Professor Lynne Frostick, Director of Hull Environment Research Institute (HERI) and the Environmental Technologies Centre for Industrial Collaboration (ECTIC) at the University of Hull has been elected as the second-ever female to head up the world's oldest society for Earth scientists.
Professor Frostick is only the second woman to be elected as President Designate of the Geological Society of London in its 200-year history. The organisation counts Charles Darwin amongst its luminaries and to have been elected as the Society's President is an incredible achievement for a woman in what is a very male-orientated discipline.
There has not been a female President since Professor Janet Watson held the position back in the 1980's. Watson also mentored Lynne during her time as a Junior Lecturer at the University of London.
Presidents are elected for a two-year term and Lynne is currently serving as President Designate shadowing the incumbent President and will serve as President proper from next year.
It is the latest in a long list of triumphs in the environmental specialist's illustrious career which has seen her nominated for the second successive year as a Woman of Achievement by the Nominating Council for the prestigious 2007 Women of the Year Awards.
Lynne has over 37 years of experience in Sedimentology and Environmental Science research having produced over 100 papers and edited 4 books. As Director of HERI and ECTIC she is a major contributor to research into waste and recycling and is particularly interested in the interactions between sediments, flow and biological systems in rivers and estuaries. She is at the forefront of developments in the field of environmental hydraulics in the UK and is on the management board of a major pan-European infrastructure project called HYDRALAB.
Lynne is also a leading expert on physical modelling of aquatic systems and Chair of the Department of Trade and Industries Expert Group for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
Professor Frostick said, "This is a great honour, but also a challenge in to ensure the Society goes from strength to strength. It also makes me very happy to be following in Janet Watson's footsteps- I wish she were still alive to share it with me."