20 March, 2013 News stories

Top scientist receives Royal Society Research Professorship to fund long-term UK research

A Royal Society Research Professorship has been awarded to one of British Antarctic Survey’s leading climate scientists Professor Eric Wolff.

Professor Wolff is one of three recipients of this prestigious award which provides long-term support for internationally recognised scientists of outstanding achievement and promise. Previous holders of Royal Society Research Professorships include six Nobel Laureates and five Presidents of the Royal Society.

Professor Eric Wolff uses ice cores to investigate climate records and is one of the top scientists in his field. He has made major contributions towards our understanding of the global history of the Earth’s climate. He first joined the British Antarctic Survey in 1978 and again in 1985, where he led the EPICA project, providing us with many of the most iconic and detailed records of how the Earth’s climate and environment have changed over the last 800,000 years. On receipt of this award he will move to the University of Cambridge.

“The professorship will allow me to develop some of the ice core records and to combine records from ice cores and other environmental archives in order to understand the mechanics behind the workings of the Earth over this period,” commented Professor Wolff.

“Additionally it will allow me to work with international partners on the challenging task of finding a site in Antarctica where we can retrieve even older ice – taking us beyond a million years.”

Contact

For more information please contact Chloe McIvor at the Royal Society:


The Royal Society is a self-governing Fellowship of many of the world’s most distinguished scientists drawn from all areas of science, engineering, and medicine. The Society’s fundamental purpose, as it has been since its foundation in 1660, is to recognise, promote, and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity.

The Society’s strategic priorities emphasise its commitment to the highest quality science, to curiosity-driven research, and to the development and use of science for the benefit of society. These priorities are:

  1. Promoting science and its benefits
  2. Recognising excellence in science
  3. Supporting outstanding science
  4. Providing scientific advice for policy
  5. Fostering international and global cooperation
  6. Education and public engagement

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