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Whitten Medal Committee
2010–2012 term
Chair
Jeffrey Freymueller, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska
Members
Don Chambers, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida
Richard Gross, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Kristine Larson, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
Martin Vermeer, Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland
Staff Liaisons
Beth Paredes
To honor Charles A. Whitten for his contributions to research in crustal movements, AGU established this medal in 1984. Whitten served as President of the Geodesy Section from 1964 to 1968 and General Secretary of AGU from 1968 to 1974. This medal, which was first awarded to Whitten, recognizes outstanding achievement in research on the form and dynamics of the Earth and planets. The Charles A. Whitten Medal is given no more than every other year.
Charles Whitten was a geodesist with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey who made outstanding contributions to the geodetic sciences and the work of the American Geophysical Union. He was the best known American geodesist of his day, and his kindness to his colleagues and devotion to his profession are legendary.
Committee Charge
- Select the recipient of the Whitten 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 their 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 Whitten Medalists,
- Review data from Whitten 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