Dear friends, family, colleagues, water-aficionados,

Sometimes we complain about bad days or because it's raining outside (all Dutch people!) or because our team lost (me!) or because a whole range of reasons that are simply not that important.

As most of you know, I am in the finishing stages of my Masters program at Oxford. It has been an amazing, transforming experience.

However, earlier this week it was all put into perspective with the unexpected passing of one of our beloved faculty members, Mike Edmunds. All of a sudden, you realise what is really important in life. My heart is heavy and I think of Mike's family and the difficult time ahead.

Mike was inspirational, a great teacher, but more importantly a great, kind man! The fact that his love for geology and rocks was wasted on my non-scientific brain is besides the point!

So lead by example....don't talk about the good deeds, do the good deeds and inspire others to do the same!

On June 6th, WaterAid is sponsoring a national Mountaineering Challenge, asking people to raise money for global water access for all. A group of Oxford’s Water Science Policy & Management students and faculty are hiking up Great Hangman Mountain (in County Devon) to raise money and to acknowledge Mike Edmunds contribution to education and the field. 

https://endurancecui.active.com/event-reg/select-race?e=11703853

We are raising a minimum of 700 pounds, but of course we are hoping to far exceed that amount.

Please give a pound or 100 or anything in between........and I will climb up that mountain (and for those of you that know my current stamina, it is a true challenge indeed!)

Thinking of Mike, thinking of all of you.....

Thank you.

Arjan

 

 

Mike Edmunds (1941-2015)

Prof. Mike Edmunds' expertise lies in groundwater quality, hydrogeochemical processes, trace element studies, isotope hydrology, palaeohydrology, arid and semi-arid zone studies including groundwater recharge assessment, groundwater acidification, salinity issues and mineral and thermal waters. He retired from the British Geological Survey in Wallingford, but retains an Honorary Research Associateship. He has been involved in the supervision of 12 PhD theses in UK and overseas and has evaluated theses in several European countries as well as UK. He teaches (and was a founding father) on the MSc in Water Science, Policy and Management course at the University of Oxford.

He has over 230 (!!!!!) scientific publications, including 140 externally reviewed in these fields. Most recently his interests centre on baseline groundwater quality in Europe and water problems in arid and semi-arid regions of the Middle East, the Sahel countries, China and Mexico. He has organised courses on water quality in and elsewhere. He has carried out international consultancy work in the water quality sector for various UN organisations, notably the IAEA, and supported ODA [DfID] and projects funded by the European Commission.

He retains the post of Honorary Research Associate in Hydrogeology at the British Geological Survey at Wallingford. As well as maintaining his broad interests in hydrogeochemical research, he retains interests in the relationships between science, society and policy especially in water-scarce arid and semi-arid regions (WRA, 2015)