winding Road of a Hydrogeologist

AbstractThis manuscript is based on a personal reflection entitled “A Fellow Speaks: The Winding Road of a Hydrogeologist,” which was featured in the AGU Hydrology Section's newsletter, after I was elected an AGU fellow in the 2019 class. The manuscript describes, in chronological order, the trajectory of my career development from a “narrowly focused” hydrogeologist to a broadly defined hydrologic scientist. My personal career evolution coincides with the emergence of groundwater as a critically important field of science with great societal impact, as water scarcity, environmental pollution, and ecological deterioration became increasingly dire since the 1960s. The manuscript then concludes with some personal perspectives on the multidisciplinary future of groundwater science and its fundamental role in sustaining clean water supplies for people and the ecosystem in a changing world.

2021 Class of AGU Fellows Announced

Fifty-nine individuals have been elected to the 2021 Class of Fellows.

Leó Kristjánsson – in memorian

Our friend and colleague, Leó Kristjánsson passed away on Friday 13th March. He was 76 years old. Leó had been fighting myelofibrosis (an uncommon type of bone marrow cancer) for the past two years. With a suppressed immune system, an infection led to his death. Leó pioneered research on the palaeomagnetism of the basaltic lava sequences of Iceland and the surrounding region, with applications to stratigraphy and the analysis of directions and NRMs in terms of variations in the geomagnetic field over the past 15 million years. For his contribution to this field he was elected an AGU fellow in 2002. ...

2020 Class of AGU Fellows Announced

Sixty-two individuals have been elected to the 2020 Class of Fellows.

Edward J. Smith (1927–2019)

Pioneer in space plasma research and AGU Fellow (1992)

2019 Class of AGU Fellows Announced

AGU is proud to have chosen 62 new Fellows and will honor them at Fall Meeting 2019 in San Francisco, Calif.

2018 Class of AGU Fellows Announced

AGU is proud to have chosen 62 new Fellows and will honor them at the upcoming Fall Meeting 2018 in Washington, D. C.

2017 Class of AGU Fellows Announced

The American Geophysical Union is proud to have chosen 61 new Fellows and will honor them at the upcoming 2017 Fall Meeting in New Orleans.

AGU Honors Program Makes Strides in Diversity

Progress includes a new medal focused on developing nations, two Africa awards, and a significant rise in women and international members becoming AGU Fellows, honors nominees, and honorees.

2016 Class of AGU Fellows Announced

The American Geophysical Union has chosen 60 new Fellows and will honor them at the upcoming 2016 Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

Celebrating the 2015 Class of Fellows

The new class of AGU Fellows has been selected and will be recognized at the upcoming Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

2015 Class of AGU Fellows Announced

The 2015 American Geophysical Union Class of Fellows has been selected and will be recognized at the annual Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

Task Force Recommends Ways to Improve AGU Fellows Program

The program review was prompted by demographic changes in the AGU membership and the growth of interdisciplinary sciences.

Theodore Richard Madden (1925–2013)

Theodore R. Madden, lifelong professor of geophysics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), fascinated with all things electromagnetic, ingenious in bridging theory with experiment, AGU Fellow, and a geophysicist's geophysicist, died on 11 November 2013 at age 88. A special symposium and memorial (http://eapsweb.mit.edu/news/2014/madden‐memorial) was held at MIT on 14 March 2014 on the occasion of his birthday. At that time, Frank Press, former president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, said, “Ted Madden and his students put geophysics on the map at MIT.”

In Memoriam

Don L. Anderson, president of AGU from 1988–1990, passed away 2 December. Anderson, an AGU Fellow, joined AGU in 1958 and was a member of the Seismology section. He earned his doctorate in geophysics/mathematics from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 1962. A recipient of the AGU Macelwane Medal in 1966 and the Bowie Medal in 1991, he served as Caltech's Eleanor and John R. McMillan Professor of Geophysics. He was 81.

Oltmans Receives 2013 Yoram J. Kaufman Unselfish Cooperation in Research Award: Citation

Samuel “Sam” Oltmans, an AGU Fellow since 2007, was head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Global Monitoring Division Ozone and Water Vapor group for more than 30 years. He is currently a senior research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences (CIRES) of the University of Colorado at Boulder.

AGU Union Fellows Elected for 2014

The Union Fellows Selection Committee is proud to present the 2014 class of AGU Fellows. Established in 1962, the Fellows program recognizes AGU members who have attained acknowledged eminence in the Earth and space sciences as valued by their peers and vetted by a Union‐wide committee of Fellows. Primary criteria for evaluation in scientific eminence are a major breakthrough or discovery, paradigm shift, or sustained impact.

AGU Congressional Science Fellows Chosen

AGU announces its two newest Congressional Science Fellows—Laura Sherman and Charles Podolak—who will work on science issues in a congressional office from September 2014 until August 2015. The program is run by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and trains scientists in the inner workings of congressional offices before helping them find a position. AGU has sponsored fellows in the program for 37 years, during which AGU fellows have worked on climate change, energy, water, security, and many more critical issues that rely on scientific understanding and affect the lives of the general public every day.

Process Review Under Way for AGU Fellows Program

A new task force has been appointed and work is now under way to review and suggest improvements for the AGU Union Fellows Program. The work plan will review both the process and practices for the AGU Fellows program with over‐arching goals of assuring fairness and transparency while retaining program prestige. Selection as a Fellow is one of AGU's highest honors.