In 2008 the Academy Gold Medals were presented to Professor David Livingstone and Professor Charles Hepworth Holland.

Professor Charles Hepworth Holland of Trinity College Dublin was the recipient of the Gold Medal for the Environment and Geosciences. Professor Holland’s career has spanned over 57 years, and he is a leading researcher in stratigraphy and palaeontology. Professor Holland has been the driving force of two editions of the authoritative Geology of Ireland, and he was a founding editor of the Journal of Earth Sciences. He is a former President of the Geological Society of London, where he also served as Chairman of the Stratigraphy Committee.

The Gold Medal for the Social Sciences was presented to Professor David N. Livingstone of Queen’s University Belfast. A scholar of human geography, Professor Livingstone was awarded an OBE in 2002 and was one of the youngest scholars to be elected to both the British Academy and the Royal Irish Academy, in 1995 and 1998 respectively. Professor Livingstone has marked himself out as a polymath of several disciplines, including Human Geography, Social Studies of Science and Modern History.

Click here to read Irish Independent piece on the Gold Medals 2008