Mineralogical Society Awards 2022

Featured image: the Neumann Medal of the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland

"Early in her career, Lidunka used computational mineral physics methods to calculate, for the first time, melting temperatures and diffusion properties of mantle minerals, leading the way for many such studies from groups around the world. She then turned her hand to working on the Earth’s core – something she has continued working on until now with enormous success, providing ground-breaking results on the viscosity, melting temperatures, phase relations, equations of state, seismic properties, light elements and other fundamental properties of the core, almost all of which have stood the test of time."

Image: Prof Lidunka Vocadlo with Barbara Neumann’s children, Vera and Peter

"Lidunka recognised the power of combining theoretical modelling with experimentation, exemplified by her work on planetary ices and planetary cores, for which she developed a small but highly effective group at UCL. In 2009 Lidunka was promoted to Professor to become the first female professor in the Earth Sciences Department at UCL. As such she continues to take a leading role in promoting women in science, particularly through her recently founded Women in Earth Sciences group."

Links:

• Prof Lidunka Vočadlo's academic profile
• The Neumann Medal of the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland.