Press Office
Antje Boetius is awarded the Vernadsky Medal 2018

Antje Boetius is awarded the Vernadsky Medal 2018

Apr 10, 2018

The deep-sea scientist, leader of one of MPI’s research groups and director of AWI, receives the prestigious award for her groundbreaking contributions to biogeosciences and spearheading research on methane-based metabolisms and the marine carbon cycle.

The Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky Medal was established by the European Geosciences Union (EGU) in 2003 in recognition of Vernadsky’s scientific achievements in mineralogy and geochemistry. It is awarded to scientists for their exceptional contributions to biogeosciences in general. Antje Boetius is the first woman to receive the award.

As announced on the EGU website, this years’ medal honours Boetius’ “seminal contributions to our knowledge of deep-sea ecosystems, which will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on the field of geomicrobiology”. Besides her scientific achievements, Boetius’ many activities as an adviser and tutor, editor and promoter of scientific communication have raised awareness for biogeosciences among policymakers and the general public. “She is a luminary of the geomicrobiology community through scientific innovation, scientific coordination and integration, and exemplary public relation efforts.”

The award ceremony took place at the EGU General Assembly in Vienna on April 10, 2018. On the occasion, Boetius will give a talk on “The effects of environmental pressures on seafloor communities and their ecological functions: Coping with acidification, hypoxia, mining”.