We are pleased to announce that a Marine Biological Association (MBA) Trustee has been appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of their outstanding contributions to marine conservation and research.
Professor Rosalind Rickaby OBE FRS, marine biogeochemist and Chair of Geology in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford was recognised with the OBE in the New Year Honours List.
Ros has been honoured with this high accolade for her services to biology and chemistry to tackle questions of past climates, evolution, and the future of the phytoplankton.
She has authored over 150 papers and co-authored a book “Evolution’s Destiny: Co-evolving chemistry of the environment and life”.
In 2008 Ros received the European Geosciences Union’s Outstanding Young Scientist award and in 2010 the American Geophysical Union’s James B. Macelwane Award for significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by an outstanding young scientist. She held a Wolfson Research Merit Award from the Royal Society and was made FRS in 2022.
Ros has collaborated with leading scientists at the MBA, with access to culture collections, regular L4 sampling and ongoing interest in use of the CPR.
She said: “I am absolutely gobsmacked, humbled and hugely grateful to receive this recognition from His Royal Highness, King Charles. It has been truly a thrill to uncover the power of the plankton in maintaining a habitable Earth, and to appreciate the importance of planetary-scale thinking for plotting forward pathways. All of my research, and indeed my life, has flourished through the support of, and interactions with brilliant older and younger minds from across the world. I hope that the entire team can share in a warm swell of pride as we continue the push towards a sustainable future”.
