Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Honors Recipients of Science Awards

From October 2013 to December 2014, a total of 49 professors, scientists and students who are part of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory community were recognized for outstanding achievements in their field. The acknowledgements in education and research included fellowships, medals and awards from many of the top science institutions in the world.

By
Kyu Lee
January 20, 2015
Associate Professor Sonya Dhyrman with Lamont Director Sean Solomon.
Associate Professor Sonya Dhyrman with Lamont Director Sean Solomon.

From October 2013 to December 2014, a total of 49 professors, scientists and students who are part of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory community were recognized for outstanding achievements in their field. The acknowledgements in education and research included fellowships, medals and awards from many of the top science institutions in the world.

“It’s wonderful to recognize the caliber of scientists and students who are awarded in any given year,” said Sean Solomon, director of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, and also a recipient of the National Medal of Science from the White House last year. “We’re honored that we can gather everyone together and appreciate the work of our colleagues.”

Sonya Dhyrman, an associate professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences received a SCOPE Investigator award from the Simons Foundation for her work in microbial oceanography. She said that the tools used for sequencing DNA has given us a new look at the ocean’s microbes and in turn a better understanding of how these microbes are affected by changes in climate. “Half of the carbon fixation occurring around the globe is happening in our oceans,” she said. Figuring out how ocean microbes interact with the environment is a crucial part of understanding the effects of climate change.

The full list of recipients and awards is below:

Natalie Accardo (Seismology, Geology and Tectonophysics)
Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2014

Robert Anderson (Geochemistry)
Fellow, Geochemical Society, 2014

Weston Anderson (Ocean and Climate Physics)
Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2014

Enrico Bonatti (Geochemistry)
Shepard Medal for Excellence in Marine Geology, Geological Society of America, 2014

Alejandra Borunda (Geochemistry)
Outstanding Student Paper Award, Atmospheric Sciences category, American Geophysical Union, 2014

Logan Brenner (Biology and Paleo Environment)
Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2014

Wallace Broecker (Geochemistry)
Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa, Oxford University, 2014
Dean’s Award for Distinguished Achievement, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Columbia University, 2014

Julius Busecke (Ocean and Climate Physics)
Outstanding Student Presentation Award, Ocean Sciences Meeting, 2014
Earth and Space Science Fellowship, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2014

Mark Cane (Ocean and Climate Physics)
Maurice Ewing Medal, American Geophysical Union, 2013

Sloan Coats (Ocean and Climate Physics)
Outstanding Student Paper Award, Global Environmental Change category, American Geophysical Union, 2013

Edward Cook (Biology and Paleo Environment)
The Harold C. Fritts Award for Lifetime Achievement in Dendrochronology, Tree-Ring Society, 2014

Kassandra Costa (Geochemistry)
Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2014

Rosanne D’Arrigo (Biology and Paleo Environment)
Jose A. Boninsegna Frontiers in Dendrochronology Award, Tree-Ring Society, 2014

Rosanne D’Arrigo (Biology and Paleo Environment)
Nicole Davi (Biology and Paleo Environment)
Gordon Jacoby (Biology and Paleo Environment)
Robert Wilson (Biology and Paleo Environment)
Gregory Wiles (Biology and Paleo Environment)
Choice Awards for Outstanding Books, Honorable Mention in the Main/Science, Category for Dendroclimatic Studies: Tree Growth and Climate Change in Northern Forests, Atmospheric Science Librarians International, 2014

Juan Carlos de Obeso (Geochemistry)
Fellowship, The Mexican National Council of Science and Technology, 2014

Sonya Dyhrman (Biology and Paleo Environment)
SCOPE Investigator, Simons Foundation, Ocean Sciences Program, 2014

Celia Eddy (Seismology, Geology and Tectonophysics)
Outstanding Student Paper Award, Seismology category, American Geophysical Union, 2013

Zachary Eilon (Seismology, Geology and Tectonophysics)
Outstanding Student Paper Award, Tectonophysics category, American Geophysical Union, 2013 and 2014

Göran Ekström (Seismology, Geology and Tectonophysics)
2015 Beno Gutenberg Medal, European Geosciences Union, named in 2014

Kyle Frischkorn (Biology and Paleo Environment)
Sara Langer Book Prize, DEES 2014

Sara Flanagan (Geochemistry)
Poster contest winner, Mitigation Management and Policy, 5th International Congress on Arsenic in the Environment, 2014

Anna Foster (Seismology, Geology and Tectonophysics)
Student Author Award, Geophysical Journal International, 2014

Arnold Gordon (Ocean and Climate Physics)
Fellow, Atmospheric and Hydrospheric Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2013

Alison Hartman (Geochemistry)
Fullbright Scholarship, Inter-university Institute for Marine Sciences, Eilat, Israel, 2014

Peter Kelemen (Geochemistry)
Lenfest Distinguished Faculty Award, Columbia University, 2014
Elected to National Academy of Sciences, 2014

Jerry McManus (Geochemistry)
Best Teacher, DEES, 2013-2014

Lee Murray (Ocean and Climate Physics)
Postdoctoral Program Fellowship, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2014
Young Scientist Award, International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Science Conference, 2014

Paul Olsen (Biology and Paleo Environment)
2015 Thomas Jefferson Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Natural Science, Virginia Museum of Natural History, named in 2014

Daniel Osgood (IRI)
Excellence in Mentoring Award, AgCenter, CIESIN, IRI, LDEO, 2014

Amelia Paukert (Geochemistry)
Best Teaching Assistant, DEES, 2013-2014
 
Sam Phelps (Biology and Paleo Environment)
Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2014

Walter Pitman III (Marine Geology & Geophysics)
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2013

Catherine Pomposi (Ocean and Climate Physics)
Research Innovation Fellowship, National Science Foundation and USAID, Spring 2014
30th Annual Sara Fitzgerald Langer Book Prize, DEES, 2014
 
Lorenzo Polvani (Ocean and Climate Physics)
2015 Fellow, American Meteorological Society, named in 2014

Hannah Rabinowitz (Seismology, Geology and Tectonophysics)
Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2014
Outstanding Student Paper Award, Seismology category, American Geophysical Union, 2014
 
Maureen Raymo (Biology and Paleo Environment)
Milutin Milankovic Medal, European Geosciences Union, 2014
Wollaston Medal, The Geological Society of London, 2014

Nandini Ramesh (Ocean and Climate Physics)
Earth and Space Science Fellowship, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2014

Cristina Recasens-Vargas (Geochemistry)
Advanced Postdoctoral Mobility Fellowship, Swiss National Science Foundation, 2014

Michael Sandstrom (Biology and Paleo Environment)
Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2014

Jason Smerdon (Ocean and Climate Physics)
Excellence in Refereeing Award, American Geophysical Union, 2013

Adam Sobel (Ocean and Climate Physics)
Award in Climate and Extreme Weather, AXA Research Fund, 2014
Choice Awards for Outstanding Books, Popular Category for Storm Surge, Atmospheric Science Librarians, 2014
Atmospheric Sciences Ascent Award, American Geophysical Union, 2014

Sean Solomon (Directorate)
Space Pioneer Award, National Space Society, 2014
National Medal of Science, The White House, 2014
 
Jing Sun (Geochemistry)
Jim Simpson Research Award, DEES, 2014

Takaya Uchida (Ocean and Climate Physics)
Scholarship Award, Heiwa Nakajima Foundation, 2014

Sebastian Vivancos (Geochemistry)
Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2014
Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, National Research Council,National Academies, 2014
Graduate Fellowship, American Meteorological Society, 2014 (Declined)
Dean’s Diversity Fellowship, Columbia University, 2014