European Geosciences Union
Division on Earth and Space Science Informatics
President: Jens Klump (essi@egu.eu)
Deputy President: Jane K. Hart
(jhart@soton.ac.uk)
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 standardization, spatial data infrastructure interoperability, semantics services, quality and uncertainty information encoding and propagation, geospatial data processing, environmental model accessability, big data management, and data visualization 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 2021 Division Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award is awarded to Alice Fremand for her major contributions towards establishing the data centre for geothermal data in Alsace (Centre de Données de Géothermie Profonde, CDGP) as a state-of-the-art research data repository.
The 2020 Ian McHarg Medal is awarded to Paul Wessel for outstanding contributions to developing open-source software, including Generic Mapping Tools (GMT), for the Earth and space sciences that have enabled thousands of research projects and papers.
In May’s issue of the Loupe we are recognising the incredible efforts of our members and volunteers in bringing vEGU21 to fruition and looking ahead to the upcoming year, with new volunteer members of the Early Career Scientist teams, and the fast approaching deadline for the Award and Medal nominations. This issue features two EGU divisions: Geodynamics (GD) and Earth Magnetism and Rock Physics (EMRP).
The Loupe also shares a report by 2021 Science Policy pairing scheme scientist Renée Bichler about her experiences doing a virtual Science Policy pairing scheme placement with MEP Maria Spyraki, and hears from the Earth Magnetism and Rock Physics Division Early Career Scientist Saioa Arquero about her Division’s plans for the future.
In addition to the latest Journal Watch and GeoRoundup of May EGU journal highlights, this issue also highlights the Science Policy events calendar to help you find your next opportunity to build your science policy network.