From: Subject: Newswise Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2008 10:23:39 +0200 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: file://C:\Documents and Settings\Judy\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\OLK87\Newswise21Feb08ClimateResDDP.htm X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3198 =EF=BB=BF Newswise

Source: Ohio=20 State University

Released: Thu 21-Feb-2008, 11:00 ET = ;

Climate Researchers Win Important Global = Prize

Libraries Science News		Keywords DAN DAVID PRIZE AWARD THOMPSON=20 GLACIOLOGY
Contact Information Available for = logged-in=20 reporters only
Description Ohio State University = glaciologist=20 Lonnie Thompson and climatologist Ellen Mosley-Thompson are among = this=20 year=E2=80=99s winners of the prestigious Dan David Prize. This = year=E2=80=99s other=20 winners include former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.=20

Newswise =E2=80=94 Ohio State University glaciologist Lonnie Thompson = and=20 climatologist Ellen Mosley-Thompson are among this year=E2=80=99s = winners of the=20 prestigious Dan David Prize.

This year=E2=80=99s other winners include former U.S. Vice President = Al Gore, British=20 playwright Tom Stoppard, Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan, Israeli author = Amos Oz=20 and British geologist Geoffrey Eglinton.

Each year, the Dan David Prize each year awards $1 million to winners = in each=20 of three categories, or =E2=80=9Ctime dimensions=E2=80=9D =E2=80=93 = past, present and future. Oz,=20 Stoppard and Egoyan were selected in the =E2=80=9Cpast=E2=80=9D = category, while Gore won for the=20 =E2=80=9Cpresent=E2=80=9D category. Thompson and Mosley-Thompson will = share the $1 million award=20 with Eglinton for the =E2=80=9Cfuture=E2=80=9D.

=E2=80=9CBeing selected to receive this exceptional international = prize is an honor=20 that is deeply humbling,=E2=80=9D explained Lonnie Thompson, University = Professor of=20 Earth Sciences.

=E2=80=9CIt acknowledges the vitally important role that glacial = records can play in=20 our efforts to understand the dramatic climatic and environmental = changes=20 occurring around the world.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CA recognition of this magnitude actually honors the = long-term efforts by our=20 entire team of researchers and students at Ohio State. We=E2=80=99ve all = devoted decades=20 to deciphering the clues recovered from ice cores retrieved across the = globe,=E2=80=9D=20 said Mosley-Thompson, a professor of geography.

=E2=80=9CThis is truly a reflection of the progress that can be made = through a=20 steady, sustained scientific approach to improving understanding and = hopefully=20 addressing the serious challenges that lie ahead.=E2=80=9D

For nearly three decades, Thompson and Mosley-Thompson have directed = an=20 effort to better understand the planet=E2=80=99s climate system, seeking = clues preserved=20 deep within massive bodies of ice scattered around the globe. The = analyses of=20 these ice cores have painted a vivid picture of the climate of past = ages, in=20 some cases, dating back into the last ice age.

Their work has produced some of the most detailed and comprehensive = records=20 of how climates change over many centuries and across the Earth. That=20 information is vital for efforts to accurately forecast how the = world=E2=80=99s climate=20 may change in the future.

Between them, the two scientists from the Byrd Polar Research Center = at Ohio=20 State have authored more than 200 academic papers published in some of = the=20 world=E2=80=99s most prestigious scientific journals. They have led well = over 60=20 expeditions to some the harshest and most remote sites on five = continents.

=E2=80=9CThese two researchers set the highest standard for all of us = and are=20 exceptional role models for both their colleagues and all of our = students. They=20 make us extremely proud,=E2=80=9D said E. Gordon Gee, president of Ohio = State.

The Dan David Prize is supported by an endowment from the Dan David=20 Foundation and is administered through Tel Aviv University. The awards = will be=20 presented during ceremonies May 19, 2008 at Tel Aviv University. Israeli = President Shimon Peres is expected to participate.

Previous winners of the award include cellist Yo-Yo Ma, conductor = Zubin Mehta=20 and climate scientist James Hansen.

One provision of the Dan David award allows its winners to designate = 10=20 percent of their monetary award to support graduate students in their = field of=20 study.