Congratulations to three of our academics who have received awards for their research excellence. Professor Pippa Whitehouse has been awarded the SCAR Medal for Excellence in Antarctic Research, Professor Rebecca Hodge has received the Gordon Warwick Award from the British Society for Geomorphology, and Professor David Evans has been awarded the Clough Medal of the Edinburgh Geological Society.
Professor Pippa Whitehouse
Professor Pippa Whitehouse has been awarded the SCAR Medal for Excellence in Antarctic Research. A key part of Pippa’s research focuses on land deformation and how it varies from place to place in Antarctica, and specifically links between ice sheet change and sea level change. Pippa has expertise in multiple areas, particularly computer modelling, but a unique aspect of her work is collaborating with field scientists from a range of disciplines to tackle research from different directions.
Between 2016 and 2020, Pippa led a SCAR research program focused on understanding interactions between the ice sheet and the solid Earth which was very successful in growing and advancing the field.
Professor Rebecca Hodge
Professor Rebecca Hodge has received the Gordon Warwick Award from the British Society for Geomorphology for excellence in geomorphological research. A key part of Rebecca’s research involves studying flow and sediment transport processes in rivers. Using models, Rebecca has measured how the shape of the riverbed affects both flow and transport processes and will develop this work further with a new Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funded project.
Rebecca has also developed new techniques to look at the way in which sediment grains are arranged in a riverbed and how that affects how easily they will move. The data collected was used to parameterise a new model to predict the forces needed to move individual sediment grains.
Professor David Evans
Professor David Evans has been awarded the Clough Medal of the Edinburgh Geological Society, in recognition of novel research, inspiration of future glacial scientists, and great dedication in advancing and communicating glacial geomorphology.
David is a glacial geomorphologist who studies the impacts of glaciers and glaciation on the landscape of Scotland and Northern England. A key part of David’s research explores where modern glaciers exist today by understanding how various glacial processes work and what they create in the landscape. By using that as a crucial foundation, David can interpret the landforms and sediments of ancient glaciations such as those that impacted on Britain.