Leigh Handy Royden

Professor of Geology and Geophysics

Department of Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA 02139

Education:

  • 1977 A.B. Harvard (cum laude, physics)
  • 1982 Ph.D. M.I.T. (geology and geophysics)

Subjects of Special Interest:

  • Regional Geology and Geophysics,
  • Mechanics of Large Scale Continental Deformation,
  • Interaction of Surface Processes and Tectonics,
  • Subduction Dynamics

Faculty Positions Held:

  • 1984-1988 Assistant Professor of Geology and Geophysics, M.I.T.
  • 1988-1993 Associate Professor of Geology and Geophysics, M.I.T.
  • 1991-1992 Visiting Associate Professor, Caltech
  • 1993-present Professor of Geology and Geophysics, M.I.T.
  • 2005 Visiting Professor, University of Rome

Awards and Honors:

  • 1984-1988 Kerr-McGee Career Development Chair, M.I.T.
  • 1985-1991 Presidential Young Investigator, NSF
  • 1987-present Corresponding Member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
  • 1990 Donath Medal, Geological Society of America
  • 1990 Senior Fellow, Geological Society of America
  • 1991-1992 Visiting Professorship for Women, NSF
  • 1991-1996 Faculty Awards for Women Scientists and Engineers, NSF
  • 2004 Fellow, American Geophysical Union
  • 2009-2010 Fellow, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies
  • 2010 Best Paper Award, Tectonics Division, GSA
  • 2011 Woollard Award, Geological Society of America
  • 2013 Mueller Medal, European Union of Geosciences

Selected Professional Activities:

  • 2009-2016 Editorial Board, Annual Reviews of Earth and Planetary Sciences
  • 2011 External Review Committee, Department of Geology, UCSB (chair)
  • 2012-2015 Committee on the Woollard Award, Geological Society of America
  • 2013-2016 Committee on the Mueller Medal, European Geosciences Union
  • 2016-present Committee on AGU Fellows, Tectonophysics
  • 2016-present Committee on the Donath Medal, Geological Society of America

Selected M.I.T. Activities:

  • 1996-1997 Associate Chair, MIT Faculty
  • 2003-2010 Division Head, Program in Geology, Geochemisty and Geobiology
  • 2013-present Director, Experimental Study Group, MIT
  • 2017-present Chair, EAPS Diversity Council