Rick Ryerson selected as fellow of the AGU

LLNL scientist Rick Ryerson of the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate was recently selected to become a fellow of the American Geophysical Union  (AGU), a worldwide scientific community that advances the understanding of Earth and space for the benefit of humanity.

Ryerson's citation reads: "for contributions to our understanding of transport processes in minerals, magmas and crustal rocks at all scales."

Ryerson leads the Lab’s Basic Energy Sciences–Geosciences program and is the Experimental and Applied Geophysics group leader in the Atmospheric, Earth and Energy Division. His current work includes mineral-fluid equilibrium and diffusion kinetics in the Earth’s interior, focusing on geochemical applications of high spatial resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry.

"Like many people at the Lab, I’ve worked on a lot of different problems over the years, and often wondered if I’d spread myself too thin to be selected as an AGU fellow," Ryerson said. "Needless to say, I was surprised and elated when I received the notification.

"I’ve been very fortunate to have had a long association with LLNL’s branch of the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP). The IGPP and the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program allowed me to support an energetic group of postdocs and students, foster collaborations with various UC campuses and help to provide access to unique Lab facilities such as the Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (CAMS). I’m grateful for their support," Ryerson added.

To be elected a fellow, nominations are submitted by the AGU membership and are reviewed by AGU section committees. Election is by a committee of fellows. To qualify, the nominee must have attained acknowledged eminence in the earth and space sciences. The number of new fellows may only be 10 percent of the AGU membership in any given year.