Selley wins Coke Model

The Geological Society's Coke Medal has been awarded to one of the UK's best known and most highly respected sedimentologists, Richard Curtis Selley, Professor Emeritus and Senior Research Fellow of Imperial College

The Geological Society's Coke Medal has been awarded to one of the UK's best known and most highly respected sedimentologists, Richard Curtis Selley, Professor Emeritus and Senior Research Fellow of Imperial College London.

Dick Selley has made significant contributions to pure and applied geology, the latter mainly in petroleum geoscience, but also lately in "geoviticulture" - the geology of wine production. A true innovator, he helped to place sedimentology centre stage in hydrocarbon exploration, and has approached the geology of wine in a wholly new and above all practical way.

Dick, is described by the Geological Society in his citation as a "hero of the revolution" in sedimentology, through the 1960s and 70s published a series of papers diagnosing ancient sedimentary environments from Scotland, Arabia and Africa through studying their bedforms, structures, lithology and sequence. This research was synthesised in his book "Ancient Sedimentary Environments and their subsurface diagnosis" which has never been out of print since the first edition was published in 1970.

In his approach to geoviticulture, he has researched the effects of our ever-changing climate on the northern limit of viticulture. His studies are summarised in another excellent book, "The winelands of Britain, past present and prospective", and have led directly to the establishment of one of the largest vineyards in Europe, at Denbies near his home town of Dorking.

Hundreds of petroleum geology students who have passed through his legendary MSc course in Petroleum Geology at Imperial owe his vivid teaching a huge debt. He has Chaired the Imperial College geology department, served as Vice President and Hon Secretary, Foreign & External Affairs, of this Society, chaired the External Relations Committee, Fellowship and Validation Committee, Professional Committee, and the Royal Society's Earth Resources Committee. He has also found time to serve on the Council of the GA, the PESGB, the Science Council, the Council of the European Federation of Geologists and the Executive Committee of the European Association of Geological Societies and many more - the list seems endless. He has received the Society's Murchison Fund and the Petroleum Group's Silver Medal. 

Personnel

• Prof Richard Selley