Geology Chair Receives Busk Medal from Royal Geographical Society
Lewis Owen, department head and professor in the
nationally ranked Department of Geology
at the University of Cincinnati, has just received the Busk Medal, a prestigious award by the Royal Geographical Society for his field research in paleoenvironmental history and geomorphology in tectonically active areas.
At the RGS Annual General Meeting on June 6, Owen was presented with the award by Michael Palin, RGS president and original cast member of comedy troupe Monty Python.
It was quite nice, Owen says. Its a very prestigious award from the oldest geographic society in the world. The people who have received this medal before me are very well known in geography. It was quite an honor to get it.
Owen has dedicated his career to studying the tectonically active mountain belts in the Himalayas and the Cordilleras. With more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, three books, 16 book chapters, funding by important organizations like the National Science Foundation and a fellowship with the Geological Society of London, he has become an important figure in tectonic research. His ultimate goal, he says, is to better understand and model the evolution of ancient mountains.
Owen, who is spending part of his summer in the Himalayas conducting fieldwork, was also recently elected as a fellow of the
.
Related Stories
Inside the wild ways many creatures make milk
May 14, 2024
UC biologist Joshua Benoit tells Smithsonian that it's not just cows and other mammals that make milk for their newborns. Even some insects like beetle-mimic cockroaches and tsetse flies produce a protein rich "milk" for their babies.
UC grad turns humanities degree into entrepreneurial success
May 14, 2024
Growing up on Ludlow Ave. in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Clifton, Harrison Fowler had planned to enroll in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) at the University of Cincinnati. UC was close to home, and ROTC seemed like the right choice. But life had other plans. At the last minute, Fowler withdrew from ROTC and enrolled to earn his bachelor’s in Spanish, which meant he needed a study-abroad experience to complete his degree. He was apprehensive, but completed his requirement in Madrid, in a move that would change the direction of his life. Says Fowler of his foreign-language major, and his experience abroad: “Speaking another language opens up a whole other world and relationships for you.”
Preventable loss: A billion birds die each year from window...
May 13, 2024
A biologist with the University of Cincinnati is raising public awareness about ways to keep birds from striking windows, a national problem that is leading to alarming declines in populations.