European Geosciences Union
Division on Earth and Space Science Informatics
President: Jens Klump
(essi@egu.eu)
Deputy President: Kaylin Bugbee
(kaylin.m.bugbee@nasa.gov)
As far as informatics and information technology are concerned, the ESSI Division deals with community-driven and multidisciplinary challenges and solutions. This include topics like: data model and metadata standardisation, spatial data infrastructure interoperability, semantics services, quality and uncertainty information encoding and propagation, geospatial data processing, environmental model accessibility, big data management, and data visualisation for scientific discovery.
It is with the deepest sadness that EGU reports the death on 27 March 2021 of Dr. Peter Fox, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Computer Science, and Cognitive Science at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in the United States.
Fox was a pillar of the global informatics community and pivotal in establishing the ESSI divisions within both EGU and AGU. In 2012, his peers recognised this contribution when they awarded him the EGU’s Ian McHarg Medal for his role in establishing informatics as a genuine discipline within the Earth Sciences.
To mark Fox’s passing, representatives from EGU, AGU, ESIP, and other organisations have collaboratively authored a remembrance that highlights the impact he had both professionally and personally as a colleague, advocate, mentor and friend. A Kudo Board has also been created for those who wish to leave their own remembrances of Dr. Fox.
The premature passing of Fox is a huge loss for the global Earth and Space Science Informatics community, and his absence will be felt for a long time to come. But it is his family and friends who will feel his passing most keenly, so it is to them that EGU extends its deepest condolences.
Helen Glaves
EGU Vice-President
The 2024 Ian McHarg Medal is awarded to François Robida for his outstanding work in establishing internationally standardised geoinformation technologies and services, which enable global geoscience data sharing and underpin modern data-intensive research.
The 2024 Division Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award is awarded to Anirudh Prabhu for his outstanding contributions to the fields of Earth and planetary informatics, data science, astrobiology, and geosciences at large.
The 2023 Outstanding Student and PhD candidate Presentation (OSPP) Award is awarded to Maximilian Söchting Lexcube: An Interactive Earth Science Data Cube Visualization
In our May Issue, it’s time to get your applications and submissions in for our various funding and grant applications! Apply for science communication, outreach and public engagement funding, grants to help you run a training school or small, subject specific conference or know a great science journalist who needs funds to write about a special geoscience project, make sure those applications are in by 17 June. Nominate your colleague for an EGU Award or Medal by 15 June, the process is probably easier than you think!
Also say hello to your new ECS Union Rep, Dan Evans get all your science graphic design questions answered by our EGUwebinar and don’t miss the next EGU Science for Policy Hangout and more, all in this month’s issue of ‘The Loupe’!