Salford professor awarded prestigious honour in Geography

Recognising individuals who have achieved exceptional distinction and rendered outstanding service to the work of the International Geographical Union and the advancement of international geography, the internationally renowned award was created in 1976 and has been presented 55 times.

Professor Richard Knowles, as only the fourth ever British recipient, will be presented with the Lauréat d’honneur at a ceremony during the IGU conference in Istanbul, Turkey in August.

One of the most esteemed awards in international Geography, the Lauréat d’honneur is awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to the discipline at the international, national and local scales – the award is a testament to Richard’s innovative, cumulative, and far-reaching impacts on Geography for over four decades.

With a decorated background across the field of Geography, Professor Richard is no stranger to winning awards: from receiving the Edward L. Ullman Award in Transportation Geography from the American Association of Geographers in 2004, to winning the Alan Hay Award in Transport Geography from the Royal Geographical Society in 2010.

Professor Richard was also the founding Editor of the Journal of Transport Geography from 1993 to 2012, one of the highest ranked international research journals in both Geography and Transport.

Professor Richard Knowles said: “I am deeply honoured, humbled and delighted to be granted the Award of the Lauréat d’honneur.”

“I would like to pay tribute to research colleagues present and past at the Universities of Aberdeen, Birmingham, Copenhagen (Denmark), Denver (USA), Glasgow, Hong Kong, Huddersfield, Keele, Lausanne (Switzerland), Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Plymouth, Oslo (Norway), Oxford, Salford, Simon Fraser (Canada), Sunderland and Westminster for their research collaboration and friendship.”

With a purpose to promote Geography through initiating and coordinating Geographical research and teaching across the world, the IGU is an international, non-governmental, professional organisation devoted to the development of the discipline of Geography.