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About the H.C. Urey Award

The H.C. Urey Award is bestowed annually by the EAG for outstanding contributions advancing geochemistry over a career. It is named in honor of Harold Clayton Urey, an American physical chemist whose pioneering work on isotopes earned him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1934 and later led him to theories of planetary evolution.

The award is based on scientific excellence as well as the broader impacts candidates have made in their careers to date. Such contributions to the broader geochemical community may include but are not limited to mentorship of young scientists, outreach, encouragement of diversity and inclusion in science or exceptional editorial contributions.

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.
Nominations of underrepresented groups are encouraged.

The award is presented at the V.M. Goldschmidt Conference and consists of an engraved medal, an honorarium (1000 Euros), a certificate and inclusion as a Geochemistry Fellow.

Recipient of the 2024 Urey Award: Janne Blichert-Toft

Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon & CNRS, France

Janne Blichert-Toft is a leading light in the study of planetary mantles and crustal evolution on Earth and other Solar System bodies (e.g. Mars). She has helped pioneer bold new applications of isotope geochemistry (principally to the study of Hafnium, but also of Lead) with specialization also in the highly siderophile elements, to name but a few lines of inquiry in her exceptional bibliography. Moreover, her work has helped to steer radiogenic isotope geochemistry more broadly towards quantitative applied chemical geodynamics. Janne is an unwavering supporter of the field of geochemistry in Europe and throughout the world, as exemplified by her generous devotion to supervising students and postdoctoral scholars, dutiful service to professional organizations, and leadership on journal editorial boards. Read more

The 2024 Urey Medal Lecture will be presented at the Goldschmidt2025 Conference in Prague.

Former recipients of the Urey Award