Francis Nimmo (born 1971) is a Professor of Planetary Science at the

University of California Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge of ...

Biography

Education

Nimmo attended Wolverhampton Grammar School and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Geological Sciences from St John's College,

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, in 1993 and completed his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

on Volcanism and Tectonics on

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

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 Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. At the time, the pred ...

hemispheric

dichotomy A dichotomy is a partition of a whole (or a set) into two parts (subsets). In other words, this couple of parts must be * jointly exhaustive: everything must belong to one part or the other, and * mutually exclusive: nothing can belong simulta ...

, identification of shear-heating as an important process on

Enceladus Enceladus is the sixth-largest moon of Saturn (19th largest in the Solar System). It is about in diameter, about a tenth of that of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Enceladus is mostly covered by fresh, clean ice, making it one of the most refl ...

Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliff ...

and

Triton Triton commonly refers to: * Triton (mythology), a Greek god * Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune Triton may also refer to: Biology * Triton cockatoo, a parrot * Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails * ''Triton'', a synonym of ''Triturus' ...

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 * 2001: Royal Society University Research Fellowship * 2007:

James B. Macelwane Medal The James B. Macelwane Medal is awarded annually by the American Geophysical Union to three to five early career scientists (no more than 10 years beyond having received their Ph.D.). It is named after James B. Macelwane, a Jesuit priest and one of ...

of the American Geophysical Union * 2007: Nimmo received the

Harold C. Urey Prize The Harold C. Urey Prize is awarded annually by the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society. The prize recognizes and encourages outstanding achievements in planetary science by a young scientist. The prize is named af ...

of the Division for Planetary Sciences * 2011: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Visiting Fellow * 2018: He is a recipient of the 2018

Paolo Farinella Prize The Paolo Farinella Prize is named after Paolo Farinella. The prize recognizes significant contributions in the fields of planetary sciences, space geodesy, fundamental physics, science popularization, security in space, weapons control, and disar ...

. * 2018: Asteroid 175920 Francisnimmo was named in his honor. The official was published by the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function ...

on 25 September 2018 (). * 2019: He receives the 2019 Harold Jeffreys Lectureship of the RAS. * 2020: Nimmo elected to the US

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

References

External links

Francis Nimmo's Homepage
at UC Santa Cruz {{DEFAULTSORT:Nimmo, Francis Living people 1971 births Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Planetary scientists