Science Innovation Award


About the Science Innovation Award


The EAG Science Innovation Award recognizes scientists who have recently made a particularly important and innovative breakthrough in geochemistry. The geochemical research must be highly original and contribute in a significant fashion to our understanding of the natural behavior of the Earth or planets.

The EAG Science Innovation Award is bestowed annually to a scientist within 30 years equivalent full time scientific employ from the start of PhD, which must be completed. Eligibility is determined by the status of the candidate at the close of the year in which nominations are received and not the year the award is presented; hence, for the 2025 Science Innovation Award, candidates should have started their PhD in 1994 at the earliest (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.

From 2025, the EAG Science Innovation Award recognizes scientists in all fields of geochemistry. Based on their field, award recipients will receive one of the following medals:

Alfred Edward “Ted” Ringwood Medal honoring his work in petrology and mineral physics

Heinz Lowenstam Medal honoring his work in biogeochemistry

Nicholas Shackleton Medal honoring his work in climatology

Samuel Epstein Medal honoring his work in isotope geochemistry

Werner Stumm Medal honoring his work in low temperature and surface geochemistry

The award is presented annually at the Goldschmidt Conference and consists of an engraved medal, an honorarium (1000 Euros), a certificate and inclusion as a Geochemistry Fellow.

Recipient of the 2025 Science Innovation Award:

Christine Putnis

University of Münster, Germany

Christine Putnis is a seminal scientist in the field of fluid-rock and fluid-mineral interface geochemistry.  Specifically, she has shown that interface-coupled reprecipitation is generally how a solid re-equilibrates in the presence of the chemical evolution of the overlying fluid phase.  She is also the leading expert internationally in mineral growth inhibition via various organic moieties, as well as both mineral dissolution and growth processes via natural and anthropogenic chelators. While Prof. Putnis has built a highly impactful body of research, equally important to her is being exceptionally generous with her time to help others in their research endeavors. Read more

The 2025 Science Innovation Award will be presented at the Goldschmidt2025 Conference.

Former recipients of the Science Innovation Award