Hans Nelson has a B.A. from Carleton College, M.S. from the University of Minnesota and Ph.D. from Oregon State University. He spent 32 years working in the U. S. Geological Survey and 20 years at the CSIC in Spain. His studies and worldwide teaching for 60 years have resulted in 220 publications. Hans has served as Chief Scientist for 30 scientific expeditions, in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. He has been Visiting Professor at the Universities of Barcelona, Brest and Utrecht in Europe and Blaustein Scholar at Stanford University. He is the recipient of multiple awards including the 2016 Kirk Bryan Award for Research Excellence of the Geological Society of America.