The French society of mineralogy and crystallography is honored to present its 2022 Merit Award to Dr. Christian Chopin.
Dr. Christian Chopin is internationally recognized for his expertise in mineralogy and metamorphic petrology, in particular for his role in establishing a whole new area of research called ultra-high-pressure (UHP) metamorphism. The careful study of the UHP rocks made by Dr. Chopin revolutionized a concept about the metamorphism of continental crustal rocks. He has also been involved in updating nomenclature schemes for the epidote supergroup, as well as in the discovery and description of new members of the epidotes. In recent years, Dr. Chopin has investigated chlorite, clay minerals, and disordered graphitic material to better estimate not only the pressure but also the temperature of metamorphism. Dr. Christian Chopin’s studies covered the entire spectrum from small-scale crystallographic aspects to large-scale problems of mountain-building. Dr. Christian Chopin also served in the best way the national and international geoscience community as a member of the boards of the SFMC and the European Mineralogical Union, as well as of various international evaluation and selection committees. However, his most significant contribution is undoubtedly his commitment to the European Journal of Mineralogy. He was part of the group of people who worked on its birth and also served for over 30 years as French Chief Editor and later as Managing Editor. Dr. Christian Chopin published almost 100 papers in leading international journals, more importantly many of these papers had and still have a very high impact with an impressive number of citations. Christian has received many awards and has also been elected as a member of many prestigious national academies.
Committee members: Michel Grégoire (president), Elisabetta Rampone, Chiara Domeneghetti, François Holtz, Eiji Ohtani, Sylvie Demouchy (scientific secretary).
