Former DTM postdoctoral fellow Maud Boyet is the recipient of the 2011 Houtermans Award of the European Association of Geochemistry.  The Houtermans Award is given annually to a scientist no more than 35 years of age who has made exceptional contributions to geochemistry.   It is named in honor of Friedrich George Houtermans, a Dutch-Austrian-German physicist.

Boyet was a Carnegie Fellow at DTM from 2003 to 2005.   In collaboration with Research Staff scientist Richard Carlson, she made scientific discoveries that changed our view of how our planet has evolved.  Using the ¹⁴⁶Sm-¹⁴²Nd isotope system as a tracer, Boyet showed that a large variety of terrestrial materials have compositions that are distinctly different from those of meteorites and samples from nearby planetary bodies.  This difference was interpreted to indicate that our planet either accreted from material with a history different from that of neighboring bodies or underwent global differentiation soon after it formed.  She has since extended her studies to early lunar evolution and has presented evidence that the Moon may have formed from previously differentiated terrestrial mantle.

Boyet gave birth to a son, Alban, on 20 April.  DTM congratulates Maud, Nicolas, and big sister May-Lise on their newest family member.