Masters was elected "for his work in seismology including proof that there is a difference in chemical make-up of the solid inner and liquid outer cores of the Earth." The society further notes that Masters "is distinguished for his work in seismology, and has pioneered many new techniques for analysing seismic data, using them to produce Earth models for all the seismic parameters."
"Guy Masters belongs to a distinguished tradition of seismologists in IGPP who study the deepest parts of the Earth using the very lowest frequency oscillations of the whole planet," said Robert Parker, director of IGPP. "Because this region is completely inaccessible to sampling, our knowledge is based entirely on an intricate combination of subtle theory, a mountain of seismic records and a profound understanding of the physics of materials under extreme conditions. Guy is one of those rare individuals who is a master of these diverse fields; he is a true scholar."
Masters received his bachelor's degree in 1975 from the University of Manchester and his Ph.D. in 1979 from the University of Cambridge. He has been associated with Scripps since 1979.
His research focuses on analysis of the large-scale structure of the earth and its crust, mantle and core; development of reference earth models; and the integration of mineral physics, geodynamics and geochemistry into seismological models.
Masters is also fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the American Geophysical Union, and a member of the Seismological Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
"These new Fellows of the Royal Society are among the best scientists in the UK and Commonwealth," said Lord Robert May of Oxford, president of the Royal Society. "In being elected to the Fellowship they follow in the footsteps of the august scientists of the last three and a half centuries."
Four other Scripps Oceanography scientists have previously been named fellows of the Royal Society: Devendra Lal, professor of nuclear physics; Walter Munk, research professor of geophysics, emeritus; Robert Parker, professor of geophysics and IGPP director; and John Sclater, professor of geophysics.
Founded in 1660, the Royal Society is the world's oldest scientific academy in continuous existence. Fellows are eminent scientists who are elected by peer review for life. There are currently approximately 1,300 fellows and foreign members, including more than 65 Nobel laureates. Past fellows include Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein.
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Scripps Institution of Oceanography, at the University of California, San Diego, is one of the oldest, largest, and most important centers for global ocean and earth science research and graduate training in the world. The National Research Council has ranked Scripps first in faculty quality among oceanography programs nationwide. Now in its second century of discovery, the scientific scope of the institution has grown to include biological, physical, chemical, geological, geophysical, and atmospheric studies of the earth as a system. Hundreds of research programs covering a wide range of scientific areas are under way today in 65 countries. The institution has a staff of about 1,300, and annual expenditures of approximately $140 million from federal, state and private sources. Scripps operates one of the largest U.S. academic fleets with four oceanographic research ships and one research platform for worldwide exploration.