During its 72nd meeting, the EFG Council decided unanimously to award the EFG Medal of Merit for 2016 to Professor Iain Steward. The award ceremony is scheduled for the next EFG Spring Council meeting, in Santorini, Greece, on 20-21 May 2017.

Iain Simpson Stewart is a Scottish geologist and currently Professor of Geoscience Communication at the University of Plymouth. Internationally known both for his academic expertise and charismatic ability to communicate with the general public (he was a child actor on TV at the age of 14), Professor Stewart’s expertise is in the area of Earth hazards and natural disasters, particularly in identifying past major earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions in the Mediterranean region. Through his television programmes he has brought the reality of geology to everyone in showing globally how geology has generated the environment in which we live, the catastrophic forces that have affected mankind and the climate change issues that shape our future.

The award of the EFG’s Medal of Merit recognises his outstanding contribution in elevating the profile of geology around the world.