Professor Jimmy JIAO receives the O E Meinzer Award from Geological Society of America

We are proud to announce that Professor Jimmy Jiao from the Department of Earth Sciences has been awarded the prestigious O E Meinzer Award at the Geological Society of America (GSA) meeting in October 2023. This award is the highest international honor for hydrogeologists and recognises Professor Jiao's fundamental research on coastal hydrogeology, particularly his mechanistic insights on the physiochemical interaction at the sea-land interface.

Professor Jiao has over 240 publications, including several highlighted research papers on coastal hydrogeology. His work ranges from physics and fluid mechanics to hydro geochemistry and isotopes. He has also co-authored a highly acclaimed textbook on coastal hydrogeology, making groundwater science accessible to a wide range of readers.

Established in 1965, the O E Meinzer Award is the annual award of the Hydrogeology Division of the Geological Society of America. It recognises the author(s) of a publication or body of publications that have significantly advanced the science of hydrogeology or a closely related field. Professor Jiao is the first Asian citizen received this honor since it was launched about 60 years ago.

Professor Jiao obtained his BEng and MEng in Hydrogeology from China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), China, respectively, and his PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Birmingham, UK. He has worked as an editor for Hydrogeology Journal and Ground Water and has been a keynote speaker at the 2022 Ineson Lecture ‘Coastal Aquifer’ by IAH-GB Chapter and the Hydrological Group of the GSL. In addition to the O E Meinzer Award, he has also received the John Hem Excellence in Science and Engineering Award from the National Groundwater Association of America. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London, the Geological Society of America, and the American Society of Civil Engineers.

We congratulate Professor Jiao on this outstanding achievement and thank him for his contributions to the field of hydrogeology. We are honored to have him as a member of our faculty and look forward to his continued success and leadership in the field.

Click here for more information of the award.