Leif Erikson Awards

2015 Leif Erikson Exploration Awards
The Exploration Awards
Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt receives the 2015 Leif Erikson award from Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland.
Awarded for	achievements in exploration and for documenting exploration history.
Location	Húsavík
Country	Iceland
Highlights
Leif Erikson Exploration Award	Harrison Schmitt
Leif Erikson Yong Explorer Award	Jessica Watson
Leif Erikson Exploration History Award	Huw Lewis-Jones
Official website	explorationmuseum.com

The Leif Erikson Awards, sometimes referred to as the Exploration Awards,^[1] are awarded annually by the Exploration Museum in Húsavík, Iceland, for achievements in exploration and for documentation of exploration history.^[2] They are awarded in three categories; to an explorer for a lifetime achievement in exploration; to a young explorer under the age of 35 for achievements in exploration; and to a person or an organization that has worked to promote and preserve exploration history. The Leif Erikson Awards are the main and final event of the annual Húsavík Explorers Festival. The awards were first awarded in 2015 and will be awarded next in October 2016.^[3]

The awards are named for Icelandic explorer Leif Erikson, considered as the first European to land in North America^[4] and who, according to the Sagas of Icelanders, established the first Norse settlement at Vinland, tentatively identified with the Norse L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland in modern-day Canada.

Scientific Committee

The winners of the Leif Erikson awards are voted by the members of the Exploration Museum's Scientific Committee.^[5] The committee is appointed for one year by the board of the museum, except for the chairperson, who is the winner of the previous year's Leif Erikson Exploration History award.^[6][7]

2015 Awards

The 2015 Leif Erikson Awards were announced on 11 November at the Exploration Museum in Húsavík.^[8]

Leif Erikson Exploration Award

• Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt for his scientific work on the surface of the Moon in 1972, and for his part in the geology training of all the astronauts that walked on the Moon before him.^[9]

Leif Erikson Yong Explorer Award

• Australian sailor Jessica Watson for her 210-day voyage around the world, from October 2009 to May 2010. On 15 May, 2010, she became the youngest person to have completed a non-stop and unassisted southern hemisphere solo circumnavigation, at the age of 16.^[10][11]

Leif Erikson Exploration History Award

• Exploration historian and polar guide Dr. Huw Lewis-Jones for his commitment to the history of exploration and for writings on visual culture, seafaring, mountaineering, and remote environments.^[12]

2016 Awards

The 2016 Leif Erikson Awards will be announced in October 2016. Nominations are scheduled to be accepted in January 2016. As the 2015 recipient of the Leif Erikson Exploration History Award, Dr. Huw Lewis-Jones will lead the Scientific Committee. Other members for 2016 are Ari Trausti Guðmundsson, Giuditta Gubbi, Francesco Perini and Vilborg Arna Gissurardóttir.^[13]

See also

• The Exploration Museum
• The Astronaut Monument

References

1. Giuditta Gubbi & Francesco Perini (11 November 2015). "The Exploration Awards". The Exploration Museum. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
2. Gabriele Schneider (24 November 2015). "Leifur-Eirikson-Entdeckerpreise verliehen" (in German). Iceland Review. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
3. Francesco Benigni (16 November 2015). "Esplorazione spaziale, due jesini nella commissione dei "Leif Erikson Awards"" (in Italian). Ancona Today. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
4. Sverrir Jakobsson (14 July 2001). "Vísindavefurinn: Var Leifur Eiríksson ekki Grænlendingur sem átti rætur að rekja til Íslands og Noregs?" (in Icelandic). Visindavefur.hi.is. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
5. "The Exploration Museum's Scientific Committee". The Exploration Museum. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
6. Sigurður Bogi Sævarsson (11 November 2015). "Hlutu Könnunarverðlaun Leifs Eiríkssonar" (in Icelandic). Morgunblaðið. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
7. "2015 Leif Erikson Awards – Press conference". The Exploration Museum. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
8. Vala Hafstad (22 November 2015). "Leif Erikson Exploration Awards Presented". Iceland Review. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
9. "Astronaut Harrison Schmitt awarded the Leif Erikson Exploration Award". The Exploration Museum. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
10. "Jessica Watson awarded the Leif Erikson Young Explorer Award". The Exploration Museum. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
11. AP (21 August 2010). "14-Year-Old Sets Sail to Circle the Globe". New York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
12. "Dr. Huw Lewis-Jones awarded the Leif Erikson Exploration History Award". The Exploration Museum. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
13. Charles Gittins (23 November 2015). "The Leif Erikson Exploration Awards". Iceland Monitor. Retrieved 30 November 2015.