Esben Auken was elected as an American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) Fellow. He joined several other individuals in the 2023 Class of Fellows. AGU, the world's largest Earth and space sciences association, annually recognizes a select number of individuals for its highest honors. Since 1962, the AGU Union Fellows Committee has selected less than 0.1% of members as new Fellows.

Esben Auken was selected because of his outstanding scientific achievements, contributions to furthering scientific advancement, and exemplary leadership.  He also embody AGU’s vision of a thriving, sustainable, and equitable future powered by discovery, innovation, and action. Equally important is that he has conducted himself with integrity, respect, and collaboration while creating deep engagement in education, diversity, and outreach.

In his career spanning more than 25 years, Esben Auken has pioneered innovations that bridge instrumentation and software methods in electromagnetic geophysics. Importantly, Esben recognized the need to co-develop instrumentation and software together to achieve greater synergies than existing independent approaches. His foundational research at Aarhus University continues in his current role as CEO of Aarhus GeoInstruments, the most recent of 3 research-to-operations commercialization in which he has been involved.

Esben is a rare innovator in his field and a truly gifted scientist with a remarkably agreeable and engaging personality who seems to have a fantastic ability to work with other people in a way that leads to exciting new ideas that advance diverse science, all based on his combined method and instrument development. His success in leading research applications built on instrumentation and software, diverse applications of his work to international audiences, successful mentorship of the next generation of geophysicists, and exceptional leadership make Esben worthy of AGU Fellowship.

AGU will formally recognize this year’s recipients at AGU23, which will convene more than 25,000 attendees from over 100 countries in San Francisco and online everywhere on 11-15 December 2023. The annual Honors Reception is a chance for AGU’s community to recognize the outstanding work of our colleagues and be inspired by their accomplishments and stories. 

AGU (www.agu.org) is a global community supporting more than half a million advocates and professionals in the Earth and space sciences. Through broad and inclusive partnerships, AGU aims to advance discovery and solution science that accelerate knowledge and create solutions that are ethical, unbiased and respectful of communities and their values. Our programs include serving as a scholarly publisher, convening virtual and in-person events and providing career support. We live our values in everything we do, such as our net zero energy renovated building in Washington, D.C. and our Ethics and Equity Center, which fosters a diverse and inclusive geoscience community to ensure responsible conduct.