Maurice Ewing Professor of Earth Systems Science, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA

AGU embraces the global community and welcomes diverse leaders from around the world, representing various identities, voices, and perspectives. List any identities, voices, and perspectives you would bring, including but not limited to nationality, regional representations, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and any other identity you feel comfortable sharing.

I grew up in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), West Bengal, India, in a Bengali middle-class family, which valued education, heritage, and at the same time taught the value of embracing cultural richness from all parts of the world. After completing my B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in geology from Jadavpur University, I moved to the USA for my doctoral degree in the same field. I have lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years now, first for my doctoral education and subsequently for my professional career as an educator and a scientist in the field of Earth and planetary sciences.

Volunteer experience that relates to this position:

Councilor - Mineralogical Society of America (2015-2018), Associate Editor - Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (2013 - present), Co-Editor-in-Chief - Earth and Planetary Science Letters (2019 - present), AGU Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology (VGP) Kuno award committee member (2015-2016), Macelwane Medal (AGU) committee member (2017-2021), AGU Union Fellows Committee member (2022-present).

As one of the elected leaders of your section, how will you partner with your president and president-elect to communicate with and engage your members to help implement AGU’s strategic plan including its mission and vision?

Earth and planetary science disciplines are increasingly realized to be interconnected with knowledge in each of the sub-disciplines having far-reaching impacts in understanding the evolving planets and societies. As the secretary of Volcanology and Petrology portion of the VGP, I will work to display the interconnectedness of the VGP science with other related and sometime seemingly disparate fields of research. During my tenure, I will work together with the rest of VGP leadership to draw exciting core as well as interdisciplinary VGP science sessions in the AGU meetings. We will collaborate with other AGU sections as well as other relevant societies (e.g., Mineralogical Society of America (MSA), Geological Society of America (GSA), International Mineralogical Association (IMA), International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI)) to bring out most cutting-edge science of our times. The AGU-VGP community and the one it should aspire to become is very diverse, in every sense of the term, and international. I strongly believe that representation of the diverse and international community is critical at every aspect of VGP activities. I will work with the rest of the VGP leadership to strike a balance in drawing diverse group scientists in leading sessions and other activities.

Section affiliations:

Mineral and Rock Physics; Planetary Sciences; Seismology; Study of the Earth's Deep Interior; Tectonophysics; Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology