‘The Seligman Crystal is awarded in recognition of outstanding scientific contributions to Glaciology’
In late 1962, the concept of an award for excellence in the discipline of glaciology took shape at a Council meeting in Obergurgl, Austria: not a gold medal but a hexagonal crystal of high-quality glass named the Seligman Crystal, after the Society’s founder.
The Seligman Crystal shall be awarded to a single person or a collaborative group/team that has made exceptional scientific contributions to glaciology, defined as any snow and/or ice studies, so that the subject is now significantly enriched. The nominee’s research contribution should have had a long-lasting impact on the understanding, direction or focus of a glaciological discipline, and have transformed the discipline in a unique way. This may include opening up a new area of the discipline or radically transforming thinking in an area, and will typically include producing a substantial high-impact body of consistently leading edge work. This award is given for scientific accomplishments within Glaciology. All IGS award nominees are expected to exhibit high moral and ethical standards within the glaciological and wider communities
A guide to nominations for the Seligman Crystal
The following have been awarded the Seligman Crystal:
| G. Seligman (1963) | G. de Q. Robin (1986) | S.C. Colbeck (2000) | A.C. Fowler (2020) |
| H. Bader (1967) | H. Oeschger (1989) | G.S. Boulton (2001) | C. Ritz (2020) |
| J.F. Nye (1969) | W.F. Weeks (1989) | G.K.C. Clarke (2001) | A. Jenkins (2021) |
| J.W. Glen (1972) | C.R. Bentley (1990) | K. Hutter (2003) | D. Dahl-Jensen (2022) |
| B.L. Hansen (1972) | A. Higashi (1990) | R.B. Alley (2005) | D.I. Benn (2023) |
| S. Evans (1974) | H. Röthlisberger (1992) | L.G. Thompson (2007) | Yao Tandong (2023) |
| W. Dansgaard (1976) | L. Lliboutry (1993) | P.A. Mayewski (2009) | |
| W.B. Kamb (1977) | A.J. Gow (1995) | A. Iken (2011) | |
| M. de Quervain (1982) | W.F. Budd (1996) | D.E. Sugden (2012) | |
| W.O. Field, Jr (1983) | S.J. Johnsen (1997) | P. Duval (2013) | |
| J. Weertman (1983) | C.J. Lorius (1998) | R.C.A. Hindmarsh (2019) | |
| M.F. Meier (1985) | C.F. Raymond (1999) | D.R. MacAyeal (2019) |