Tavi Murray

Tavi Murray, FLSW (born 1965) is a British glaciologist and the eighth woman to be awarded the Polar Medal.

Education After school in Twickenham, Murray gained a BSc degree with first class honours in Physics and Computer Science from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 1987. In 1990, she was awarded a PhD in geophysics from the University of Cambridge's Scott Polar Research Institute.

She joined the International Glaciological Society in 1988, acting as a member of the IGS Council as well as initiating the IGS Global Seminar Series in 2020. In 2023, she was awarded the Richardson Medal in recognition of her service to the IGS.

Research In 2004, she was a Leverhulme Research Fellow studying "Basal conditions on Rutford Ice Stream, Antarctica".

In 2006, she led a group that showed the speed of the Kangerlussuaq Glacier had doubled in two years, showing the Greenland ice sheet was disappearing quicker than previously thought.

Murray led the GLIMPSE project (2007-2012), which monitored the thinning at the margin of the Greenland ice sheet. It was funded by a Leverhulme Trust Research Leadership Award granted to Murray in 2007.

Honours and awards In 2007, she was awarded the Polar Medal for studying changes in sea levels caused by the melting of the polar ice caps; unusually, her medal cited discoveries at both poles.

In 2012, Murray was elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.

Murray was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to glaciology and climate change research.

Personal life Murray is an accomplished sea kayaker: she circumnavigated Ireland in May 2017, taking 46 days.