Bristol professor wins $1million = prize

Press release issued 13 = February=20 2008

A Bristol University professor has won a prestigious international = award=20 worth US$1 million in recognition of his outstanding achievement in the = field of=20 organic geochemistry.

Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Eglinton FRS of the University=E2=80=99s = School of=20 Chemistry and Senior Research Fellow in Earth Sciences, was named as one = of the=20 winners of this year=E2=80=99s Dan David=20 Prize, which annually awards three prizes of US$1 million = each. Other=20 2008 laureates include former Vice-President of the United States, Al = Gore and=20 acclaimed playwright, Tom Stoppard.

The laureates, who donate 10 per cent of their prize money towards 20 = doctoral and postdoctoral scholarships, will be honoured at a ceremony = on 19 May=20 2008 at Tel Aviv University in the = presence=20 of the President of the State of Israel, Mr Shimon Peres.

The prize is awarded in three categories dubbed =E2=80=98Past, = Present and Future=20 Time Dimensions=E2=80=99. These are: =E2=80=98Creative Rendering = of the Past =E2=80=93 Literature,=20 Theater, Film=E2=80=99, =E2=80=98Social Responsibility with Particular = Emphasis on the=20 Environment=E2=80=99 and =E2=80=98Geosciences=E2=80=99.

= Professor=20 Eglinton was recognised in the Geosciences category for his studies = of=20 organic chemical fossils, which reveal the inhabitants and climates of = ancient=20 worlds. He shares the prize with Ellen Moseley-Thompson and Lonnie = G.=20 Thompson of Ohio State University for their study of ice cores.

Professor Richard Evershed of the School of Chemistry said: "This = award to=20 Geoffrey Eglinton is most deserved in view of his truly ground breaking=20 contributions, which combine the principles of chemistry and geology to=20 reconstruct past environments and climate change. The award brings = great=20 honour not only to Geoff himself but also to the Organic Geochemistry = Unit in=20 the School of Chemistry at Bristol, which still carries his work = forward.

"His biomolecular approaches spawned a whole generation of scientists = applying these techniques to better understand our world in the = geological=20 past. His development of biomolecular measurements to determine = ocean=20 temperature was before its time and has become enormously important in = the=20 climate change debate."

Professor Mike Benton, Head of the Department of Earth Sciences said: = "Geoff=20 Eglinton has made major contributions to our understanding of ancient=20 molecules. In particular, he was the first to show how certain = organic=20 molecules in rocks could act as 'biomarkers', that is, give clear = evidence for=20 the existence at times in the distant past of specific plants, fungi or=20 microbes. He has received many honours over the years, and the Dan = David=20 Prize is one of the most striking, and the equivalent of a Nobel = Prize. We=20 are thrilled for him and for the University."

=20

Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Eglinton FRS =

This award to Geoffrey Eglinton is = most deserved=20 in view of his truly ground breaking contributions, which combine the = principles=20 of chemistry and geology to reconstruct past environments and climate=20 change.

Professor Richard Evershed

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