Previous Meeting Prize winners

2016

  • The Norman Heaps prize: 
  • The Cath Allen Prize:
  • The President’s Photographic Competition: 
2014
  • The Norman Heaps prize: 
  • The Cath Allen Prize: 
  • The President’s Photographic Competition: 
2012
  • The Norman Heaps prize: Charlotte Williams, National Oceanography Centre
  • The Cath Allen Prize: Benjamin Webber, University of East Anglia
  • The President’s Photographic Competition: Damien Guihen, British Antarctic Survey

2010

  • The Norman Heaps prize : Loic Jullion, National Oceanography Centre
  • The Cath Allen Prize: John Prytherch, National Oceanography Centre
  • The President’s Photographic Competition: Loic Jullion, National Oceanography Centre (Cold, wet and salty deployment in the Southern Ocean) (topic was ‘ Marine Scientists at work’)
  • The Challenger / IMarEst / SUT undergraduate dissertation prize (£500): Anna Belcher, University of Southampton (supervisor Eric Achterberg)

2008

  • The Norman Heaps Prize: Patrick Martin, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton; Emily Venables,Scottish Association for Marine Science; Claire Hughes, University of East Anglia; Alberto Naviera Garabato,National Oceanography Centre, Southampton. Note, several people were also Commended at this conference but are not listed here.
  • The Cath Allen Prize: Jonathan Sharples, Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory
  • The President's Photographic Competition: Phil Williamson, University of East Anglia (Crossing the Dee estuary) (topic was 'Sea and Sky')
  • The Sarah Jones Prize for best poster or talk relating to “particles in the sea”: Tom Rippeth, Bangor University

2006

  • The Norman Heaps Prize: Anna Hickman, University of Southampton, Southampton
  • The Cath Allen Prize: Claire Postlethwaite, Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory
  • The Presidents Competition: Peter Miller (whale skull)   (topic 'Flotsam and jetsam')

2004

  • The Norman Heaps Prize: Sally Thorpe, British Antarctic Survey; Alberto Naveira-Garabato, University of East Anglia.
  • The Cath Allen Prize: Sandy Thomalla, Southampton Oceanography Centre.
  • Four posters were highly commended: Tom Bell, University of East Anglia; Claire Holeton, Southampton Oceanography Centre; Toby Tyrrell, Southampton Oceanography Centre; James Percival, University of Reading.
  • The Presidents Competition: Colin Stevens, Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory (Time and Tide)

2002

  • The Norman Heaps Prize: Alex Mustard, Ian Wilkington, Katherine Wood
  • The Cath Allen Prize: Katy Shannon, Will leQuesne
  • The Presidents Competition: Alex Mustard

2000

  • The Norman Heaps Prize: Ekaterina Popova, Southampton Oceanography Centre; Andy Ridgewell, University of East Anglia.
  • The Cath Allen Prize: Melanie Witt
  • The Presidents Competition: Clare Postlethwaite, Southampton Oceanography Centre 'Searching for a previously marked sea-ice sampling station on Saromake, a frozen sea lagoon on the Okhotsk Sea coast of Japan'
  • The Challenger Prize: Marion Ricketts

1998

  • The Norman Heaps Prize: Susan Adcock, University of Reading; Alex Nimmo-Smith, Southampton University.
  • The Cath Allen Prize: Sally Thorpe, University of East Anglia.
  • The Presidents Competition: Alex Nimmo-Smith, Southampton University 'An inquisitive tom-pot blenny peeps out from a sponge encrusted cliff'

1996

  • The Norman Heaps Prize: Stephen Marsh, University of East Anglia.
  • The Cath Allen Prize: Mark Brandon, British Antarctic Survey.
  • The Presidents Competition: Sandrine Charrier, Southampton Oceanographic Institute 'Day and Night: Part 2'
  • The Challenger Prize: Stephen Sheard (aerodynamics engineer), Stockport, Cheshire

1995

  • The Challenger Prize: Anne Banks.

1994

  • The Norman Heaps Prize: Boris Kelly-Gerryn.
  • The Cath Allen Prize: M. Lucia Campos (Lucy), University of East Anglia.
  • The Presidents Competition: Mark Brandon, British Antarctic Survey 'Deploying a „smart‟ Argos drifting buoy in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica in April 1992'

1993

  • The Challenger Prize: AD Watts.

1992

  • The Norman Heaps Prize: Rebecca Woodgate, Hooke Institute.
  • The Cath Allen Prize: Sarah Cornell, University of East Anglia; Stuart Gibb, Plymouth Marine Laboratory.

1991

  • The Challenger Prize: Capt Dave Akhurst (BA pilot), Sevenoaks, Kent and Dr Madeleine McDonagh (Chemical engineer at Warren Springs Lab), Hitchen, Herts.

1990

  • The Norman Heaps Prize: Tim O‟Hare, Ocean Sciences Menai Bridge.
  • The Cath Allen Prize: Sue Turner, University of East Anglia.
  • The Challenger Prize: Chris Hall.

1989

  • The Challenger Prize: Bill Quinton (architect), Skipton, N Yorkshire . Joint runners up: Frances Perry (librarian), London and Ian Fenton (biology teacher), London.

1988

  • The Norman Heaps Prize: Adrian New, IOSDL; Andrew Rees, Plymouth Polytechnic.
  • The Cath Allen Prize: Gillian Malin and Sue Turner; Darrell Sturley, Plymouth Polytechnic; Kershaw, MAFF.

Latest News

NOC Association (NOCA) AGM 2025


The 14th AGM of the NOC Association will be held on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th May 2025. This free, on-line event will take place on Zoom, across two consecutive mornings, each starting at 10:00 and ending at 12:30. The agenda will focus on national capability (NC) science, ships, and autonomous vehicles, and how the community can engage. There will be an update on AtlantiS and on the new marine science scoping group. All are warmly welcome to join.

To participate, please complete your registration here.

For enquiries: Jackie Pearson, Secretary to NOCA: jfpea@noc.ac.uk

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Townhall on UK Arctic Ocean contribution to International Polar Year 32/33

 
SAVE THE DATE
12:00 11th June – 16:00 12th June 2025
NOC Southampton

The Arctic is one of the most rapidly-changing regions on our planet, with impacts on global sea-level rise, changes to our climate and weather patterns, and threats to our shared biodiversity and ecosystem services. With the international community rapidly mobilising towards the International Polar Year 32/33, and with new international programmes and initiatives now being shaped, it is timely for the UK Ocean Science community to come together and articulate what its unique offerings could be to Arctic research and technology.

This hybrid 2-day meeting, to be held at NOC Southampton, is intended to start this process. Recognising the Arctic Oceans role in global Earth and Human systems, anticipated outcomes include a high-level shaping of what the UK Arctic Ocean community would like to achieve over the course of the IPY, stimulation of new collaborations and proposals for grand Arctic challenges and a baseline from which wider integration with terrestrial, atmospheric and cryosphere communities, both in the UK and overseas, can be built.  Discussions will continue in diverse forums, including the UK Arctic Science Meeting in September and at Challenger 2026.

This action is supported by the UK Arctic Office and UK Arctic and Antarctic Partnership

Further details and meeting registration link will be circulated in April together with a questionnaire to help shape the agenda and discussion

In the meantime…SAVE THE DATE

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Potential Availability of NERC Ship Time During the 25/26 Programme Year

The NERC Marine Facilities Programme for 2025/2026 for the RRS Discovery and the RRS James Cook has been published on the Marine Facilities Planning website.

The RRS Discovery programme currently contains a 79 day alongside slot between the 2nd of November 2025 and the 19th of January 2026, which is available for science delivery if funded science projects can make use of this time. Due to the location of the vessel, the ship is most likely to be able to deliver fieldwork in the North and East Atlantic regions. Some support for science capability within the National Marine Equipment Pool is potentially available, although there is no capacity for use of autonomous vehicles or remotely operated vehicles. Any fieldwork within Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) will need the appropriate diplomatic clearance submitted to coastal states at least 6 months in advance, and to NMF with sufficient lead time for processing via the FCDO.

If interested in making use of this ship time, please contact NERC Marine Planning (marineplanning@nerc.ukri.org) ASAP to start discussions.

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