Hans Thybo

Hans Thybo (born 19 February 1954) is a Danish geophysicist and geologist. He is President of International Lithosphere Program since 2017 and currently employed by the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences (CAGS).

Early life and education In 1978, Thybo earned a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Mathematics and Physics from Aarhus University, Denmark. In 1980, he completed his studies at the Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. He earned two more degrees from Aarhus University: a Master of Science (MSc) in geophysics in 1982 and a PhD in geology in 1987.

Professional career

Hans Thybo was a professor of geophysics at the Geological Institute and the Institute for Geography and Geology at the University of Copenhagen for 33 years, as well as at the Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics. at University of Oslo. He is a professor at the Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences at Istanbul Technical University, a 1000 Talents Professor at the School of Earth Sciences at China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, and a Distinguished Professor at SinoProbe Laboratory at Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing. He was elected head of department at the Geological Institute and member of the board of Geocenter Copenhagen.

He was a professor at Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management until he was dismissed from his chair in 2016 for allegedly pressuring a postdoc to criticize department management and for using his personal email for work purposes. Thybo disputed the causes of his firing, and the researcher in question stated that he did not feel pressured. Thybo challenged the dismissal in court, which ruled the dismissal illegal, but the case was settled with Thybo receiving six months salary, which was the maximum possible according to the mutual agreement between Thybo's professional organisation and the University of Copenhagen, whereas the agreement did not allow for a verdict that the illegally dismissed professor should be reinstated into his position.

Hans Thybo has published more than 250 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and has been promoter of more than 40 PhD, 80 MSc and 50 BSc students. He has been leader of several geoscientific research programmes and he has been field expedition leader to e.g. the ice sheet in Greenland, east Africa and Siberia. He initiated several pan-European research programmes with east–west collaboration after the end of the cold war. His research includes the discovery of ca. 2 billion year old plate tectonic structures, the fundamental Mid-Lithospheric Discontinuity of the lithospheric mantle, the presence of molten rocks at the Core-Mantle Discontinuity at ca. 3000 km depth below Siberia, a new model for the formation of the economically important sedimentary basins, Presence of strong seismic anisotropy in cratonic crust with the implication that crust and mantle have been coupled for billions of years, and the presence of a hitherto unknown type of crust in Tibet.

Positions

2000–2002: President, seismology division of the European Geophysical Society (EGS) 2002–2007: Founding member and President, seismology division of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) 2004–2008: External member, board of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo 2006–2017: Danish representative, International Committee of Scientific Unions (ICSU) 2007–2012: General secretary, European Geosciences Union 2010–2016: Board, European Plate Observatory System (EPOS) 2010–present: Board, International Lithosphere Programme (ILP) of IUGS, since 2023 chair of the Science Committee. 2019–present: Member of the Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science in the International Science Council 2020–present: Editor-in-Chief of EPSL (Earth and Planetary Science Letters) 2021–present: Employed on a 5-year contract by the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences (CAGS)

Member of several foreign research councils, panels and committees in e.g. USA (NSF), Sweden (VR), International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP), Netherlands, Croatia, France, Canada and China.

Honours

Thybo is President of International Lithosphere Program (ILP) og was earlier President for European Geosciences Union, where he also held posts as General Secretary and President for the Seismology Division. He has been chair for the Danish national committee for ICSU (International Council for Science). He is currently a member of Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science of ISC (International Science Council). He is member of and was earlier Vicepresident of Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters. He has received the 1000 Talents Award from China and he is fellow of Royal Astronomical Society, London and Geological Society of America. He is elected member of Academia Europaea, the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters and Danish Academy of Natural Sciences,

Awards

1998: Elected member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters 2004: Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, London 2004: Elected member of the Academia Europaea 2010: Elected member of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters 2012: Elected member of the Danish Academy of Natural Sciences 2014: Fellow of the Geological Society of America 2016: Honorary editor of the scientific journal Tectonophysics 2018: Thousand Talents Award 2024: Friendship Award from the Chinese Government 2025: Elected fellow of the International Core Academy of Sciences and Humanities