The recipient of the 2024 Research Excellence Award of the European Mineralogical Union is
Dr. Martha Pamato from the University of Padova, Italy.

Dr. Martha G. Pamato obtained her PhD in 2014 at Bayreuth University, Germany. After postdoctoral stays across the world, she was awarded a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions fellow, which marks her return to her home-country after 11 years abroad. In 2018, she was awarded the Ugo Panichi Prize from SIMP, and she is currently the laureate of an ERC-Starting Grant. She is now the head of the single-crystal X-ray diffraction and IRMS laboratories at the Department of Geosciences in Padova University.

Dr. Martha Pamato principal interest is crystallography of minerals composing the deep Earth and their geophysical signatures. Using in situ high-pressure X-ray diffraction techniques and Brillouin spectroscopy, Dr. Pamato was notably able to show that seismic velocities at the base of the Earth’s transition zone were much faster than expected for either ultramafic or mafic mantle rocks. Her latest research focuses on diamonds and how to extract from these precious witnesses reliable information on volatiles elements occurrence and fate in the deep Earth. In addition to her ground-breaking experiments in mineral physics, her dedication to teaching and training the next generation of mineralogists is attested by her implication in numerous workshops, summer schools and local events for the promotion of women in science.

Martha G. Pamato has emerged as a new leader in the field of crystallography and mineralogy, by linking cutting edge experiments on deep Earth’s materials and their primordial geophysical and geochemical consequences. Her scientific achievements, selfless cooperation at international scale, and dedication to the next generation of mineralogists across Europe makes Dr. Pamato a talented recipient of the EMU Medal for Research Excellence 2024.