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Flinn Award Committee
2010–2012 term
Chair
Walter Gonzalez, National Institute of Space Research, Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil
Members
Jack Fellows, UCAR, Boulder, Colorado
Robert Gagosian, Consortium for Ocean Leadership, Washington, D.C.
Sharon Kanfoush, Utica College, New York
Tara LaForce, Imperial College London, United Kingdom
Staff Liaisons
Beth Paredes
Established in 1990 in honor of Edward A. Flinn III and the standard he set as an outstanding science facilitator, this award recognizes individuals who personify the Union's motto “unselfish cooperation in research” through their facilitating, coordinating, and implementing activities that have strengthened the infrastructure on which our research depends. This award is for the unsung heroes who provide the ideas, motivation and labors of love that build and maintain the structure without which our science could not flourish. Robert Watson was the first recipient of this award, which is given not more often than annually.
Edward A. Flinn III was an internationally renowned Earth scientist, expert particularly in the fields of seismology and geodesy. His broad vision, scope, and organizational abilities often resulted in fundamental and spectacularly successful international cooperative projects. As Chief of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Geodynamics Program, he directed a global research effort using laser ranging to satellites and to the Moon, together with radiation from quasars, to detect the motion and deformation of the Earth's crust.
Committee Charge
- Select the recipient of the Flinn Award; 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 award, 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 Flinn Awardees,
- Review data from Flinn Award'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 awardees 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