UMRA member David Kohlstedt, professor emeritus of earth and environmental sciences, has been awarded the 2023 Vetlesen Prize for his contributions to the discipline of earth science. Kohlstedt, who has been at the University since 1989 and was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2009, studied the physical properties of rocks and minerals, in particular, the mostly solid bulk of the Earth’s interior, known as the mantle. Research from his laboratory has shown that even a miniscule amount of water in the rocks of the upper mantle, under very high pressure, may contribute to earthquakes and volcanic eruption.

The award is named for George Unger Vetlesen, who played a key role in the Norwegian resistance to the Nazis in World War II and later expanded shipping and air travel between Scandinavia and the United States. Generally regarded as the “Nobel Prize for geology,” the Vetlesen Prize is awarded every three years, with this year’s award ceremony scheduled for April at Columbia University in New York City. 

—John A. Anderson, UMRA Membership Committee chair