The organizing committee for the 13th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP2017) is pleased to announce this year’s Kathryn R. Mahaffey Lifetime Achievement Award in Mercury Research recipient . . .

opening and reception

Dr. Nicola Pirrone

Dr. Pirrone is currently Director (2008-present) of the Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research of the Italian National Research Council (CNR-IIA) in Rome (www.iia.cnr.it) and an Adjunct Professor (1998-present) at the Department of Environmental Health Sciences of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA (www.umich.edu). He currently serves as the GEO Italian Representative and chair of the GEO Flagship on Global Observation System for Mercury supporting implementation of the Minamata Convention.

Dr. Pirrone graduated from the University of Pisa in 1989 with a degree in nuclear engineering, was a post-doctoral associate at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Vienna (1990-1991) and at the Department of Environmental and Health Sciences-SPH at the University of Michigan (1991-1996).

Dr. Pirrone has been principal investigator for over 50 research projects funded by International, European, and National agencies on emission, transport, and deposition of atmospheric pollutants, as well as the development of global observing systems and technologies for environmental quality and sustainability. He currently leads a large research programme on Earth Observation, the ERA-PLANET (www.era-planet.eu) which merges space observations with in-situ observations and fosters the development of advanced sensor technologies and interoperable system to support the goals of Group on Earth Observation (2016-2025) Strategic Plan and in the 2030 United Nations Agenda on Sustainable Development.

Dr. Pirrone has focused on bridging the gap between fundamental environmental research with environmental policy development and implementation. Over the last 20 years he has led and participated in intergovernmental negotiating committees and task forces in European Commission activities related to environmental research and policy development, as well as in international programmes (i.e., UNEP, IGBP, GEO) and conventions (i.e., UNECE-LRTAP, EMEP, HTAP, Minamata).

Dr. Pirrone has been on several editorial boards and guest editor of peer-reviewed journals. He has published over 200 papers in the peer-reviewed literature, books and conference proceedings. He has been a plenary speaker and keynote lecturer for many international conferences.

Dr. Pirrone will be in attendance at ICMGP2017 – please help us congratulate him when you see him there!

 
Deadline extended to November 30, 2016

The organizing committee for the 13th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP) will be accepting nominations for the Kathryn R. Mahaffey Lifetime Achievement Award in Mercury Research. This award was established in 2011 to celebrate and recognize select individuals who have made extraordinary lifetime achievements in mercury research, mentoring, and/or contributions to governmental policy and public outreach.

Kathryn R. Mahaffey Lifetime Achievement Award in Mercury Research

Dr. Kathryn R. Mahaffey passed away on June 2, 2009. Her career embodied all that this award is meant to honor: scholarly research on global mercury issues that met the highest scientific standards, greatly enhanced understanding of mercury as a pollutant, and support of public health protection globally. Dr. Mahaffey was a prolific writer, including the scientific literature, but also understood the importance of dissemination of her work to the broader global community of non-governmental organizations, regulators and the general public. She was a model for scientific integrity, reporting her scientific findings even when the results were unpopular. Those who worked with Dr. Mahaffey knew her as thoughtful and kind as well as someone with great intellect and tenacity.

In keeping with the tradition of prior conferences, the recipient of the 4th Kathryn R. Mahaffey Lifetime Achievement Award in Mercury Research will be asked to give a plenary lecture at the 13th ICMGP in Providence, Rhode Island in July 2017, on a topic that appropriately highlights their achievements. Following this lecture, the handcrafted crystal lifetime achievement award that is passed among award recipients at each conference and an award reflective of the host country as a keepsake for the recipient will be presented to commemorate their achievements. The conference organizers will provide complimentary registration and reimburse the awardee for the costs of travel to the conference.

The selection committee for this award will not accept self-nominations. All nominees are expected to have made contributions to global mercury research and policy, not only regional issues. All nominations must follow the formatting and length requirements outlined below or will not be considered by the selection committee. The nominations will be reviewed and the awardee selected by an independent review committee of up to seven individuals (excluding all nominees and nominators) chosen by the Scientific Steering Committee. The winner will be announced at least two months before the conference.

Criteria for Nomination

Information that must be included in the nomination package:

  1. The candidate must be internationally recognized for scientific contributions in mercury research.
  2. The number of nominators for a candidate is limited to 3 individuals. Multiple groups may nominate an individual, but the review committee will consider multiple nominations as a bundled package for the candidate. Nominees with be reviewed based on the body of their lifetime contributions on international scholarship, global public policy and outreach, and mentoring pertaining to mercury, rather than the number of nominations. The candidate should have a commitment and track record of mentoring new mercury researchers.
  3. The candidate’s research should have had a demonstrable impact on government policy and public outreach on mercury science or management at an international level.
  4. In unique situations up to two individuals might be nominated, together where those individuals have significantly collaborated on their lifetime achievements. However, institutions or organizations are not eligible for the award.
  5. All nominations should be written in English.
  6. Nominees must be living at the time of nomination.
  7. Individuals or groups submitting or evaluating nominations are expected to maintain the confidentiality of the nomination and selection processes.
  8. Nominators should make their candidate aware of their potential nomination and confirm the candidate is willing and able to attend Mercury 2017 and accept the award.

Information to be submitted for nomination:

  1. A cover letter highlighting and summarizing the life-long achievements of the nominee that are internationally recognized, including a clear statement as to why the nominee is deserving of the award. The cover letter is limited to a maximum of 3,000 words.
  2. An annotated Curriculum Vitae of the nominee should be provided which includes:
    1. The nominee’s history of employment;
    2. A list of peer-reviewed publications;
    3. A list of other scientific contributions (e.g., conference communications, technical reports, professional presentations, assessment reports);
    4. Details of mentorship (e.g., in tabular format, list name of individual, type of mentoring [e.g., Ph.D., technician], short title of project, dates of training, and current position of mentee if known);
    5. A summary of contributions to global policy, public outreach and any other significantly related activities, including relevant professional committees, reports, testimony, briefings, public lectures, educational and other activities.
Nomination packages should be emailed to the 13th ICMGP Organizing Committee no later than October 31, 2016 extended to November 30, 2016.