Award winner’s “findings have radically modified climate science”

Australian National University (ANU) researcher Professor Kurt Lambek has won the prestigious 2012 Balzan Prize for Solid Earth Sciences for his work on climate change.

Professor Lambek, from the Research School of Earth Sciences in the ANU College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, has won more than $750,000 for his exceptional contribution to the understanding of the relationship between post-glacial rebound and sea level changes.

Professor Lambek said that the reality of winning the award had not sunk in yet.

“The Balzan Prize has consistently been awarded to very illustrious scientists, and to be elected into this select company is a great honour,” he said.

“The prize money will be a helpful mechanism to try and transfer some of my expertise to the next generation of scientists.”

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Margaret Harding said: “This is a great honour for Kurt and a tribute to his internationally renowned work. I offer my warmest congratulations. It is also a great result for Earth Sciences at ANU.”

Every year, four Balzan Prizes are awarded to scholars, scientists or artists who are distinguished in their fields on an international level.

The four subject areas for the awards change every year. They are selected from literature, the moral sciences and the arts, and the physical, mathematical and natural sciences and medicine.

International Balzan Prize Foundation representatives said that Professor Lambek’s “findings have radically modified climate science”.