UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Susan L. Brantley, Barnes Professor of Geosciences and director of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at Penn State, was elected a foreign associate of the French Academy of Sciences. The honor recognizes Brantley for her distinguished contributions to the field of earth sciences.
Brantley is one of 16 new foreign associates joining the academy after its 2021 elections. Members remain associates of the academy for life and are chosen after a rigorous election process that takes almost a year to complete. The election results will be ratified by official decree of the president of the French Republic. The reception ceremony for new associates will take place June 14, 2022, under the cupola of the Institute of France in Paris.
“I was thrilled to be invited to be a foreign associate of the French Academy,” said Brantley. “Some of the earliest work to understand how water interacts with rock was completed in France — work that drives my own research today and that has implications for everything from soils to climate. Some of the best researchers in the world of geochemistry are working in France.”
Brantley is an international leader in the field of hydrogeochemistry. She studies the physical, chemical and biological interactions that occur between rock, water, air and living organisms in the critical zone, a term that scientists use to describe the zone extending from bedrock to the treetops, where rock meets life. She has authored or co-authored more than 290 peer-reviewed articles that have appeared in the top scientific journals, including Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature and Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.
Brantley has received numerous awards and recognitions for her research, including the Arthur L. Day Medal from the Geological Society of America, the Wollaston Medal from the Geological Society of London and the Urey Award from the European Association of Geochemistry. She is an elected member and fellow of numerous professional societies, including the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Brantley received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, a master’s degree in geological and geophysical sciences, and a doctoral degree in geological and geophysical sciences from Princeton University.
Created by French statesman Jean-Baptiste Colbert in 1666, the Academy of Sciences is an assembly of scientists, chosen among the most distinguished French and foreign specialists. It examines the political, ethical and societal issues surrounding current and future scientific topics. The academy aims to provide policymakers with a framework of expertise, counsel and alert and more broadly to enlighten the debates and choices of society. The Academy of Sciences supports research, is committed to the quality of science education and promotes scientific life at the international level. The academy currently includes 277 members, 122 foreign associates and 63 correspondents.