The Early Career Geologist Award
The Early Career Geologist Award is an annual competition that showcases the talent and skills of individuals who are in the early stages of their respective geoscientific careers. The event consists of preliminary heats, which are run by the Society's various Regional Groups, with the winners subsequently being invited to participate in the National Finals.
Participants are asked to prepare and deliver a concise technical presentation about a project that they have worked on to a panel of expert judges. Points are awarded not only for the quality of geological content, but also the individual's communication skills in making the science they are presenting accessible to a wider audience.
Eligibility
The Early Career Geologist Award is open to early career geoscientists working in academia or industry. All applicants must be a Fellow (full, early career or student) of the Geological Society and hold less than 10 years' geoscience experience (professional or academic) since completion of their first geoscience degree. All contributions to the competition, whether through applying or hosting a regional heat, count as annual Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
Prizes
All finalists will receive a one-year complementary Fellowship of the Geological Society. The Champion of the National Competition will be awarded a £100 monetary voucher and the coveted engraved Early Career Geologist Award trophy.
How to enter
If you are interested in taking part in the Early Career Geologist Award, please contact your local Regional Group. If there is no heat run by your local Regional Group, please email the ECN Committee: GeolSocECN@gmail.com
Coming soon
- Winner: Harry Wild (Western Regional Group)
- Winner's presentation: ‘A Brief History of Salt Dissolution Hazards in Worcestershire’
- Winner: Otto Karhunen from Tarmac (Western Regional Group)
- Winner's presentation: 'The evolving geology of the Dolyhir Quarry'
- Runners up:
- Sarah Flower from Jacobs (North West Regional Group)
- Michael Van Mourik from Stantec (Thames Valley Regional Group)
- Hayley Bowers from Leap Environmental (South East Regional Group)
- Louis Yan from University of Newfoundland (Hong Kong Regional Group)
Watch the 2023 Early Career Geologist Final on YouTube:
- Winner: Hana Oliphant from Mott Macdonald (South Wales Regional Group)
- Winner's presentation: 'The A40 Brecon Bypass Landslip, South Wales: Ground Investigation through to remediation construction'
- Runners up:
- Francis Lee from Hong Kong University (Hong Kong Regional Group)
- Hester Claridge from ARUP (Central Scotland Regional Group - wildcard)
- Lydia Rouillard from AECOM (Thames Valley Regional Group)
- Rimini Porter from Atkins (West Midlands Regional Group)
- Robert Groves from Atkins (Western Regional Group)
- Roberta McAlister from Atkins (Southeast Regional Group)
Watch the 2022 Early Career Geologist Final on YouTube:
- Winner: Tom Pickard from AECOM (South Wales Regional Group)
- Winner's presentation: 'Kinematic failure of rock slopes: a day out in Al Ula, Saudia Arabia'
- Runners up:
- Ryan Beech from Jacobs (West Midlands Regional Group)
- Christian Garvey from ARUP (Yorkshire Regional Group)
- Dafydd Tudor from Mott MacDonald (South Wales Regional Group)
Watch the 2021 Early Career Geologist Final on YouTube:
- Winner: Charlotte Copley from Lithos Consulting (Yorkshire Regional Group)
- Winner: Jordan Lindsay (South West Regional Group)
- Winner's presentation: 'From continent to ocean – the platinum-group-element geochemistry of the migrating Tristan plume'
- Runners up:
- Wesley Dixon from Structural Soils (Western Regional Group) - nominated as runner-up
- Erin Guy from Jacobs (Yorkshire Regional Group)
- Sam Hazell from ARUP (West Midlands Regional Group)
- Daniel Levell from Golder Associates (Central Scotland Regional Group)
- Kier Thomas from Geotechnology (Southern Wales Regional Group)
- Dr. Andrew Thomson from UCL (Home Counties North Regional Group)
- Joseph Whiting from Core Laboratories (South East Regional Group)
Watch the 2019 Early Career Geologist Final on YouTube:
- Winner: Tom St John from Jacobs (South Wales Regional Group)
- Winner's presentation: 'Geological challenges of constructing the A465 Heads of the Valleys section 2'
- Runners up:
- Sam Bolton from Cornwall Resources (South West Regional Group)
- Alistair Campbell from Soil Engineering Geoservices (Thames Valley Regional Group)
- Ilias Karapanos from Affinity water (Home Counties North Regional Group)
- Chris Lambert from SRK Exploration (Southern Wales Regional Group)
- Owen Lokuciejewski-Taylor from Sirius Group (Yorkshire Regional Group)
- Matt Sweeney from RSK (Western Regional Group)
- Deborah Thomas from Envireau Water (East Midlands Regional Group)
Watch the 2018 Early Career Geologist Final on YouTube:
- Winner: Huw Richards from Altus Strategies (Thames Valley Regional Group)
- Winner's presentation: 'Exploration 101: Searching Morocco for Copper and Gold'
- Runners up:
- Tom Critchfield from Mott MacDonald (South East Regional Group)
- Jessica De Freitas from AECOM (East Midlands Regional Group)
- William Kan from AECOM (West Midlands Regional Group)
- Ben Totterdell from Atkins (Yorkshire Regional Group)
- Sean Jefferson from Integrale (Western Regional Group)
Watch the 2017 Early Career Geologist Final on YouTube:
- Winner: Angela Hillman from Atkins (Yorkshire Regional Group)
- Winner's presentation: 'Geotechnical challenges of reconstructing a Victorian bridge at Whitchurch'
- Runners up:
- Matthew Ascott from the British Geological Survey (Thames Valley Regional Group)
- Dominic Hagues from Mott MacDonald (Western Regional Group)
- Rhian Lynes from Structural Soils (South West Regional Group)
- Tom Townsend from AECOM (West Midlands Regional Group)
- Ashley Patton from the British Geological Survey (South West Regional Group)
The 2016 Early Career Geologist Award finalists
- Winner: Sarah Caven from Aurum Exploration (Yorkshire Regional Group)
- Winner's presentation: 'Exploring Ethiopia – gold, copper and camels'
- Runners up:
- Chris Kilsby from Atkins
- Dr Lisa Mol from UWE Bristol
- Winner: Amy Stewart from Hanson Aggregates Marine (Solent Regional Group)
- Winner's presentation: 'Calculation, Analysis & Management of Shallow Marine Mineral Reserves'
- Runners up:
- Duncan Murdock (East Midlands Regional Group)
- Chris Wilde (Southern Wales Regional Group)
- Mike Daniels (Thames Valley Regional Group)
- Joint Winners:
- Rosalind Pedder from SRK Consulting (Southern Wales Regional Group) with the presentation 'Impeller flow logging in fractured crystalline rock at a proposed open-pit mine site'
- Owen Weller from Oxford University (Thames Valley Rgeional Group)with the presentation 'Zircon: the geological time keeper'
- Winner: Davide Gamboa from Cardiff University (Solent Regional Group)
- Winner's presentation: 'Reservoir compartmentalisation: Importance to hydrocarbon exploration and production'