Professor Iain Stewart receives award from American Geophysical Union

The Society's President, Professor Iain Stewart, was awarded with the Athelstan Spilhaus award by the American Geophysical Union.

The Athelstan Spilhaus Award is awarded not more than once annually to an individual AGU member for devoting portions of their career to conveying to the general public the excitement, significance, and beauty of the Earth and space sciences. Outreach activities may be through books, essays, newspaper articles, speeches, films or photographic displays, exhibits, radio or television pieces, interviews, web sites, or other media; the goal being to reach wide audiences and enhance public understanding in settings distinct from formal education. Robert H. Eather was the first recipient of the Spilhaus Award in 2006.

Iain Stewart is Professor of Geoscience Communications at Plymouth University. Image (c) Plymouth University.

Professor Stewart is well known for the films he has made with the BBC, including Rise of the Continents, How Earth Made Us and Earth: The Power of the Planet. He has been President of the RSGS since February 2012.

AGU formally recognised the 2013 Union Awardees, Medalists, and Prize recipient during their Honors Tribute, held at the Fall Meeting in San Francisco, California on 11th December.

Established in 2003, the Spilhaus Award is named in honor of geophysicist and meteorologist Athelstan F. Spilhaus Sr. who enthusiastically made innovative contributions to science, education, and public service. He was a scientist, inventor, innovator, cartoonist, and leader in the geosciences community. His outreach to the general public included an informative science center at the 1961 Seattle World's Fari and "Our New Age," and a long-running science cartoon in some 100 Sunday newspapers throughout the US.