Jay Melosh, UA planetary scientist, was awarded the AGU's presitigious Harry Hess medal in December, but the citation and response were just published in last week's EOS. The medal is for “outstanding achievements in research in the constitution and evolution of Earth and
sister planets.” In the citation by fellow research Mike Drake, Jay was described as "the world’s expert on collisional/cratering processes in the solar system, processes that are perhaps
the most important in shaping the planets and other bodies in space."
Also, I just saw that Enrique R. Vivoni, School of Earth and Space Exploration and Department of Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering, Arizona State Universit
y, received a Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. It is described as the highesthonor bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers. Vivoni received a 2007 award, announced by the White House in December 2008.
His website describes him as "a hydrologist whose is interested in the interactions of water in the lithosphere, biosphere and atmosphere. His current research focuses on land surface ecohydrological processes in the semiarid southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico."