Richard Gordon, the W.M. Keck Foundation Professor of Geophysics in Rice University’s Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, has been awarded the 2025 Walter H. Bucher Medal by the American Geophysical Union (AGU).
Established in 1966, the Bucher Medal is presented annually to one scientist for original contributions to the basic knowledge of the Earth’s crust and lithosphere. Named for Walter Hermann Bucher, a former AGU president whose research centered on Earth’s tectonic processes, the award has recognized many of the field’s most influential researchers since its inception.
Over his nearly five-decade career, Gordon has advanced fundamental understanding of how Earth’s tectonic plates move, deform and interact. His pioneering work revealed the existence and dynamics of diffuse plate boundaries — regions where deformation spreads across wide areas rather than concentrating along a narrow zone, which in some places can be a single fault zone. He has also illuminated the phenomenon of true polar wander, when Earth reorients relative to its spin axis. He furthermore proposed and developed the concept of “paleomagnetic Euler poles,” a method for estimating the motion over geologic time of tectonic plates relative to Earth’s spin axis.
In addition, Gordon has led the development of widely used global plate motion models, including NUVEL (Northwestern University velocity) and MORVEL (mid-ocean ridge velocity), which have become standard tools in geoscience research.
Gordon earned his doctorate in geophysics from Stanford University in 1979, then taught for 15 years at Northwestern before joining Rice’s faculty in 1995. His research integrates marine geophysics, paleomagnetism, space geodesy, geodynamics and numerical modeling to probe the forces shaping Earth’s surface.
His many honors include AGU’s James B. Macelwane Medal, the Geological Society of America’s Arthur L. Day Medal and Woollard Award and the European Geosciences Union’s Stephan Mueller Medal. Several of his publications have also been recognized as among the most historically significant in their respective journals.
“Receiving the Walter Bucher Medal is a profound honor,” Gordon said. “To be included on a list of past recipients whose work I have long admired makes this recognition especially meaningful. There are still countless mysteries about how our planet works, and I look forward to continuing to explore them alongside the next generation of scientists.”
AGU, the world’s largest Earth and space science association, annually honors individuals and teams for advancing research, education, science communication and outreach. Honorees are celebrated for transforming understanding of the natural world and for their contributions to building a more sustainable future.
Gordon joins a distinguished group of scientists, leaders and communicators who will be recognized at AGU25 Dec. 15-19 in New Orleans. This year’s meeting, themed Where Science Connects Us, will showcase achievements that advance science and inspire the global geoscience community.