Awards

Dr. Qingru Wu is an Associate Professor in the School of Environment at Tsinghua University. Her research focuses on the sources, transformation, transport, and environmental fate of mercury in a changing world, while developing strategies to reduce its ecological and human health risks. She has authored more than 100 publications in leading international journals.

Dr. Wu currently serves on the Early Career Board of ACS ES&T Air and on the Open-Ended Scientific Group (OESG) supporting the effectiveness evaluation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. Alongside her scientific contributions, she is a dedicated mentor to students, early-career researchers, occupational health professionals, and government officials. Her work has also had a significant policy impact through contributions to China's national mercury control strategies, UNEP guidance documents, and ISO standards aimed at reducing mercury pollution globally.

The ICMGP Emerging Researcher Award recognizes Dr. Wu's outstanding scientific achievements, international leadership, and growing impact on mercury research and policy.

For more than 35 years, Prof, Dr. Mae Sexauer Gustin has been a pioneering leader in mercury science, transforming our understanding of the atmospheric chemistry, biogeochemical cycling, and environmental fate of mercury. Her research has revealed how mercury is emitted, transported, transformed, and exchanged among the atmosphere, vegetation, soils, and aquatic ecosystems, providing a scientific foundation for mercury risk assessment, environmental stewardship, and pollution mitigation worldwide.

Her work has also advanced knowledge of mercury emissions from natural and legacy mining sources, the role of terrestrial ecosystems in regulating mercury cycling, and the development of best management practices to reduce mercury releases. By combining fundamental discovery with practical environmental solutions, she has helped bridge the gap between scientific research, environmental management, and public policy.

Dr. Gustin has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, supervised over 31 graduate students and 8 postdoctoral researchers, secured more than US$10 million in competitive research funding as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator, and served as an Associate Editor of Science of The Total Environment for more than a decade. Equally enduring is her commitment to mentoring the next generation of scientists, fostering collaborations across disciplines and continents, and strengthening the global mercury research community.

In recognition of her exceptional scientific achievements and service, Dr. Gustin has received numerous honours from the University of Nevada system and was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2022.

The ICMGP Kathryn R. Mahaffey Lifetime Achievement Award recognises Dr. Gustin's profound and enduring contributions to mercury science and her lifelong commitment to advancing environmental research, international collaboration, and scientific excellence.