The 2018 Tinker-Muse Prize for Science and Policy in Antarctica has been awarded to Professor Michael Meredith, leader of the Polar Oceans programme at the British Antarctic Survey.

This highly prestigious prize is awarded in recognition of his outstanding interdisciplinary and international leadership in the quest to understand the role of the Southern Oceans in controlling regional and global climate via changes in ocean circulation.  His research focus aims to reduce uncertainty in scientific predictions for a future world, and to provide policy makers with science-based assessments of how these issues will affect the everyday lives of people in decades to come.

In accepting the award Professor Meredith said,
“This is a tremendous honour, and I am both humbled and proud to receive this prize.  Antarctic research plays a critically important role in understanding our changing world.  I am extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to collaborate with fantastic colleagues within British Antarctic Survey and across the international polar sciences community.  This award is an endorsement of our collective research effort, and I am hugely grateful to the Tinker Foundation and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research for selecting me as this year’s recipient.’

Professor Meredith was a co-founder and inaugural co-Chair of the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS), and he led the design and implementation of a £10M research programme that is unravelling the role of the Southern Ocean in changing global climate. He is currently Coordinating Lead Author for the Polar Regions chapter in the upcoming IPCC Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate.  

Caroline Kronley, President of the Tinker Foundation added,
“We are delighted to congratulate Dr. Meredith on receiving the 10th Tinker-Muse Prize. His outstanding research reinforces the significance of Antarctic science for the entire planet and its inhabitants. The Tinker Foundation is proud to join SCAR in celebrating his accomplishments to date and investing in his continued leadership going forward”.

The US $100,000 international prize, awarded by the Tinker Foundation and administered by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, is presented annually to an individual whose work has enhanced the understanding and/or preservation of Antarctica.