The 2018 Dick Chorley Medal and Prize for postgraduate research goes to Dr Edwin Baynes. Edwin was extremely dedicated to his PhD project and showed great autonomy, rigour, initiative and imagination over the full length of the PhD. He did not specialise in one particular aspect of his project but instead thought about the problems he had to solve and shopped around for techniques that could bring answers to the research questions, many of which he was not familiar with. After three field seasons in Iceland and months spent preparing samples for dating at the German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam, Edwin produced very exciting results that featured in the nominated paper (Baynes, E.R.C., Attal, M., Niedermann, S., Kirstein, L.A., Dugmore, A.J., and Naylor, M., 2015, Erosion during extreme flood events dominates Holocene canyon evolution in North-East Iceland. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112, 8, 2355-2360, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1415443112). This contribution is unique as it uses a novel technique (3He concentration in basalt had never been used to date the abandonment of river beds) to highlight the importance and legacy of extreme events in shaping terrestrial landscapes. The paper was highlighted in a series of media outlets: BBC News (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31356229), Science, Wired.co.uk, The Herald Scotland, Phys.org, Science Daily, Earth Magazine and The Weather Channel. Edwin also had a very nice 20-minute interview about his project on Radio New Zealand National.
One of Dick Chorley’s lasting contributions to geomorphology lies in the post-graduate students whom he inspired and guided at the start of their academic careers. Many have gone on to academic careers themselves, and include several of the leading figures in British geomorphology. In recognition of Dick’s commitment to serving the future of the discipline, the BSG has decided to honour his memory by creating the Dick Chorley Medal and Prize (£500) for Postgraduate Research. The award is made for a published paper based on PhD research, where the nominee is expected to be the first author. Nominees should be within 4 years of their PhD award at the time of nomination.
Nominations are drawn together for the selection process in January each year and should be suibmitted by the end of December of the preceding year. A nominated candidate may be carried over no more than once at the discretion of the Committee.