Professor Weiran Li Receives 2026 AOGS Kamide Award in Solid Earth Sciences

Professor Weiran LI, Assistant Professor of Volcanology and Petrology in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Chief Curator of the Stephen Hui Geological Museum at HKU, has received the 2026 Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS) Kamide Award in Solid Earth Sciences as the first Hong Kong-based recipient.

Named in honour of Professor Yohsuke Kamide, one of the three principal founders of AOGS, the Kamide Award recognises outstanding early-career researchers who have made significant contributions to the Society’s eight scientific sections within seven years of receiving their PhD.

Professor Li is a volcanologist and petrologist whose research spans magmatism, volatile cycles, and a broad range of related topics on Earth and other planetary bodies. By combining micro- to nanoscale analysis of mineral-glass chemistry with thermodynamic-kinetic modelling, her work in solid earth sciences aims to answer questions about the triggering mechanisms, history, and climatic impacts of large-magnitude volcanic eruptions; the geochemical-thermal-redox evolution of crustal magma; subduction-zone volatile cycling; and mantle geochemistry.

Professor Li received the award at the 23rd AOGS Annual Meeting, held in Fukuoka, Japan, from 2 to 7 August 2026. On 4 August, she delivered the Kamide Award Lecture, “Crystal Records of Magmatic Processes Driving Volcanic Eruptions: An Integrated Thermodynamic-Kinetic Perspective.”

Congratulations to Professor Li on this remarkable achievement and well-deserved honour!

About Professor Weiran Li

Professor Li received her BSc, BA and MSc degrees from Peking University and her PhD from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at the Earth Observatory of Singapore and the University of Cambridge before joining HKU in 2022.

At HKU, Professor Li established the VRock Laboratory and led a team conducting research in volcanology, geochemistry, and petrology, supported by research grants from the Research Grants Council (RGC) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). 

Professor Li serves on the editorial board of Geology and is a News Editor of the Geochemical Society. She is also an elected member of several international and regional scientific organisations in volcanology, geochemistry, and petrology.