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Fleming Medal Committee
2010–2012 term
Chair
Trond Torsvik, University of Oslo, Norway
Members
William Beasley, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma
Janet Luhmann, University of California, Berkeley, California
John Tarduno, University of Rochester, New York
Bruce Tsurutani, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Staff Liaisons
Beth Paredes
This medal was established in 1960 in honor of John Adam Fleming and his important contributions to the establishment of magnetic standards and measurements. Fleming was General Secretary of AGU from 1925 to 1947. This annual medal recognizes original research and technical leadership in geomagnetism, atmospheric electricity, aeronomy, space physics, and related sciences. Lloyd V. Berkner was the first recipient.
John Adam Fleming was associated with the science of geomagnetism throughout his career, and with the American Geophysical Union from its founding until his death. He was secretary of the AGU Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity Section from 1920 to 1929, AGU General Secretary from 1925 to 1947, and Honorary President from 1947 on. He edited the AGU's Transactions, organized its annual meetings, and was its insistent dues collector at a time when the membership was much smaller than it is now. His life of service to AGU was exemplary.
Committee Charge
- Select the recipient of the Fleming Medal; the final decision is subject for approval of the Executive Committee.
- Interpret the scope of the award broadly and to keep in mind that as a Union medal, it should reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the Earth and space sciences.
- Be especially mindful of the diversity of the community of individuals encompassed by AGU.
- Do not depend solely on unsolicited nominations but should be proactive by encouraging nominations through committee member contacts.
- State, as part of the award recommendation to the Executive Committee, the number of candidates considered, how many of these were holdovers and how many were new, and whether the new candidates were nominations from general call or were actively encouraged by the committee.
- Define the process used for reaching the decision.
Work Plan for 2010–2012
In addition to selecting Fleming Medalists,
- Review data from Fleming Medal's selection processes for the past several years to determine if the program is operating maximally in terms of the relevant goals of the Union's strategic plan.
- Work with Section and Focus Group committees to increase the number of nominations of viable candidates in underrepresented groups so that newly elected medalists reflect the diversity of the Union membership; and
- Work with the Meetings and Honors and Recognition Committees to review formats for the award ceremonies at AGU meetings and to recommend revisions to award ceremony formats as necessary.
–July 2010