R. Berner Lecture

Submit a nomination for the 2026 R. Berner Lecture

About the R. Berner Lecture

Robert Berner
(1935-2015)

This annual award is bestowed to a mid-career scientist shown to have made exceptional contributions to define globally important biogeochemical processes, developed new understanding(s), and significantly advanced this area of research.

The lecture was established in 2017 by students and friends of the late Robert Berner to commemorate his intellectual legacy in geochemistry. It is a joint program of the Geochemical Society and the European Association of Geochemistry, presented as an annual lecture at the Goldschmidt Conference.

The lecture is on a ‘Berner’ subject, which includes a wide range of topics associated with elemental cycling at the Earth’s surface (molecular to planetary scale, modern to ancient oceanic and terrestrial systems, evolution of the biosphere, etc).

Lecturers are selected by the Berner Lecture Committee, then approved by the Geochemical Society and the European Association of Geochemistry.

To be eligible, nominees should be a mid-career scientist who has received their PhD at least 10 years and no more than 21 years of full time equivalent scientific employ before the Goldschmidt conference at which the lecture is presented; hence, for the 2026 Berner Lecture, the lecturer should have received his/her PhD between 2005 and 2016 (but see information on career breaks here).
Nominations of underrepresented groups are encouraged.

We are committed to promoting the diversity of our awardees, to recognizing a wide range of different types of exceptional contribution, and we acknowledge the different career paths that lead to the achievement of such contributions.

Nomination requirements:

Nominee’s CV (up to 4 pages)
List of publications
List of recent presentations and link to webpage, if available
A recommendation letter from the nominator (up to 2 pages)

The submission deadline is 6 December.

Berner Lecture Selection Committee

Name	Affiliation
Chair: Kathleen Ruttenberg	University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA
Megan Andrews	North Carolina State University, USA
David Burdige	Old Dominion University, USA
Joshua West	University of Southern California, USA
Simon Poulton	University of Leeds, UK
Caroline Slomp	University of Utrecht, The Netherlands

Support the Lecture

Contributions to the Berner Lecture Fund go directly to supporting the lecturer’s travel to Goldschmidt every year.

Donate online (through the Geochemical Society)

Recipient of the 2026 R. Berner Lectureship:
Matthew Winnock

University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA

Matthew Winnick is Assistant Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA. His application of reactive transport approaches has not only spawned a new understanding of the isotopic composition of rainfall, but also provided targeted insights into carbon cycling over timescales of days to millions of years and length scales from soils to global. More info

The 2026 R. Berner Lecture will be presented at the Goldschmidt 2026 conference in Montréal this July.

Past Lecturers

*Year*	*Lecturer*	*Institution*	*Lecture title*
2025	Benjamin J.W. Mills	University of Leeds, UK	Global biogeochemical models for deep time: what have we learned and where are the biggest problems? (video)
2024	Sarah Greene	University of Birmingham, UK	New Earth system modelling constraints on marine carbonate chemistry and pCO2 in the geologic past
2023	Valier Galy	Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA	Geomorphic and climatic controls of the terrestrial organic carbon cycle (video)
2022	Colleen Hansel	Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA	Complexity of synergistic and competing reactions involved in setting manganese oxide distributions within surface waters
2021	Sasha Turchyn	University of Cambridge, UK	Exploring diagenesis inanoxic sediments
2020	Andreas Andersson	Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA	How Will Anthropogenic CO₂ Affect Shallow Water Calcium Carbonate Sediment Dissolution? (video)
2019	Filip Meysman	University of Antwerp, Belgium	Did the Evolution of Microbes and Fauna in the Seabed Impact Atmospheric Oxygen and Climate?’
2018	Simon Poulton	University of Leeds, UK	Exploring Earth’s Redox Landscape
2017	Joshua West	University of Southern California, USA	Sources of Atmospheric CO₂ over Geologic Time

An “outstanding / exceptional / profound contribution(s)” encompasses one or various combinations of the following contributions:

a series of publications (including any combination of papers, edited volumes, authored books, written reports, other writing) that represents outstanding contribution
an innovative breakthrough
teaching and training the next generation of geochemists
improvements to infrastructure and techniques
capacity building - especially in developing countries or emerging disciplines
significant contributions to building of the community such as through meeting organisation, building peer-networking groups, other positive initiatives, and tangible efforts that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion
work with policy makers to ensure that their decisions are grounded in rigorous science
curation of significant sample collections and databases of long-term scientific value
communication of the intrinsic excitement of our field to the general public, where innovative and / or connecting with traditionally underrepresented or underserved people will be considered a plus
exceptional editorial contributions

Career Paths

The European Association of Geochemistry recognizes that there are diverse research career paths, as well as the challenges of managing a research career alongside other personal commitments, possible chronic illness, and/or disability. When reviewing applicants’ eligibility and research experience, the societies will take into consideration - where reported with brevity in nomination packages - time spent working on a part-time basis and/or outside of the research environment. If a nominee has been reported to have worked part-time, they should briefly state the percentage of full-time equivalent hours that they observed and the time period it pertains to.

Where nominees have had a career break, worked outside of scientific research (where relevant to the nominee’s assessment category), taken formal periods of maternity, paternity shared parental and adoptive leave as the primary care giver, or extended/repeated sick or bereavement leave, this will be taken account of by awards committees. Each case will be considered individually.

Career Paths

The European Association of Geochemistry and the Geochemical Society recognize that there are diverse research career paths, as well as the challenges of managing a research career alongside other personal commitments, possible chronic illness, and/or disability. When reviewing applicants’ eligibility and research experience, the societies will take into consideration - where reported with brevity in nomination packages - time spent working on a part-time basis and/or outside of the research environment. If a nominee has been reported to have worked part-time, they should briefly state the percentage of full-time equivalent hours that they observed and the time period it pertains to.

R. Berner Lecture

About the R. Berner Lecture

Berner Lecture Selection Committee

Support the Lecture

Recipient of the 2026 R. Berner Lectureship:Matthew Winnock

University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA

Past Lecturers

An “outstanding / exceptional / profound contribution(s)” encompasses one or various combinations of the following contributions:

Career Paths

Career Paths

Recipient of the 2026 R. Berner Lectureship:
Matthew Winnock