Professor Michael F. Hochella, Jr. and University Distinguished Professor Robert J. Bodnar were elected Fellows of the American Geophysical Union on January 14, 2006.

According to the AGU, nominees for Fellowship “must have attained acknowledged eminence in the Earth and space sciences.” A committee of AGU Fellows elects new Fellows, and no more than 0.1% of the AGU membership may be elected Fellows in any given year.

Dr. Hochella was recognized for his research contributions to nanoscience and technology, mineral surface geochemistry, mineral-microbe interactions, mineralogy, crystallography, bulk and surface atomic structure analysis, and the theory, design, and use of X-ray, electron, ion, and laser-beam spectroscopic, diffraction, and analytic instrumentation.

Dr. Bodnar was honored for his contributions to the characterization of P-V-T-X properties of hydrothermal fluids, the origin and interpretation of fluid inclusions, the genesis of ore deposits and the analysis and interpretation of melt inclusions in magmatic systems. Bodnar was also selected as the co-winner of the 2006 N.L. Bowen Award of the Volcanology, Geochemistry and Petrology section of AGU.