Ground-breaking honour for geophysics researcher

Victoria University of Wellington’s Professor Martha Savage has become the first woman in New Zealand to be elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

Martha Savage

The AGU Fellows programme, established in 1962, annually honours a select few members who have made exceptional contributions to the fields of Earth and space science.

“I’m very proud and happy to have received recognition from such a great organisation, and I hope this encourages other female scientists,” says Professor Savage. “I’m appreciative of the support I’ve had to carry out my work, particularly from my husband and the students and staff here at Victoria.”

Professor Savage, who has been teaching geophysics at Victoria University for 20 years, is one of only six people in New Zealand to be elected a Fellow of the AGU, four of whom also come from Victoria University.

She was recognised for her research on seismic anisotropy, which estimates the directions structures are moving below the surface of the earth. The research can be used to study stress changes in volcanoes and could lead to new methods for forecasting eruptions.

“Being elected a Union Fellow serves as significant international recognition and we are very proud of Professor Savage,” says Dean of Science Professor David Harper. “This honour is given to less than 0.1 percent of the membership in any given year and is testimony to the high impact and quality of her research leadership in her field.”

Professor Savage will travel to San Francisco in December to attend the awards ceremony, held during the 2015 AGU Fall Meeting.

“The meetings are always a great opportunity to connect with other researchers from around the world and meet people you’ve been working on projects with. I’m really looking forward to it,” she says.

The AGU, with more than 60,000 members in 139 countries, is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to advancing the Earth and space sciences through scholarly publications, conferences and outreach programmes.