EAG banner

About the R. Berner Lecture

Robert Berner
(1935-2015)

This annual award is bestowed to a mid-career scientist shown to have made exceptional contributions to define globally important biogeochemical processes, developed new understanding(s), and significantly advanced this area of research.

The lecture was established in 2017 by students and friends of the late Robert Berner to commemorate his intellectual legacy in geochemistry. It is a joint program of the Geochemical Society and the European Association of Geochemistry, presented as an annual lecture at the Goldschmidt Conference.

The lecture is on a ‘Berner’ subject, which includes a wide range of topics associated with elemental cycling at the Earth’s surface (molecular to planetary scale, modern to ancient oceanic and terrestrial systems, evolution of the biosphere, etc).

Lecturers are selected by the Berner Lecture Committee, then approved by the Geochemical Society and the European Association of Geochemistry.

To be eligible, nominees should be a mid-career scientist who has received their PhD at least 10 years and no more than 21 years of full time equivalent scientific employ before the Goldschmidt conference at which the lecture is presented; hence, for the 2024 Berner Lecture, the lecturer should have received his/her PhD between 2003 and 2014 (but see information on career breaks here).
Nominations of underrepresented groups are encouraged.

We are committed to promoting the diversity of our awardees, to recognizing a wide range of different types of exceptional contribution, and we acknowledge the different career paths that lead to the achievement of such contributions.

Nomination requirements:

  • Nominee’s CV (up to 4 pages)
  • List of publications
  • List of recent presentations and link to webpage, if available
  • A recommendation letter from the nominator (up to 2 pages)
Berner Lecture Selection Committee
Name Affiliation
Chair: Michael Krom University of Haifa, Israel and University of Leeds, UK
Robert C. Aller
Stony Brook University, USA
Megan Andrews
North Carolina State University, USA
David Burdige
Old Dominion University, USA
Kathleen Ruttenberg
University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA
Joshua West
University of Southern California, USA

Support the Lecture

Contributions to the Berner Lecture Fund go directly to supporting the lecturer’s travel to Goldschmidt every year.

Donate online (through the Geochemical Society)

Recipient of the 2023 R. Berner Lectureship:
Valier Galy

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

The 2023 Berner Lecture, “Geomorphic and climatic controls of the terrestrial organic carbon cycle“, was presented at the Goldschmidt2023 conference. The recording of the lecture, including a citation by Bob Hilton, can be viewed here.