Ohio State Glaciologist Named To Chinese Academy Of Sciences

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Lonnie Thompson, professor of earth sciences and research scientist with the Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State University, has been elected as a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Thompson joins a select few individuals from outside China who have received this honor.  Thompson’s award was “based on your scientific achievement and important contributions to promoting the development of science and technology in China.”

Lonnie Thompson

For several decades, Thompson’s research team has worked closely with scientists from China’s research institutes, on expeditions to ice fields on the Tibetan Plateau and in the Himalayas and on joint research studies.

“The partnership with our Chinese colleagues is just one more reminder that science is an international pursuit and that the problems we face will require cooperation bridging national boundaries,” Thompson said.

In submitting Thompson’s name for membership, Professor Tandong Yao, director of the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, wrote, "Your election is a confirmation of your worldwide, acknowledged contribution to science," adding that the Chinese Academy’s 419 members voted on Thompson’s nomination.

His election to the Chinese Academy of Sciences is only the latest in a long line of honors Thompson has received for his work.  He and his wife and research partner, Ellen Mosley-Thompson, are both members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and in 2007, he was chosen to receive the National Medal of Science from then-president George W. Bush.

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Contact: Lonnie Thompson, (614) 292-6652; thompson.3@osu.eduWritten by Earle Holland, (614) 292-8384; Holland.8@osu.edu.