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National Natural Science Foundation of China [40876043]; PAPD fund; China Scholarship Council [2010832427]; MEL Young Scientist Visiting Fellowship [MELRS0938]

I am grateful for receiving the Luna B. Leopold Award from the Earth and Planetary Surface Processes (EPSP) focus group at AGU. I am thankful to the mentors and colleagues who played important roles in shaping my science over the past 10 years. Significant credit goes to three people in particular: David Mohrig, Gary Parker, and Mead Allison. These gentlemen patiently developed and honed my skills for observing, modeling, and theorizing about the physical processes that produce fluvial-deltaic morphology and stratigraphy. It was an incredible opportunity to have worked with such a diverse set of thinkers, who regularly pushed me to consider and pursue new ideas, preventing too much comfort with the scientific status quo. Their mentoring fostered an independent and creative focus that produced the science for which this award has been generously given.

Jeffrey Nittrouer has earned the 2013 Luna B. Leopold Award based on his research related to the most significant new discovery in fluvial morphology since the turn of the century, that is, for the identification of the lower Mississippi River as a mixed bedrock-alluvial stream, for his thorough quantification and elucidation of the dynamics of sand flow through it, and for his contributions to the use of Mississippi River sand as a tool for restoring lost land in the Mississippi delta wetlands.

If you have ever wondered why heat waves can last that long and whether future climate change will increase droughts, then you should contact Sonia Seneviratne, a talented young scientist whose research is characterized by vigor, deep insight, and a keen eye for the important research questions. In her young career, Sonia has become one of the world's leading experts in the field of atmosphere–land surface interactions. She has already contributed a number of outstanding papers to this rapidly growing field, thereby shaping and influencing it in a defining matter. Sonia has tackled important and fascinating problems associated with the exchange of energy, momentum, and water between the atmosphere and the land surface and identified the key role of soil moisture in controlling heat waves and the onset and duration of droughts. Working at the interface between atmospheric, vegetation, and soil sciences and combining models with data analyses, she has written a number of exceptional papers that are not only novel and interesting but also hugely important for many people and institutions that are affected by droughts and heat waves.

Quentin C. Williams and Scott C. Doney were awarded the James B. Macelwane Medal at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, which was held on December 17, 2000 in San Francisco, California. The medal recognizes significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability.

[1] Douglas J. Jerolmack received the 2010 Luna B. Leopold Young Scientist Award at the 2010 AGU Fall Meeting, held 13–17 December in San Francisco, Calif. The award recognizes “a young scientist for making a significant and outstanding contribution that advances the field of Earth and planetary surface processes.”

[1] Douglas J. Jerolmack received the 2010 Luna B. Leopold Young Scientist Award at the 2010 AGU Fall Meeting, held 13“17 December in San Francisco, Calif. The award recognizes “a young scientist for making a significant and outstanding contribution that advances the field of Earth and planetary surface processes.”

The Edmond M. Dewan Young Scientist Scholarship fund has reached its goal of $25,000. Those who donated to the fund share AGU's mission in taking an active role in educating and nurturing the next generation of scientists and ensuring a sustainable future for society. Thanks to the generosity of more than 100 members of the AGU and science community, a deserving graduate student of atmospheric or space physics will receive financial assistance to further his or her research and advance his or her research and future career.

AGU is pleased to announce the winners of two scholarships. Marc Neveu is the recipient of the 2013 David S. Miller Young Scientist Scholarship, which recognizes a student of the Earth sciences whose academic work exhibits interest and promise. Hima Hassenruck-Gudipati is the 2013 recipient of the David E. Lumley Scholarship, which recognizes a high-achieving student who is working on problems of global importance in the energy and environmental sectors of industry and academia.

Brandon Schmandt earned his B.A. from Warren Wilson College and his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. He was a postdoctoral scholar at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and is now an assistant professor at the University of New Mexico.

I appreciate Karen's generous words, and I am sincerely honored to receive this year's Aki Award. I would like to acknowledge that my research has been enabled by excellent mentors and colleagues and by a unique community of scientists. I was particularly lucky to wander into Gene Humphrey's office as a first-year graduate student with a curiosity about western U.S. tectonics and seismology. Gene always matched my energy and enthusiasm and allowed me to find my path. Later, as a postdoc, I benefited from a similarly flexible and supportive environment in the Seismo Lab at Caltech. I also feel fortunate to be part of the seismology community. It is a special community that will strive to collect a world-class data set, such as the EarthScope seismic data, and then openly put those data in the hands of any eager scientist. This unselfish and open-minded perspective is a great motivation for me, and I expect it is for many young scientists. I am excited for the future as a member of the seismology community.

James Badro, Emily E. Brodsky, and Diane E. Pataki were awarded the 2008 James B. Macelwane Medal at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, held 17 December 2008 in San Francisco, Calif. The medal is for “significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability.”

I am honored to receive the Aki Award, but I would not be receiving this award without the benefit of many collaborations and inspirations as well as extensive mentoring and infrastructural, personal, and financial support. Although there are more individuals to thank than can be listed here, special thanks are due to Jim Rice, Hiroo Kanamori, Dave Stevenson, and Goran Ekstrom, who have all been irreplaceable mentors. I am also indebted to many other teachers, colleagues, and friends and to my parents, who have inspired in me a curiosity about the world, taught me the importance of hard work and persistence, supported my endeavors, and provided unimaginably rich opportunities throughout my life.

Victor Tsai is the well-deserved winner of the 2012 Keiiti Aki Young Scientist Award. He received his bachelor's degree from the California Institute of Technology, then went to Harvard for graduate school, where he received his Ph.D. in 2009. He did a Mendenhall postdoc at the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo., for 2 years, then returned to Caltech as an assistant professor last year. Victor has worked on an incredible range of topics, including the 2004 and 2012 Sumatra earthquakes, glacial earthquakes and more general problems of glacier physics, microseism generation and ambient noise cross-correlation theory, river turbulence, and tsunami modeling. All of his research is elegant and theoretically rigorous. Victor has 26 papers to date, including 7 this year alone. He already has a substantial body of work, which promises an outstanding career.

Michael Lamb received the 2012 Luna B. Leopold Young Scientist Award at the 2012 AGU Fall Meeting, held 3–7 December in San Francisco, Calif. The award recognizes “a young scientist for making a significant and outstanding contribution that advances the field of Earth and planetary surface processes.”

It is my pleasure to be a part of the exciting community of Earth and planetary surface processes. In addition to the opportunities to participate in engaging and fundamental science, I enjoy our field because of collaborations with bright and fun people. In my short career I have had the pleasure to work with a number of colleagues, and I share this award with you.

Joe Dufek is an extraordinary young scientist whose research is characterized by deep intellectual content and rigor. He has contributed significantly to our understanding of the dynamics and petrology of magmatic systems, and to physical volcanology, tectonophysics, and planetary volcanism. Even at such an early stage in his career, Joe's contributions have transformed our understanding of magma chamber dynamics and the physics of volcanic eruption.

Gabriel J. Bowen, Josef Dufek, and David Richard Shelly were awarded the 2012 James B. Macelwane Medal at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, held on 5 December 2012 in San Francisco, Calif. The medal is for “significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by an outstanding young scientist”.

In early January 2004, one of us attended a workshop on “science priorities and educational opportunities that can be addressed using ocean observatories.” The attendees constituted a broad group—men and women, scientists, engineers, educators, representatives from the private and public sector—but lacked diversity in at least one important aspect: age. A well-known marine geophysicist (with a published record stretching over 30 years) came to me at the ice-breaker party and said (and I paraphrase):“I'm glad you're here:you're young, you might actually see this project flourish before you retire. There're not enough young people here.” At some point or another, every young scientist may have a similar experience.

Lianxing Wen, Guido D. Salvucci, and Kurt M. Cuffey were awarded the Macelwane Medal at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, which was held on 10 December 2003, in San Francisco, California. The medal honors “significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability.”

John M. Eiler was awarded the 2002 James B. Macelwane Medal at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony. The medal is given for significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability.

J. Taylor Perron received the 2011 Luna B. Leopold Young Scientist Award at the 2011 AGU Fall Meeting, held 5–9 December in San Francisco, Calif. The award recognizes “a young scientist for making a significant and outstanding contribution that advances the field of Earth and planetary surface processes.”

J. Taylor Perron received the 2011 Luna B. Leopold Young Scientist Award at the 2011 AGU Fall Meeting, held 5–9 December in San Francisco, Calif. The award recognizes “a young scientist for making a significant and outstanding contribution that advances the field of Earth and planetary surface processes.”

Andreas Fichtner received the 2011 Keiiti Aki Young Scientist Award at the 2011 AGU Fall Meeting, held 5–9 December in San Francisco, Calif. The award recognizes the scientific accomplishments of a young scientist who makes outstanding contributions to the advancement of seismology.

Andreas Fichtner received the 2011 Keiiti Aki Young Scientist Award at the 2011 AGU Fall Meeting, held 5–9 December in San Francisco, Calif. The award recognizes the scientific accomplishments of a young scientist who makes outstanding contributions to the advancement of seismology.

[1] German Prieto received the 2010 Keiiti Aki Young Scientist Award at the 2010 AGU Fall Meeting, held 13–17 December in San Francisco, Calif. The award recognizes the scientific accomplishments of a young scientist who makes outstanding contributions to the advancement of seismology.

Peter J. Huybers, Miaki Ishii, and Benjamin P. Weiss were awarded the 2009 James B. Macelwane Medal at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, held on 16 December 2009 in San Francisco, Calif. The medal is for “significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability.”

Florent Brenguier received the 2009 Keiiti Aki Young Scientist Award at the 2009 AGU Fall Meeting, held 14–18 December in San Francisco, Calif. The award recognizes the scientific accomplishments of a young scientist who makes outstanding contributions to the advancement of seismology.

Shortly after AGU launched its annual voluntary contribution campaign last year— the theme was “Building Tomorrow's Talent Today”—the Union's development office received an e-mail message from David E. Lumley about establishing a scholarship for a high-school student or undergraduate. Many scientific societies and associations have quite a few named scholarships, but for AGU this was a new concept. Lumley was sure of what he wanted to do and even more excited when he learned that his scholarship would be a first for AGU. “I want to help inspire today's young minds to work on problems of global importance in both the energy and environment sectors of industry and academia,” Lumley said. Recipients of the David E. Lumley Young Scientist Scholarship for Energy and Environmental Science will be expected to present a paper and to participate in various student activities at Fall Meeting. “Meeting some of the ‘giants’ of geoscience and getting their feedback on research is a big deal for these young students. We sometimes lose sight of this,” he said.

David R. Shelly received the 2008 Keiiti Aki Young Scientist Award at the 2008 AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, held 17 December in San Francisco, Calif. The award recognizes the scientific accomplishments of a junior scientist who makes outstanding contributions to the advancement of seismology.

Daniel J. Frost, Jerry Goldstein, and Jun Korenaga received the James B. Macelwane Medal at the AGU Fall Meeting honors ceremony, which was held on 13 December 2006 in San Francisco, Calif. The medal is given for significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by an outstanding young scientist. Jerry Goldstein is one of the most exciting young researchers in space physics today, and his work has significantly advanced understanding of the Earth's magnetosphere. In particular, Jerry is widely recognized as the leading authority on the structure and dynamics of the Earth's plasmasphere, the region of cold plasma of ionospheric origin that is trapped in the inner portion of the magnetosphere.

Robin M. Canup, Daniel Sigman, and David W.J. Thompson received the Macelwane Medal at the 2004 Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony on 15 December, in San Francisco, California. The medal is given for significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability.

The vulnerability and sustainability of the global human-environment system is poised on a threshold of uncertainty in the near- and long-term future. The future of the planet may at least be partly in the hands of young scientists. Because Earth system science has become increasingly integrative and the need for international communication is increasingly important, an international young scientist network was established in June 2005 as a key activity of the Analysis, Integration, and Modeling of the Earth System (AIMES) project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme.

Michael Manga was awarded the 2002 James B. Macelwane Medal at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony. The medal is given for significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability.

Gabriel George Katul was awarded the James B. Macelwane Medal at the AGU Spring Meeting Honors Ceremony, which was held on 29 May 2002, in Washington, D. C. The medal recognizes significant contributions to the sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability.

Erik H. Hauri was awarded the James B. Macelwane Medal at the AGU Spring Meeting Honors Ceremony, which was held on June 2, 2000, in Washington, D.C. The medal recognizes significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability.

Lars P. Stixrude was awarded the James B. Macelwane Medal at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, which was held on December 8, 1998, in San Francisco, California. The medal recognizes significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability.

Edouard Bard and Robert D. van der Hilst were awarded James B. Macelwane Medals at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony, which was held on December 10, 1997, in San Francisco, California. The Macelwane Medal recognizes significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability. The citations and responses are given here.

Mentorship is one of the fundamental keys to growth and learning in any field, not just science. But our profession is unusual to the degree in which mentoring is used to guide and develop scientists, especially during the years of graduate school. While the Ph.D. advisor is rarely the sole mentor in a student's life, the success or failure of this relationship can literally make or break a young scientist. Most advisors I talk to believe they do an effective job of mentoring their students. Most students I talk to disagree.

The 1997 James B. Macelwane Medal, given by AGU for significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability, was presented to Marc B. Parlange at the AGU Spring Meeting Honors Ceremony on May 28, 1997, in Baltimore. The award citation and Parlange's response are given here.

The Mineral and Rock Physics Committee chose Baosheng Li as the 1996 recipient of the Outstanding Student Award, which was presented at the Mineral and Rock Physics Reception at the AGU Fall Meeting. He has distinguished himself through outstanding contributions in the field of mineral physics. Specifically, Li has synthesized superb quality specimens of high-pressure phases of candidate mantle minerals, and in close collaboration with others, he has pioneered new and innovative experimental techniques to measure the properties of these potential mantle minerals under in situ conditions. He is acknowledged for his care in executing experiments and their subsequent analysis. A truly outstanding young scientist, Li is destined to become one of the leaders in the Earth sciences. Not only is he endowed with scientific prowess, but he also possesses the leadership qualities that enable him to stimulate his colleagues in collaborative research efforts.

The James B. Macelwane Medal, which is given for significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability, was presented to David Bercovici at the 1996 Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony on December 17, 1996, in San Francisco. The award citation and Bercovici's response are given here.

The 1995 James B. Macelwane Medal, given by AGU for significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability, was presented to Stephen A. Fuselier at the AGU Fall Meeting Honor Ceremony on December 13, 1995, in San Francisco. The award citation and Fuselier's response are given here. On behalf of Don Gurnett and the other distinguished members of AGU who supported this nomination, it is a privilege and a pleasure to introduce one of this year's James B. Macelwane Medal recipients, Stephen A. Fuselier of the Lockheed Martin Palo Alto Research Laboratory. Fuselier has established himself as an exceptional young scientist through the broad range of significant contributions that he has already made to space plasma physics.

At the 1996 Spring Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, David R. Hanson received the 1996 James B. Macelwane Medal, which recognizes significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability. The medal citation and Hanson's response are given here.

The James B. Macelwane Medal was presented to Daniel J. Jacob at the 1994 AGU Spring Meeting Honors Ceremony on May 25,1994. The medal recognizes significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability. The award citation and Jacob's response are presented here.

The James B. Macelwane Medal, given for significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability, was awarded to W. Jason Phipps Morgan. Phipps Morgan was presented with the medal at the AGU Spring Meeting Honors Ceremony May 30, 1995, in Baltimore. The award citation and Phipps Morgan's response are given here.

The James B. Macelwane Medal for significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability was presented to Jeremy Bloxham at the 1994 AGU Fall Meeting Meeting Honors Ceremony on December 7, 1994, in San Francisco. The award citation and Bloxham's response are given here.

The James B. Macelwane Medal, which is given for significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability, was presented to John E. Vidale at the 1994 Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony on December 7, 1994, in San Francisco. The award citation and Vidale's response are given here. “Scientific discovery most often comes from the creative exploitation of newly available data to address long-standing problems. John Vidale, who shares the 1994 Macelwane Medal, has excelled in this regard. His contributions in seismological studies of Earth structure and earthquake sources have been an inspiration to geophysicists throughout the world. His numerous publications in the leading journals Nature and Science over the past 4 years already well exceeds the number of papers accepted by these two journals in a typical scientific career. John selects data like ripe fruit waiting to be plucked, and utilizes it wisely.

The 1993 James B. Macelwane Medal, given by AGU for significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability, was presented to Margaret Tolbert at the AGU Fall Meeting Honors Ceremony on December 8, 1993, in San Francisco, Calif. The award citation and Tolbert's response are given here.

I am a young scientist on the verge of leaving science due to lack of opportunity, and I know many others in my situation. Times are rapidly getting harder for us. A degree from a “name” university, publications, and energy are not enough to get and hold a place in the academic world. The great myth of the “Ph.D. shortage” inflicted on us by former NSF Director Erich Bloch has now been exploded, I hope. Another myth that needs exploding is that a Ph.D. is a good preparation for work outside of academia. Unless it is in an applied field (for example, hydrogeology), the Ph.D. is more of a liability than an asset in a job search.