Geologist of Freiburg, Germany, is awarded for the Barringer Medal

Geologist Thomas Kenkmann, Professor of Structural Geology at the University of Freiburg, is recipient of the Barringer Medal and Award. The honor is known as the greatest international distinction conferred for impact crater research. The Meteoritical Society has been presenting the award since the 1980s. Founded in 1933, the Meteoritical Society is an international organization of scientists that recognizes researchers who have made outstanding, key contributions in the areas of impact crater research.

The award will be presented at the society's annual meeting on 23 July 2018 in Moscow. The event will include a laudatory speech which is to be published in the specialist journal “Meteoritics and Planetary Science.”

Thomas Kenkmann works at the University of Freiburg. His working group investigates highly dynamic geologic processes with a focus on impact crater formation on earth and other planetary bodies. Comprehensive experiments are carried out to further this aim.

Kenkmann studied geology and paleontology and the University of Cologne. He completed his dissertation in 1997 at Berlin’s Free University and qualified there as a lecturer in 2003. Kenkmann has been the Chair of the Department of Geology and Structural Geology at the University of Freiburg since 2010. Baden-Württemberg’s Ministry of Education, Research and Art (MWK) presented him with the State Teaching Award for outstanding instruction and teaching in 2012.

The Barringer Medal and Award is named after D. Moreau Barringer Sr. and D. Moreau Barringer Jr. The two scientists carried out major research on impact craters.

Article in the research magazine uni’wissen (2013)

Article in th emagazine uni’lernen (2013, in German)