SIAG Geosciences Prizes

From SIAG-GS

The SIAM Geosciences Activity Group awards two prizes at the SIAM Geosciences conference: the Career Prize and the Junior Scientist Prize. The first prizes were given in 2009.

• CAREER PRIZE

The SIAG/GS Career Prize is awarded to an outstanding senior researcher who has made broad and distinguished contributions to the field of geosciences. The award may be given to any scientist who has held a PhD or equivalent degree for at least 15 years. The award consists of a plaque and a certificate containing the award citation. The recipient is invited to present a plenary lecture at the conference. The recipient is reimbursed for travel expenses to attend the meeting to accept the award and give the lecture.

• JUNIOR SCIENTIST PRIZE

The SIAG/GS Junior Scientist Prize is awarded to an outstanding junior researcher in the field of geosciences for distinguished contributions to the field in the three calendar years prior to the year of the award. The recipient's work must be a significant research contribution to geosciences. At least one of the papers containing this work must be published in English in a peer-reviewed journal bearing a 'publication date within the three calendar years prior to the award. The recipient must be a graduate student or the paper's publication date must be no more than three calendar years later than the year in which the author received the PhD or equivalent degree. The award consists of a plaque and a certificate containing the award citation. The recipient is invited to present a brief plenary talk at the conference. The recipient is reimbursed for travel expenses to attend the meeting to accept the award and give the talk.

Detailed descriptions of the prizes can be found at [1] and [2].

PRIZE RECIPIENTS

The first Career Prize was awarded to Mary Wheeler. Over a long career of nearly 40 years, she has made fundamental and sustained contributions in numerical analysis and scientific computing (including error estimates for parabolic problems, superconvergence, discontinuous Galerkin methods, mixed finite elements, characteristic methods for transport, and domain decomposition methods), as well as in applications to multiphase flows in porous media, reservoir modeling, shallow water flows, and geomechanics. She has trained ~55 PhD students and postdocs, many of whom have had notable careers in research and industry. She has had a substantial impact on industry through her center’s industrial affiliates program. Moreover, beyond these widespread contributions, she played a central role in the creation of the SIAM Activity Group on Geosciences, served as the SIAG’s first president from 1991-1995 and was vice-president from 1995-1998, and served on the organizing committee of the first four SIAM Geosciences conferences. She has been a central figure in the mathematical and computational geosciences for several decades, and is clearly most deserving of the first SIAM SIAG/Geosciences Career Prize.

Congratulations, Mary

The first Young Scientist Prize was awarded to Jan Nordbotten for important contributions to mathematical and numerical analysis of problems in carbon dioxide injection and leakage, soil-water-plant dynamics, and monotonicity of control volume methods. Jan is an exceptionally bright researcher with a very strong publication record who despite his young age has already made substantial contributions in a wide range of application areas.

Congratulations, Jan

Nominations for the next prizes, to be awarded at the Geosciences Conference in 2011, will be solicited mid 2010.

On behalf of the prize selection committee:

• Omar Ghattas (Chair), University of Texas at Austin
• Michael Celia, Princeton University
• Margot Gerritsen, Stanford University
• Thomas Russell, NSF
• Carol Woodward, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

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NOMINATION PROCEDURE

Nominations, including a letter describing the contributions and a CV, should be sent by e-mail to the Chair of the SIAG/GS Prize Selection Committee. Nominations deadlines are typically in Fall. For contact information, email the chair of the SIAG-GS activity group.

Nominations, including a letter describing the contributions and giving bibliographic citations, should be sent by October 31, 2008, preferably by e-mail to:

Professor Omar Ghattas Chair, SIAG/GS Junior Scientist Prize Selection Commmittee

c/o J. M. Littleton

SIAM

3600 Market Street

Philadelphia, PA 19104-2688

USA

E-mail: littleton@siam.org

Telephone: +1-215-382-9800 ext. 303

Fax: +1-215-386-7999

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