September 15, 2021
Two University of Chicago faculty in the Department of the Geophysical Sciences were among 28 honorees selected for 2021 early career awards by the American Geophysical Union. Selection of these awards is based on outstanding work in their field and meritorious work or service toward the advancement and promotion of discovery and solution science.
The American Geophysical Union wrote in the awards announcement that the awardees’ “discoveries and solutions are simply remarkable.”
Associate Professor Malte Jansen, a physical oceanographer, was selected for the 2021 Ocean Sciences Early Career Award for “significant contributions to oceanography.” Jansen has been on the faculty of the University of Chicago since 2015. His research aims to improve our understanding of the dynamics of the oceans, the atmosphere, and the coupled climate system on Earth as well as other planets. His work in particular explores the processes that govern the transport of heat and other constituents in the ocean and relates them to past and future climate change. In 2019, Jansen was also the recipient of the National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award and the Nicholas P. Fofonoff Award from the American Meteorological Society.
“I feel fortunate to be working in a supportive department that has provided me not only with the freedom to follow my interests but also with a deeply stimulating environment. I am excited to return to interacting with my colleagues in person," Jansen said.
Assistant Professor Clara Blättler, an isotope geochemist, was selected for the Nanne Weber Early Career Award recognizing “significant contributions to paleoceanography and paleoclimatology” and "exceptional promise for sustained contributions and continued leadership in paleoceanography and paleoclimatology." On the faculty since 2018, Blättler uses geochemical tools to explore the interactions between the oceans, sediments, the rock cycle and the climate system. She particularly focuses on the sedimentary archives of carbonate minerals and evaporites—the deposits left behind by bodies of water as they evaporate, which can be used to understand ancient seawater. In 2019, Blättler also received the Sloan Research Fellowship in Ocean Sciences.
“It is especially nice to receive this recognition from the scientific community after feeling so disconnected during the pandemic and missing out on interactions at meetings and conferences,” Blättler said.
The awards will be presented during the upcoming American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.