Honorary Fellows

Honorary fellowship has been an important part of the Geological Society ever since it was founded. At the Society’s second meeting in 1807 it was decided to appoint no less than 42 ‘honorary members’ – despite the fact that there were only 13 members of the Society at the time. Honorary members brought the Society prestige, and provided a vital link with the scientific progress happening in their own areas.

Whilst now, Honorary Fellows provide a world-wide network, in the early nineteenth century communication was difficult enough within the British Isles, and all of the original 42 were from Britain. Early appointees included the physician Thomas Beddoes – more famous now for his work with Humphrey Davy on gases, and friendship with Samuel Taylor Coleridge – and Robert Jameson, whose lectures on geology at Edinburgh first inspired the young Charles Darwin to pursue the subject.

As the Society began to extend its reach further, ‘foreign members’ began to be appointed. As with honorary members, their role was to provide an insight into the geological happenings in their own area, giving the Society a global reach.

Today, Honorary Fellows fulfil this role, by representing the Society from locations across the world – including the UK. Honorary Fellows are recognised for their achievements, not only in science, but in acting as ambassadors for geological science and promoting its aims to the wider public.

If you wish to nominate someone for Honorary Fellowship, please complete the nomination form below and return to stephanie.culver@geolsoc.org.uk.

The nomination will be placed before the Awards Committee, chaired by the President, which will decide whether the nomination meets the criteria agreed by Council in January 2009 that “Honorary Fellowship should be conferred on individuals from any country in the world including the UK, who have rendered signal service to science, and geoscience in particular, or who have the potential to render such service from their positions in the wider world; and who by association with the Society send out a clear message about the Society’s strategic aims and objectives.”

Once agreed the nominee will be notified that they are being put forward for election prior to advertisement in Geoscientist and election, barring objections, at an Ordinary General Meeting.

Three Honorary Fellows were elected at the January 2010 Ordinary General Meeting:

Prof Aubrey William George Manning OBE

Aubrey Manning is a zoologist of considerable distinction but since his television series “Earth Story” he regards himself as an honorary geologist. He is recognised as one of the country’s leading authorities on animal behaviour. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and received and OBE in 1998. He holds honorary doctorates from several universities.

He received the Zoological Society of London’s Silver Medal in 2003 for public understanding of science. Professor Manning took a prominent part in promoting the “Year of Planet Earth” as a Goodwill Ambassador and was a great supporter of the Society in its anniversary year.

Prof Sospeter Muhongo

Prof Sospeter Muhongo, a Tanzanian, is the Regional Director of the ICSU Regional Office for Africa. He is the Chair of Science Programme Committee (SPC) of the UN-proclaimed International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE) and the Vice President of the Commission of the Geological Map of the World (CGMW). He is a professor of geology at the University of Dar Es Salaam and an Honorary Professor of Geology at the University of Pretoria.

He is a fellow of seven highly learned professional societies including the Geological Society of London. He was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Geological Society of London on 28 January 2010. Prof Muhongo has published well acknowledged research articles, geological and mineral maps. He is the Chair of the Steering Committee of the EU-funded project, “African-European Georesources Observation System (AEGOS)”, and is a Member of the International Experts Group (Global Science Forum) of OECD. He is the co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of African Earth Sciences (Elsevier) and Associate Editor of Precambrian Research (Elsevier). He has occupied numerous important national, regional and international professional positions dealing with science, technology, innovation, earth resources, science policy and diplomacy. Prof Muhongo, recipient of numerous scholarly and professional awards, grants and fellowships studied geology at the Universities of Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania), Göttingen and TU Berlin (Germany). www.icsu-africa.org

Prof Iain Stewart

Iain combines an academic career that embraces an international reputation in the fields of neotectonics and geohazard assessment, with a life as a broadcaster and writer of science in general and geology in particular. His writing is both accessible and engaging. He is also involved on the policy side, both within the Society and other organizations and these activities have already been recognised by an array of organizations as summarised elsewhere in this nomination. Iain’s research reflects his interests in making geology more societally-relevant. He has developed the use of the archaeological record to examine the effects of pre-historical and younger earthquakes and other catastrophic geological phenomena, especially in the Mediterranean. He is one of the few people examining the Holocene tectonic history of the British Isles – likely to become increasingly important as the UK increases its non-hydrocarbon energy infrastructure. In short Iain represents the modern breed of earth scientist who uses the geological record, especially the young, to deduce earth processes and, critically, to show why this understanding is important to humanity.

Current Honorary Fellows of the Geological Society