GSA James B. Thompson, Jr. Distinguished International Lectureship
The lecture tours are made possible through a gift to the GSA Foundation by James B. Thompson, Jr., whose bequest contributed to the endowment of two lecture tours by distinguished geologists, one a non-North American scientist to tour academic and related institutions within North America, and the other a North American scientist to tour foreign universities and geological institutions. Both tours are arranged under the guidance of GSA International.
Nominations for 2027-2028
The deadline for nominations is 15 February each year. We are currently accepting nominations for 2027-2028 (self-nominations welcome).
GSA International seeks nominations for distinguished geoscience speakers for the 2027-2028 GSA James B. Thompson, Jr. Distinguished International Lecturer. Nominations are being accepted for two dynamic speakers of established scientific stature who can present stimulating and cutting edge geoscience research for one or two tours each. The nominee/s may be either living outside of North America and be able to lecture at North American institutions. Or the nominee/s may be living within North America and be able to lecture outside of N. America on topic/s that are at the forefront of research in order to raise visibility for The Geological Society of America within the international geoscience community.
GSA James B. Thompson, Jr., Distinguished International Lecturers
The award is made possible through a gift to the GSA Foundation by James B. Thompson, Jr., whose bequest contributed to the endowment of two lecture tours by distinguished geologists, one a non-North American scientist to tour academic and related institutions within North America, and the other a North American scientist to tour foreign universities and geological institutions. Both tours are arranged under the guidance of GSA International.
Monica Riva, Inbound James B. Thompson, Jr. Distinguished International Lecturer, 2026–2027
Monica Riva is a full Professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, where she also serves as Rector’s Delegate for International Networks and Head of the PhD Programme in Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering. In 2025 she was elected to the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA), and in 2026 she was appointed Dean of Class IV (Natural Sciences) of EASA. She has held leadership positions within the European Geosciences Union, the International Society for Porous Media (InterPore), the ENHANCE European Universities Alliance, and the T.I.M.E. (Top International Managers in Engineering) Association.
Her research focuses on groundwater hydrology, stochastic hydrogeology, porous media, uncertainty quantification, and sustainable management of water resources under changing environmental and climatic conditions. She has made pioneering contributions to the development of theoretical and computational methods for modeling groundwater flow and transport in heterogeneous porous media, with applications ranging from groundwater protection and contaminant transport to environmental risk assessment, water quality, and energy-related subsurface processes. Her recent work also addresses multiscale hydrological modeling, groundwater-surface water interactions, and nanoscale characterization of the time-space evolution of mineral surfaces under reactive transport conditions.
Prof. Riva has led numerous national and European research projects. She is founder and scientific leader of the MIPORE (Porous Media across Scales@Polimi, www.mipore.polimi.it) research group, effectively promoting an international and interdisciplinary research environment.
Nigel Hughes, Outbound James B. Thompson, Jr. Distinguished International Lecturer, 2026–2027
Nigel Hughes is a paleontologist and stratigrapher working on a variety of geological and biological questions related to the Earth–Life coevolution. He applies knowledge of the Lower Paleozoic fossils record, particularly that of trilobites, to understanding of the evolution of metazoan developmental systems and to the stratigraphic and structural geology of south and southeast Asia.
On the geological side, reconstruction of the ancient, pre-collisional north Indian margin permits interpretation of Himalayan history based not only on what rocks remains there today, but also estimation of what volume and kinds of material have been eroded from it, and when. With respect to paleobiology, the molting habit of trilobites left behind a remarkably complete record of the developmental histories of certain species. Rare “natural experiments” among such cases permit glimpses into how such ancient development was regulated and show us how development has itself evolved. Nigel has worked as both a curator at the Cincinnati Museum Center and as professor of geology at the University of California – Riverside.
As a student of Bengali language at Visva Bharati University for some months, Nigel developed an interest in place-based educational outreach that resulted in the publication of মনীযার পাথরের বন (Monisha and the Stone Forest) in 2012, a children’s book that explored the common occurrence of petrified wood in Bengal. This experience led to a current project, আমাদের পাহাড়চূড়ায় সমুদ্র (The Ocean on the Top of Our Mountain), a 15-minute-long animation that explores Indian’s 9000 km tectonic journey northwards as seen through the lenses of a trilobite collected from the top of the Himalaya. Nigel’s tour of West Bengal and Tripura (India) and Bangladesh as GSA’s J. B. Thompson International Distinguished Lecturer will coincide with the launch of the film on YouTube, and aims to recruit a cadre of Bengali speaking geoscience professionals and students keen to promote the film during its launch in spring 2027.
