Accolade for Volcano Research

Professor Lionel Wilson (Environmental Science) is one of 41 distinguished scientists to be elected this year as a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the largest professional body for geophysicists and earth-scientists in the world.

It has an international membership and covers all of geology, geophysics, geochemistry, hydrology, atmospheric science, ocean science and planetary science. The number of new Fellows elected each year is limited to no more than one tenth of one percent of the total membership. Professor Wilson, who has been a member of the American Geophysical Union since the late 1970s, has been elected for his contribution to the field of Earth and planetary volcanology.

When the election was announced this month Professor Wilson’s citation said he had been elected to the AGU: "For playing the key role in transforming the field of Earth and planetary volcanology from a largely descriptive science to a rigorous quantitative science." Professor Wilson, who is currently in Hawaii carrying out fieldwork on Kilauea volcano, said: “I had no idea that I was being proposed, so the whole thing came as a complete surprise, but I am honoured to have been elected as a fellow.”

· The AGU comprises a number of sections including geophysics, geochemistry, volcanology, petrology, hydrology, atmospheric science, ocean science and planetary science. Professor Wilson’s two main affiliations are with the Volcanology, Geochemistry & Petrology Section and the Planetary Science Section