William Bowie Medal — For his wide-ranging research in the study of the ocean and its roles in shaping Earth’s climate and its changes, and for unselfish cooperation in the field of physical oceanography.
Walter H. Bucher Medal — For fundamental contributions to understanding crustal processes through physical chemistry.
Maurice Ewing Medal — For significant and original contributions to our understanding of oceanic crustal structure and as a developer of new geophysical instrumentation for use in the deep sea.
John Adam Fleming Medal — For pioneering contributions to important applications of rock magnetic principles to terrestrial and extraterrestrial materials.
Harry H. Hess Medal — For important contributions to our understanding of minerals and other materials through a wide range of theoretical and experimental applications of thermodynamics.
Robert E. Horton Medal — For contributions to improving both the theory and application of microwave and infrared radiative transfer to the remote sensing of the land surface, soil moisture, surface temperature, and emissivity.
James B. Macelwane Medal — For significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability.
Roger Revelle Medal — For his leadership in the science of climate change and its relation to the history of our Earth system.
Waldo E. Smith Medal — For five and a half decades of extraordinary contributions to geophysics during which he led academic, research, and federal agency communities in developing innovative research programs, providing advice to state and national policy and decision-makers, creating and leading institutions, fostering the responsibility of scientists to serve the nation, fostering the careers of young scientists, and fostering a climate for open research of the highest scientific merit.
Charles A. Whitten Medal — For outstanding achievement in research on the form and dynamics of the Earth.
Edward A. Flinn III Award — For a lifetime of dedicated staff support and contributions to advances in the geophysical sciences, especially the International Geophysical Year, Upper Mantle Project, Geodynamics Project, Lithosphere Program, and the World Data Center System.
Athelstan Spilhaus Award — For developing low-light-level filming technology, carrying out on-site auroral filming, and, from these, producing text and media products on auroras and geospace that have reached, informed, and inspired millions of people worldwide.
Excellence in Geophysical Education Award — For their outstanding efforts to provide and improve access to quality science education materials worldwide.
Charles S. Falkenberg Award — For a scientist under 45 years of age who has contributed to the quality of life, economic opportunities and stewardship of the planet through the use of Earth science information and to the public awareness of the importance of understanding our planet.
Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism – Features — For “Hot Times: Global Warming in the West,” which combines science, policy, and human interest in telling the story of global warming from a regional perspective.
Robert C. Cowen Award for Sustained Achievement in Science Journalism — For over two decades of distinguished reporting and analysis of scientific discoveries, for creating and nurturing a model newspaper science department, and for training and encouraging a new generation of talented science writers.
David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism – News — For “The Debate’s Over: Globe is Warming,” which describes the linkages between the science of climate change and the complexity of technical and economic decisions facing its mitigation.
Special Recognition — For its long-standing commitment to reporting on crucial scientific and environmental issues affecting the well-being of residents of New Orleans and southern Louisiana.
Medal Descriptions