Student's glacier image shortlisted for NERC prize

The sun over Leverett Glacier as captured by PhD student Jon Hawkings courtesy of NERC

2 December 2013

A striking image of the sun over a glacier in South-west Greenland by Jon Hawkings, a PhD Student in the School of Geographical Sciences, was shortlisted for the inaugural Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Student Photography and Short Article Writing Competition.

During the summer months at the remote Leverett Glacier in South-west Greenland the sun doesn’t really set, and when the weather is clear nature puts on a dramatic show – perfectly captured by Jon in his shortlisted image.

The winners of the competition were announced at an awards ceremony in central London today. Jon's was one of sixteen images shortlisted for the prize which went to Paul Hopwood of the University of Exeter.

The four judges were Jonathan Bates, Director of Communications for NERC; Harriet Jarlett, a science writer for NERC; Dr Helen Czerski an oceanographer and TV presenter on popular science programmes; and Professor Simon Redfern.

Kirsty Grainger, Head of Skills and Careers at NERC said: "We were delighted by the response to this inaugural competition. The diversity in the winning entries alone highlights the breadth of world-class research training NERC PhD funding supports. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all the judges and all those who submitted entries; the judges’ task was not an easy one!"