January 2013

The EAG welcomes a new president

The EAG Council would like to welcome Chris Ballentine, University of Manchester, as the new EAG President. Chris has been involved with the society for over six years, first serving in the council as Goldschmidt Officer then Vice-President. Chris has been crucial to the success of European Goldschmidt conferences and to the growth of the EAG. The EAG Council also welcomes three new councillors (elected last fall), Britta Planer-Friedrich, Maria Schönbächler and Nathalie Vigier, and would like to thank Cristina Facchini, departing councillor, for her services.

Time to join or renew your membership

Amongst our top benefits, your EAG membership allows you to register at Goldschmidt conferences at the reduced member fee and receive print and online issues of Elements and Geochemical Perspectives.

To make sure you receive all of the 2013 issues of Elements and Geochemical Perspectives, join/renew before 28 January.

A successful EAG sponsored short course in Ethiopia

Early December 2012, 40 students, professors, researchers and senior geologists gathered for the EAG sponsored short course on "Gemstones: Their Geology and Gemmology" at the University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This short course included a two-day lecture, and one day of practical work based on the identification of gems by microscopy and gemmological instruments. Read more about this short course. As the EAG aims to reach out to scientists located in under-represented regions of the world, it is very excited about the success of this initiative and others will be organized in the future.

Igor Tolstikhin receives the 2013 Urey Award

The EAG is proud to announce Igor Tolstikhin, Russian Academy of Sciences, as medalist of the 2013 Urey Award. The Urey Award is bestowed annually by the society for outstanding contributions advancing geochemistry over a career and will be presented at the Goldschmidt conference in Florence, 25-30 August 2013.

Jérôme Chappellaz receives the 2013 Science Innovation Award

The EAG is proud to announce Jérôme Chappellaz, CNRS and University of Grenoble, France, as medalist of the 2013 Science Innovation Award, named in honor of Nicholas Shackleton for his work in climatology. The Science Innnovation Award is bestowed upon mid-career scientists who have recently made an important and innovative breakthrough in geochemistry and will be presented at the Goldschmidt conference in Florence, 25-30 August 2013.

James Day receives the 2013 Houtermans Award

The EAG is pleased to announce James Day, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA, as recipient of the 2013 Houtermans Award. The Houtermans Award is bestowed upon scientists under 35 years old or within 6 years of their PhD who have made exceptional contributions to geochemistry and will be presented at the Goldschmidt conference in Florence, 25-30 August 2013.

Sujoy Mukhopadhyay receives the 2013 Gast Lectureship Award

The EAG and the Geochemical Society are pleased to announce Sujoy Mukhopadhyay, University of Harvard, USA, as recipient of the 2013 Gast Lectureship. The Gast Lectureship is awarded to a scientist under 45 years of age for outstanding contributions to geochemistry and the lecture will be presented as a plenary at the Goldschmidt conference in Florence, 25-30 August 2013.

EAG sponsors students at EnvironMetal Isotopes 2013

The EnvironMetal Isotopes 2013 conference, Ascona, Switzerland, 18-23 August (week before the Goldschmidt meeting in Florence), will assemble 80-100 international scientists, students and senior researchers, to present and discuss the latest results on stable metal isotope fractionation and its application to environmental geochemistry. The EAG sponsors 10 PhD student grants to attend. Applications and abstract submissions deadline is 1 March. PhD students submitting an abstract can apply for a grant at the same time.

MINSC pies, mulled wine and a very merry New Year

[By Chris Pearce] It was the season for carol singing, tree decorating and merry making. This year, however, the highlight of Christmas for me was the fact that I was able to stay in one place and catch my breath after a very hectic few weeks. I realize, of course, that many people see the holiday as an opportunity to recover from the undergraduate’s end of term party… Read more

Latest issue of Elements: Urban Geochemistry

"Urban Geochemistry", the December issue of Elements, was mailed to subscribers on 7 January and it is also available online at elements.geoscienceworld.org or on the Elements Archive. In this issue, under the leadership of guest editors Berry Lyons and Russell Harmon, authors explore the geochemical significance of 21st-century cities and some of the unprecedented challenges they face. In a very short period of time, the majority of the human population has become urban, and by 2050 two out of every three people in the world will live in cities. Because of the very high concentrations of people and the intensity of economic activity in urban areas, the environmental impact is huge compared to that of most other human endeavors.

Check the latest job postings

Several new positions were recently added to our job page. To receive job ads as they are posted, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. To post a position on the EAG job page (free of charge), please email the details (pdf or link to a webpage) to office@eag.eu.com.

• PhD Project in Geomicrobiology/Microbial Ecology ‘Activity and interrelation of communities of microaerophilic, phototrophic and nitrate-reducing iron(II)-oxidizing bacteria‘
• Final days! PhD Position: How do Artic soils form? Linking bulk and molecular scale mineralogical and geochemical processes
• Final days! PhD Position in Glacial snow Biomes and their role in C cycling
• Final days! Post-doctoral position: Genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic study of intracellular biomineralization of calcium carbonates by cyanobacteria
• Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Focussed Ion Beam (FIB)/Electron Microscopy
• Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Rock Magnetism/Paleomagnetism
• Post-Doctoral position: Hard-soft Interfaces: From Understanding to Engineering
• Postdoctoral Fellow: Formation of calcified roots in terrestrial sediments
• Research Scientist: development of a new exploration tool for concealed deposits using the U/Pb and Th/Pb chronometers
• Assistant Professor (tenuretrack) - Isotope Geochemistry / Mineralogy
• Petroleum Geochemist