At the Annual General Meeting of the Geologists' Association, held at Burlington House on 4th May, MSc Quaternary Science student Jaz Walker and Emeritus Professor Jim Rose were both given prizes.
Jaz was awarded the Curry Prize for the best MSc thesis on a geological topic arising from a geoscience taught course. Her title was "A taphonomic analysis of a late Pleistocene pollen and vertebrate bone assemblage from Gully Cave, Somerset", supervised by Prof. Danielle Schreve.
Jaz said "“I chose this project because it combined both my interests in fossil mammals and plant remains. Excavating at the cave for two weeks over the summer also brought it all to life. Some of the results were really unexpected, for example finding the first evidence from the site of plant macrofossils such as the fruit of birch trees and leaves of juniper. The analysis of the mammals also showed that the cave was a hyaena den in the middle part of the last ice age. Being awarded the MSc Curry Prize from the Geologists’ Association was completely unexpected and lovely that my work has been recognised in this way”.
Prof. Jim Rose was awarded the Foulerton Award for his contribution to the Geologists' Association, its members and to geoscience, during his period as Editor-in-Chief of the Proceedings of the Geologists' Association (2009-2017). The citation was: "Jim Rose has been an active member and champion of the GA for almost 50 years. Sharing his immense knowledge of Quaternary geology, process geomorphology, sedimentology, pedology etc. through publishing in the PGA, leading excursions and giving lectures at GA conferences and to local groups. During nine years as Editor-in-Chief of the PGA, through his leadership skills, he doubled the number of published pages, increased the number of issues per year, built a strong relationship with Elsevier, widened the scope of the journal to encourage papers of societal relevance (including geoconservation), and in doing so, enhancing the reputation and profile of both the PGA and the GA. Jim is a great supporter of the GA, both through his actions and words, and has made an outstanding contribution to the GA's scientific profile, reputation and financial security as well as though sharing his knowledge with local groups and members."
We are delighted that the excellent work of our Quaternary Scientists at both ends of the career ladder have been recognised. If you want to find out more about the MSc in Quaternary Science at RHUL see here.
