International Association for Promoting Geoethics (IAPG) - Official Blog

Chris King awarded

with the Geoethics Medal 2018

We are pleased to inform that the Geoethics Medal 2018 of the IAPG has been awarded to Chris King "for his valuable contribution in promoting Earth Sciences in society by introducing innovative methods and tools to teaching, aiming at the proactive involvement of end-users based on developing their critical thinking and observational scientific approaches.
Chris King teaches (geo)scientific methods and geological knowledge in an easy, attractive and passionate way, through which he offers clear and careful explanations of geological observations without trivializing the content whilst always paying great attention to the quality of the scientific discourse. 
His efforts in promoting geoeducation are much more than a mission to disseminate Earth Sciences knowledge among students and the general public: Chris King is an excellent example of a geologist who feels and practices his geological activity as a geoethical duty towards society."  

Chris King, BSc Honours in Geology from the University of Bristol, energetically promotes geological knowledge worldwide among students and the general public, strongly contributing to raising global awareness of the importance of geoeducation and the dissemination of geoscientific methods and information within society. His career began as geologist working in industry (he was a diamond prospector for De Beers for five years, in South Africa, Swaziland and Australia). He then became a school teacher and a university professor (he became Professor of Earth Science Education at Keele University in 2006 and retired in December 2015).

Chris King has contributed (and is continuing tirelessly) to developing excellent geoeducation activities, among them Earthlearningidea, an admirable innovative project on Earth-related teaching-ideas, that he instigated in 2007. This has changed the way that the teaching of geoscience knowledge is seen globally.

As Chair of the Commission on Geoscience Education (COGE) of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), Chair of the Committee on Education of the European Geosciences Union (EGU), Adviser  and past-Chair of the Council of the International Geoscience Education Organisation (IGEO), Chair of the Earth Science Education Forum (England and Wales), Past-Chair of the Earth Science Teachers' Association (ESTA) and current Chair of the ESTA Secondary Committee, he has achieved an internationally-renowned role as geoeducator in the geoscience community.

As keynote speaker at the International Geological Congress (Cape Town, 2016; Brisbane, 2012) and in many other international conferences held in Austria (2017, 2004), Bangladesh (2009), Canada (2016, 2007, 2003), Italy (2008), Japan (2002), Norway (2008), Nigeria (2016), Russia (2011), South Africa (2016, 2010, 2004), Spain (2010) and Taiwan (2001), he has promoted his teaching methods and activities to a global audience. He is an example of geologist keen to enable his colleagues to educate their students more effectively and to transfer geological knowledge to society. Nearly 300 of the activities developed by Chris and his colleagues have been published and are freely downloadable from the internet, primarily for use in the developing world, but widely used in the developed world as well; they have been translated into Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese, Norwegian, Chinese (Mandarin), Korean, Japanese, Polish, Slovakian and Catalan.

His commitment to geoeducation was rewarded by Honorary Life Membership of the Earth Science Teachers’ Association (ESTA) in 1994. Moreover, in 2003 he was awarded the Geological Society’s ‘Distinguished Service Award’ and, in 2011, the Geologists’ Association’s ‘Halstead Medal’, for ‘work of outstanding merit, deemed to further the objects of the Association and to promote Geology'.

From his career, is clear that Chris King’s efforts in geoeducation have had the goal of serving society: he has used his geological knowledge in his profession of geoscience educator and communicator as part of his fundamental geoethical duty towards the public and in particular, to our younger generations.

Congratulations Chris King!

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Geoethics Medal:
http://www.geoethics.org/geoethics-medal


IAPG - International Association for Promoting Geoethics: 
http://www.geoethics.org