At the forthcoming Strati 2015 meeting in July, ICS will award two prizes, the Digby McLaren Medal and the ICS Medal, awarded to outstanding geoscientists every four years. The first awards were made at the 32nd IGC in Florence, 2004; the second and third at the 33rd and 34th IGC in Oslo, 2008 and in Brisbane, 2012. Beginning in 2015, the awards will be made at the International Congress on Stratigraphy.

For the Digby McLaren Medal, to honour a significant body of internationally important contributions to stratigraphy sustained over a number of years, the ICS award committee has chosen Andrew Miall (University of Toronto, Canada).

For the ICS Medal, the award that honours high-quality research in stratigraphy by recognizing a single major achievement in advancing stratigraphical knowledge, the committee has chosen Aitor Payros (Universidad del Pais Vasco, Spain), a voting member of ISPS, better known to all of us for his outstanding work on the Gorrondatxe section in the western Pyrenees and other Ypresian and Lutetian successions (Payros et al. 2007), a turning point in the modern understanding of the Lower–Middle Eocene.

We are glad to acknowledge Aitor’s important achievement, and honor him with all Strati 2015 participants, at Graz on July 21 at 11.30 in Aula.

Longing to see you there!

Simonetta Monechi, Noel Vandenberghe, Laia Alegret