Renowned climate scientist George H. Denton to receive UMaine honorary degree

The University of Maine will confer an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters to George H. Denton, a multi-generational leader in glacial research and climate science education, during its morning undergraduate commencement ceremony on May 11. 

“No one is more deserving of this year’s honorary doctorate than our very own George Denton. He has been a valuable asset to the School of Earth and Climate Sciences since he helped establish what is now known as the Climate Change Institute in 1973,” said UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy. “His expertise in the temporal and geological study of glaciers has inspired many young climate scientists in Maine and beyond, and his groundbreaking research has laid the framework that helps us all understand the changes happening to our planet.”

Since he began his career in the 1960s, Denton’s environmental research has been cited over 29,000 times. He has traveled to Antartica over 30 times and has two landmarks named in his honor: the Denton Hills and the Denton Glacier.

With Denton’s participation, the Climate Change Institute, first established as the Institute for Quaternary Studies, investigated climate change — a phenomenon that Denton has spent half a century studying in relation to glaciers. He was the director of the institute for four years. A graduate of Yale University’s master’s and doctoral program in geology, Denton focuses on the geological history of large ice sheets and smaller mountain glaciers. The only aspect of his career that Denton values more than research has been inspiring generations of climate students. He is a proponent of student-led research, which has resulted in his students becoming faculty members at universities in the U.S. and Europe.

In 2002, Denton was elected as a member of the U.S. National Academy of the Sciences. He was previously elected as a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1996. He received the Vega Medal from the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography in 1990 for his studies in physical geography and a Distinguished Career Award from the Geological Society of America in 2015.

Contact: Ashley Yates; ashley.depew@maine.edu