Mike Meadows awarded fellowship of International Science Council

In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the promotion of science as a global public good, the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Emeritus Professor Mike Meadows has recently been awarded a fellowship of the International Science Council (ISC).

Emeritus Professor Meadows is a physical geographer based in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science in UCT’s Faculty of Science. He is a National Research Foundation (NRF) B-rated scientist, and his work has focused on a broad range of research activities under the physical geography umbrella. The ISC fellowship recognises individuals who continue to make unique contributions to the council’s mission, as well as to global science leadership. It’s considered the highest honour to be conferred on an individual in recognition of their work.

‘Prolific’ researcher

Meadows’s research interest lies in Quaternary palaeo-environmental reconstruction, and human impacts on geomorphology and vegetation, including land degradation.

“[Professor] Meadows is an [international] highly respected scientist and science leader and has a prolific research and publication record as a physical geographer. He has made seminal contributions to the reconstruction of late Quaternary and Holocene environments in Southern Africa. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles along with several books and numerous chapters. More recently, he has been venturing successfully into the key area of sustainability studies and education. [Professor] Meadows has a strong record of promoting the aims and objectives of the ISC,” his nomination read.

“Meadows is passionate about building relationships that are essential to successfully meeting those challenges.”

Further, the nomination highlighted that under Meadows’s leadership the International Geographical Union (IGU) has and continues to encourage interdisciplinary and collaborative ways of working with other scientific organisations, which is considered crucial as global actions converge more towards interdisciplinary, and future-oriented research. He’s also been instrumental in ensuring that the IGU’s voice is amplified on many critical global challenges and has joined hands with other disciplines in a step towards addressing current crises.

“Meadows is passionate about building relationships that are essential to successfully meeting those challenges. He has been a strong advocate for the ISC – developing a broader education profile and promoting initiatives that are aimed at primary, secondary, tertiary and public education around sustainability issues,” the nomination concluded.

Meadows was also recently elected as a Fellow of the Geographical Society of China. He is one of only five international scholars to be elected in the society’s history.