Jin Liu to Receive the 2020 MSA Award

Jin Liu, a staff scientist of HPSTAR

Jin Liu, a geoscientist at the Center for High Pressure Science & Technology Advanced Research (HPSTAR), has been selected as the recipient of the 2020 MSA Award— a top award from the Mineralogical Society of America (MSA), as well as a Life Fellow of the Society. The medal is given annually internationally to just one person who has outstanding published contributions to the science of mineralogy by relatively young individuals or those near the beginning of their professional careers.

Jin Liu is being honored in recognition of his contributions to the field of high-pressure mineral physics. Notably, through his investigation into the physics and chemistry of Earth materials, he found that the intriguing reaction between iron and hydrous materials at the core-mantle boundary could provide a straightforward mechanism to interpret enigmatic seismic features observed in the region, which is a long-standing puzzle in the deep Earth.

“The MSA Award is a major honor for young scientists in the field, and the 70 awardees since 1951 could be viewed as a global Who’s Who list in mineralogy” says Dr. Mao Ho-Kwang, the director of HPSTAR. “And it is the first time that the MSA Award was presented to a researcher from a Chinese institution.”

Liu Jiu will be presented the MSA Award at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Montreal in 2020 October in which a special symposium will be sponsored by MSA to honor the Awardee.

北京高压科学研究中心的刘锦研究员喜获美国矿物学会MSA杰出青年奖，该奖项每年颁发一次且只颁于一人，用于表彰含括世界各国在矿物科学领域做出最突出贡献的青年科学家（年龄不超过35周岁）。获奖者并自动获颁美国矿物学会终身会士荣誉。

刘锦研究员获此殊荣，是MSA对其在地球深部水与新型铁氧化合物等方面做出的杰出成果的认可。

“MSA奖从1951年开始是美国矿物学会的最高青年奖，获奖名单可以看作世界矿物学界历史名人录”高科中心主任毛河光院士评价到“刘锦也是70年来唯一一位在中国获得此奖项的学者”。