Two University of Hawaii scientists have been honored as leaders in their fields internationally. 2 UH scientists receive
international honorsBy Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.comThey are Klaus Keil, director of the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics & Planetology, and David Karl, biological oceanographer who heads the Laboratory for Microbiological Oceanography. Both are in the School of Ocean & Earth Sciences & Technology.
Keil will receive the first honorary doctorate degree awarded in chemistry and geosciences in 15 years by the College of Chemistry and Earth Sciences of the Friedrich-Schiller University in Jena, Germany.
He is being recognized during Germany's "Year of Geosciences" for "life-long monumental scientific contributions to the understanding of the early history of the solar system and the origin and evolution of meteorites, asteroids and the terrestrial planets."
Karl was chosen to give the Wenceslas S. Jardetzky Lecture in Geophysics Feb. 21 at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University.
This is Lamont's most distinguished annual lecture, and the speaker is selected from among top scientists internationally in earth, ocean, atmospheric and climate sciences.
Keil will receive Friedrich-Schiller University's honorary doctorate in chemistry and geophysics on Dec. 4 in Germany and will give talks during the culmination of the "Year of Geosciences."
"Professor Keil is one of the leading cosmochemists/planetary scientists in the world, and our college and university are proud to have him as our honoree," G. Buchei, the college dean, wrote to UH.
Keil earned his master's degree at that university, then in East Germany, and worked toward a doctorate there until 1960 when he left for Guttenberg University. In 1961 he went to the University of California in La Jolla as a research associate.
He has worked since 1958 on meteorites and other space-related materials, gleaning information from the rocks about the solar system's origin. He was a leading investigator in Apollo and Viking missions.
He was a research scientist at NASA Ames Research Center from 1963-68, then became director of the Institute of Meteoritics at the University of New Mexico. He joined UH as chairman of the Department of Geology and Geophysics from 1990-93 and became director of the Institute of Geophysics in 1994.
He holds awards from NASA, the National Academy of Sciences, Microbeam Analysis Society, American Federation of Mineralogical Societies, University of New Mexico and Meteoritical Society, among other organizations.
Karl joined UH in 1978 after earning a doctorate degree at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla. He has achieved international recognition for his work toward understanding ocean ecosystems, global processes and microscopic sea life.
He recently was presented with the 2001 A.G. Huntsman award, given annually by the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, to researchers "who have had, and continue to have, a significant influence on the course of marine scientific thought."
He was elected two years ago to the American Geophysical Union's elite group of fellows for his contributions and leadership in microbial and molecular ecology and biochemistry.
Karl has received the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography's highest award, the Presidential Young Investigator Award from the White House and National Science Foundation, and the UH Board of Regents' Excellence in Research awards for junior and senior faculty. He was named one of UH's "Ninety Fabulous Faculty" in 1997.
University of Hawaii
