2023 Blue Planet Prize: Announcement of Prize Winners

1.

Professor Richard Thompson OBE FRS (UK) Born in UK: 15 July 1963

University of Plymouth, Director of the Marine Institute, University of Plymouth

Professor Tamara Galloway OBE (UK) Born in UK: 6 February 1963

University of Exeter, Head of Ecotoxicology Research Group, University of Exeter

Professor Penelope Lindeque (UK) Born in UK: 7 September 1971

Head of Science for Marine Ecology and Biodiversity, Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML)

Professor Richard Thompson, Professor Tamara Galloway, and Professor Penelope Lindeque demonstrated the existence of microplastics in the ocean, and have since charted their presence from the deep Ocean to the highest mountains. They revealed microplastics are ingested by zooplankton and other marine species and have made major advances in understanding the effects of microplastics on these marine organisms and ecological processes. They have influenced global legislation and action, calling on the international community to develop solutions that will help to address the growing problem of plastic pollution in the Ocean.

2.

Professor Debarati Guha-Sapir (Belgium) Born in India: 11 November 1953

Founder Director of the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), Université Catholique de Louvain

Senior Fellow, Centre for Humanitarian Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Professor Debarati Guha-Sapir founded and led the development of the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT), the first data infrastructure of global disasters triggered by climate change e.g. storms, geo-physical hazards e.g. earthquakes, biological agents e.g. pandemics, and humanitarian disasters e.g. conflicts. EM-DAT and her body of research over thirty years serves as a scientific foundation for evidence-based policymaking, used by many international organizations, national governments, and research institutes working on climate change mitigation and adaptation measures; and disaster prevention and mitigation.

• Each recipient is presented with a certificate of merit, a commemorative trophy, and 500,000 US dollars in prize money.