Alley awarded 2006 Louis Agassiz Medal

Richard Alley was awarded the 2006 Louis Agassiz Medal by the European Geosciences Union for outstanding scientific contribution to the study of the cryosphere on Earth or elsewhere in the solar system. Alley is the first recipient of the award. The EGU citation reads:

"Professor Richard B. Alley is one of the genuinely catalytic scientists of the glaciological universe. He leads the discipline in the creation of new knowledge and, arguably, has transformed the face of glaciology for his generation of scientists. One of his lasting contributions is to consummate the greatly desired union of glaciology with climate science and, by doing so, to raise the stature of glaciology within the entire scientific community. In the 1960s, when the influence of John Nye’s monumental contributions were near their zenith, it would have been difficult to conceive that glaciological science would, or even could, become the standard fare of Nature and Science or provide headlines for the world’s leading newspapers. Richard B. Alley did not do this single-handed but he has admirably demonstrated how it is accomplished and, by doing so, has helped to lead the Cryosciences to very high ground further endorsing their credibility, relevance and stature.