Kirsty Elizabeth Helena Penkman is a analytical chemist and geochemist known for her research in biomolecular archaeology, the use of ancient DNA, amino acid dating, and other biomolecules in order to date fossils and learn about the world as it was in prehistoric times.[1][2] She a professor in chemistry at the University of York.[3]

Penkman's research has dated early archeology found in East Anglia to 700,000 years ago, the oldest artifacts known in Northern Europe.[4] She has argued that climate change and human landscape modification are likely to destroy the ancient biological materials that go into her studies.[5]

In 2008, the Quaternary Research Association gave Penkman their Lewis Penny Medal for her contributions to the study of Quaternary strata.[6] In 2012 she was a winner of the Philip Leverhulme Prize in Earth, ocean, and atmospheric sciences.[7] Penkman is the 2016 winner of the Joseph Black Award of the Royal Society of Chemistry "for rigorous and ground-breaking work in the field of amino acid racemisation dating and its application to earth and archaeological sciences".[8] She is also the winner of the 2017 Pittcon Royal Society of Chemistry Award,[9] and the winner in the Chemistry category of the 2020 UK Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists.[10]

Penkman has an M.Chem. from University of Oxford and a Ph.D. from Newcastle University.[11] Her 2005 doctoral thesis title was "Amino acid geochronology: a closed system approach to test and refine the UK model".[12]

References

  1. ^ "On the Dating Scene: Kirsty Penkman combines analytical science, archaeology, earth science, and oceanography to delve into the history of our planet. Here, she describes her work in amino acid dating, and tells us why understanding the Earth's past helps us prepare for what's to come", The Analytical Scientist, retrieved 2019-09-04
  2. ^ "Dr Kirsty Penkman", About staff, University of York Department of Chemistry, retrieved 2019-09-04
  3. ^ "Dr. Kirsty Elizabeth Helena Penkman", York Research Database: Researchers, University of York, retrieved 2019-09-04
  4. ^ Hooper, Rowan (14 December 2005), "Did humans colonise north Europe earlier than thought?", New Scientist
  5. ^ High, Kirsty; Penkman, Kirsty (2 November 2016), "Environmental change could be damaging some of the world's most precious archaeology: Wetland disappearance is destroying organic historical evidence that's been preserved for thousands of years", The Independent
  6. ^ York scientist wins award for fossil amino acid advance, University of York, 14 January 2008
  7. ^ "Top prizes awarded to York academics", York Press, 20 December 2012
  8. ^ Joseph Black Award 2016 Winner, Royal Society of Chemistry, retrieved 2019-09-04
  9. ^ The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy (9 March 2017), "Pittcon 2017 Award Recipients for Outstanding Achievements in Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy", R&D Magazine
  10. ^ "Three innovative scientists receive US$100,000 (£75,000) each from prestigious Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists". Blavatnik Awards Young Scientists. New York Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  11. ^ "Kirsty Penkman". Blavatnik Awards Young Scientists. New York Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  12. ^ "Catalogue record for Penkman's PhD thesis". Jisc Library Hub Discover. Retrieved 18 January 2020.

External links

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