Citation For inspirational leadership in magma physics and rheology via unique, innovative experimentation designed to inform on magmatic/volcanic processes. Field Photos    

Donald B. Dingwell and James W. Head III received the 2013 Norman L. Bowen Award at the 2013 AGU Fall Meeting, held 9–13 December in San Francisco, Calif. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to volcanology, geochemistry, or petrology.  

It is my privilege and honor to deliver the citation for Don Dingwell to receive AGU’s N. L. Bowen Award. Don’s research has profoundly influenced our understanding of the properties of silicate melts, glasses, and magmas and the fundamental control they exert on magmatic, volcanic, and, recently, even on earthquake processes. Don’s approach is experimental, and his studies have interrogated melts, glasses, and magmas for their transport, calorimetric, geophysical, and rheological properties, as well as the solubilities of volatile species. These experiments have been elegantly designed to elucidate properties that provide quantitative explanations for volcanic processes. He has a prodigious publication record, including many seminal “must-read papers,” as evidenced by any bibliometrics you choose. Indeed, his research has changed the very way we communicate about volcanic processes by expanding our vocabulary to include “glass transition” or “melt relaxation.” In many ways, his research career has established what is a new, unique, and expanding line of science—“experimental volcanology.”

Don’s success in research reflects three things. First, he has a native talent for creative experimentation. Even with all the budding superstars sequestered in the Munich labs, when something goes wrong, they go to Don. Don is always able to find a solution, often a workaround. Second, Don recognizes the truly important questions and designs innovative experiments for making the critical measurement. He also has an amazing talent for seeing the broader implications of unexpected experimental results for volcanic processes. Third, intrinsic to Don is his very generous spirit of cooperative and collaborative research—everyone is invited under his big tent of experimental volcanology. There is a constant stream of scientists passing through Munich to participate in experimental volcanology.

Please allow me to close with a few personal insights. With Don, there is no doubt of his passion for the volcanological sciences. One expression of this is his yearly Melts, Glasses, Magmas Workshop (since 2000), which serves our community very well. I had the pleasure of spending a sabbatical year at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) the year Don arrived there. Thus, I can appreciate what Don has built in the meantime. The LMU labs are the international destination for scientists interested in experimental volcanology. Don’s research group remains imaginative, inventive, and productive—and it is still expanding. It is a truly auspicious time for the Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology section of AGU to be able to recognize Don and his achievements with the 2013 N. L. Bowen Award.

—KELLY RUSSELL, University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Thank you, Kelly! To all who were involved in this selfless process of nomination, evaluation and selection, thank you for your voluntary efforts. To Dave Strong, Chris Scarfe, Hat Yoder, Fritz Seifert, and others who took a look at me at some point and thought they saw some potential, thank you for the trust. To the University of Munich, the Free State of Bavaria, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the European Union, thank you for the generous support that has allowed us to compete with so many bright young Americans. Ultimately, as a university professor, one tries to catalyze the advancement of ideas and people. In doing so, one is sometimes catalyzed oneself. For the countless catalytic experiences of my research career, I wish to thank Lesley, Hugh, Dave, Chris, Mark, Dave, Bjorn, Jim, Sharon, Alex, Ruth, Nick, Francois, Michel, Pascal, Yan, Sumit, Harald, Eleonora, Fritz, Annibale, Hugh, Herbert, Werner, Jim, Mike, Guy, Tom, Richard, Martin, Philippe, Claudia, Kai, Alex, Mikhail, Markus, Frank, Joan, Jim, Olli, Ilya, Detlef, Jo, Paul, Mark, Caroline, Daniele, Klaus, Conrad, Kelly, Andreas, Sophie, Ulli, Paolo, Betty, Hugh, Gabriele, Sebastian, Alex, Mette, Soren, Ben, Jacopo, Piergiorgio, Brent, Cristina, Lothar, Locko, Marcel, Jon, Annarita, Roman, Cliff, Diego, Benoit, Yan, Yan, Phil, Jo, Daniele, Annika, Miguel, Rita, Simon, Silvio, Alessandro, Jackie, Guilhem, Tom, Oryaelle, Stefan, Cristoph, Paul, Pierre, Phil, David, Sebastian, Audrey, Alejandra, Corrado, Fabian, and Jeremie. (Any omissions are my fault!) For the core members of the Munich team who have my back covered when I am called to other duties—Betty, Ulli, Corrado, Kai, and Werner—thank you. You have taught me a lot about loyalty and teamwork. I thank especially all of those young researchers who are making these years the most exciting and productive scientific experience of my life. If you are in the first decade of your career here tonight, then I can promise you, in volcanology, geochemistry, and petrology, the best is yet to come—stick with it. To Felix and to Anke, thank you for enduring the crazy life of a researcher. I’d like to close by dedicating this award to all the first-rate scientists who are members of our community and who have not yet received such recognition. —DONALD BRUCE DINGWELL, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Germany