Prof. Majid Hassanizadeh honored with the AGU Robert E. Horton Medal

The American Geophysical Union, the world’s largest organization of Earth and space scientists, has presented the recipients of AGU’s 2019 Union medals, awards, and prizes, honoring the important role they play in amplifying the voice of the Earth and space community while inspiring other scientists to help improve lives around the world. Among the distinguished group of honorees is our emeritus professor S. Majid Hassanizadeh, who will receive the Robert E. Horton medal for his outstanding contributions to the field of hydrology.

Majid Hassanizadeh (left picture) joined the Department of Earth Sciences in 2004 when a new Hydrogeology group was established at Utrecht University. He headed the successful group until his retirement last year. Over time, Majid received much recognition, among which being elected Fellow of AGU in 2002, being selected as the 2012 Darcy Lecturer, and being named Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion in 2015. Majid considers the AGU Horton Medal a great honor: “It is the most rewarding feeling one can have, towards the end of a long journey in scientific endeavors, to know that colleagues have found value in one’s work.”

Established in 1974, the Horton Medal (right picture) is named after Robert E. Horton (1875-1945), who made significant contributions to the study of the hydrologic cycle. The Horton Medal for hydrology is the highest honor that AGU bestows upon a member affiliated with one of the following sections: Biogeosciences, Cryosphere, Earth and Planetary Surface Processes, Hydrology, Nonlinear Geophysics, Near Surface Geophysics. (Medal picture obtained from AGU website)

The Honors Ceremony and Banquet will be held during the 2019 Fall Meeting of AGU in San Francisco in December. A full list of all 36 honorees is announced here.