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
- 2024 Evelyn Füri, Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochimiques (CNRS – UL), France – Samuel Epstein Medal
- 2023 Rosalind Rickaby, University of Oxford, UK – Nicholas Shackleton Medal – Citation by Adina Paytan with Acceptance and Award Lecture by Rosalind Rickaby
- 2022 Lenny Winkel, ETH Zürich, Switzerland – Heinz Lowenstam Medal – Citation by Janet Hering and Acceptance by Lenny Winkel
- 2021 Fabrice Gaillard, Institute of Earth Sciences at Orléans, France – Ted Ringwood Medal – Citation (video) by Jannick Ingrin and Acceptance (video) by Fabrice Gaillard
- 2020 Kevin Rosso, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA – Werner Stumm Medal – Citation by Benjamin Gilbert and Mike Hochella and Acceptance by Kevin Rosso
- 2019 Ariel Anbar, Arizona State University, USA – Samuel Epstein Medal – Citation by Tim Lyons and Acceptance by Ariel Anbar
- 2018 Jess Adkins, Caltech, USA – Nicholas Shackleton Medal
- 2017 Bo Thamdrup, University of Southern Denmark – Heinz Lowenstam Medal
- 2016 Jon Blundy, University of Bristol, UK – Ted Ringwood Medal
- 2015 Philippe Van Cappellen, University of Waterloo, Canada – Werner Stumm Medal
- 2014 James Farquhar, University of Maryland, USA – Samuel Epstein Medal
- 2013 Jérôme Chappellaz, French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and University Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France – Nicholas Shackleton Medal
- 2012 Katherine Freeman, PennState University, USA and Daniel Sigman, Princeton University, USA – Heinz Lowenstam Medal
- 2011 Kei Hirose, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan – Ted Ringwood Medal
- 2010 William H. Casey, UC Davis, USA – Werner Stumm Medal
- 2009 John M. Eiler, Caltech, USA – Samuel Epstein Medal
- 2008 R. Lawrence Edwards, University of Minnesota, USA – Nicholas Shackleton Medal