Francis Nimmo : Biography Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Francis Nimmo

Planetary Scientist and academic

St John's College

Awards

Royal Society University Research Fellowship (2001–2004)
James B. Macelwane Medal (2007)
Harold C. Urey Prize (2007)
Paolo Farinella Prize (for his contribution to the field of “Giant planets’ satellite systems”, 2018)
Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2020)
Fellow of the Royal Society (2024)

Academic careerInstitutionsUniversity of California Santa CruzThesisVolcanism and tectonics on Venus

Francis Nimmo (born 1971) is a Professor of Planetary Science at the University of California Santa Cruz.^[1]^[2]

Biography

Education

Nimmo attended Wolverhampton Grammar School and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Geological Sciences from St John's College, Cambridge University, in 1993 and completed his Ph.D. on Volcanism and Tectonics on Venus from Cambridge in 1996.

Career

His research focuses on the origin and evolution of solid body surfaces and interiors from observations and geophysical modelling. Some of his research achievements include his showing that a giant impact could have generated the Martian hemispheric dichotomy, identification of shear-heating as an important process on Enceladus, Europa and Triton and the explanation of the link between plate tectonics and dynamo activity on Mars and Venus.

Awards and honors

2001: President's Award of the Geological Society^[2]
2001: Royal Society University Research Fellowship
2007: James B. Macelwane Medal of the American Geophysical Union^[3]
2007: Nimmo received the Harold C. Urey Prize of the Division for Planetary Sciences^[4]
2011: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Visiting Fellow
2018: He is a recipient of the 2018 Paolo Farinella Prize.^[5]
2018: Asteroid 175920 Francisnimmo was named in his honor.^[1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 25 September 2018 (M.P.C. 111802).^[6]
2019: He receives the 2019 Harold Jeffreys Lectureship of the RAS.^[7]
2020: Elected to the US National Academy of Sciences^[8]
2024: Elected Fellow of the Royal Society^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b "175920 Francisnimmo (2000 CO118)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Francis Nimmo" (PDF). UC Santa Cruz. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
^ "FRANCIS NIMMO | 2007 James B. Macelwane Medal Winner". honors.agu.org. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
^ "Francis Nimmo receives Urey Prize in Planetary Science". news.ucsc.edu. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
^ "Paolo Farinella Prize". europlanet-society.org. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
^ "Planetary scientist Francis Nimmo honored by Royal Astronomical Society". news.ucsc.edu. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
^ "Planetary scientist Francis Nimmo elected to National Academy of Sciences". news.ucsc.edu. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
^ "Professor Francis Nimmo FRS". Royal Society. Retrieved 2024-05-20.