Over 40 Years in Advancing Earth Science Information See Lesley Wyborn Win ESIP’s Martha Maiden Award

We congratulate Dr Lesley Wyborn for her well deserved recognition by the US Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) members for her tireless work with the international Earth science community.
Martha Maiden, Lesley Wyborn and Christine White standing from left to right in a lecture room

Banner photo: Lesley Wyborn (centre) with the Award’s namesake Martha Maiden (left), and 2018 ESIP President, Christine White (right). Taken by ESIP

We’re pleased to congratulate one of our own, Lesley Wyborn, for her well deserved recognition by the US Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) members for her tireless work with the international Earth science community.

In January 2019, Lesley was the recipient of the Martha Maiden Award, an accolade by the ESIP Federation which recognises outstanding service to the Earth science information community and honours individuals who have demonstrated leadership, dedication, and a collaborative spirit in advancing the field of Earth science information. This award has never been received by anyone outside of the United States, until now.

The award was presented to Lesley by Mark Parsons, Associate Director of the Rensselaer Institute for Data Exploration and Applications, and former Secretary General of the Research Data Alliance (RDA). Mark accompanied the win with a heartfelt statement about Lesley and her impact in this space:

“I consider Lesley a true pioneer in Geoinformatics, and she is still leading the way. I remember when I first saw her present a decade or so ago. I was blown away by both her forward thinking while still being really grounded in the actual science. Let me quote from one of Lesley’s many fans: ‘With her simultaneously deep and broad knowledge in the Earth, computer, and information sciences, Lesley has been engaged in the widest range of initiatives, from developing best practices for small data and physical samples to solving architectures for peta-scale computing, from rescuing data-at-risk to creating virtual research environments, from advancing FAIR data practices to advancing diversity and inclusion in the Earth and space sciences.’”

Her career in Geochemistry spans close to 5 decades, which has seen her make major contributions in this space. These contributions include (but are certainly not limited to) the development of GeoSciML, OneGeology, Oceans Data Interoperability Platform (ODIP), the Belmont Forum e-infrastructure and the Enabling FAIR Project.

The ESIP community is made up of researchers, data managers, funding agencies, and others who facilitate the distribution of data, and provide products and services related to Earth observing applications. Together, this community works in ESIP’s collaboration areas to improve the creation, management and distribution of Earth and environmental science data.

Congratulations Lesley on this prestigious award and we look forward to watching your continued efforts in advancing the field of Earth science information.

Read more on Lesley Wyborn’s Martha Maiden award.