Richard Thompson (marine biologist) facts for kids

Richard Charles Thompson is a famous marine biologist. He studies trash in the ocean, especially tiny pieces of plastic. He works at the University of Plymouth in the UK. There, he leads the Marine Institute and is a professor of Marine Biology. He also directs a special team that researches marine litter from all over the world. In 2004, Professor Thompson was the first person to use the word "microplastics".

Early Life and Learning

Richard Thompson went to two universities in the UK. He studied at University of Newcastle. Later, he went to the University of Liverpool. He earned his PhD degree there in 1996.

Discovering Microplastics

In 2004, Professor Thompson wrote an important paper. It was called Lost at Sea: Where is All the Plastic? This paper was published in a well-known science magazine called Science. In this paper, he used the word "microplastics" for the first time. Since then, this word has become very common.

Microplastics are very small pieces of plastic. They are usually less than 5 millimeters long. These tiny plastics come from bigger plastic items that break down. They can also be small beads found in some products.

Fighting Plastic Pollution

Since 2010, Professor Thompson has been a professor at the University of Plymouth. He teaches about marine biology. In 2018, he also became the director of the Marine Institute there. This institute is part of the School of Biological and Marine Sciences. He also leads a team called the International Marine Litter Research Unit. This team studies plastic pollution in the oceans.

Professor Thompson helps lead a group called The Scientists' Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty. This group works to create a global agreement to stop plastic pollution. In September 2024, he led another study. This study was also published in Science. It said that after 20 years of research, we have enough information. We know what to do to solve the problem of microplastics.

Awards and Recognition

Professor Thompson has received many important awards for his work.

• In 2016, he won the Marsh Award for Marine and Freshwater Conservation. This award is for people who help protect ocean and river life.
• In 2018, he was given the Order of the British Empire (OBE). This is a special honour from the UK for his work in marine science.
• In 2020, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honour for scientists in the UK.
• He won the Volvo Environment Prize in 2022.
• He also received the Blue Planet Prize in 2023.
• In 2024, Time magazine included him in their list of influential people in health.

In 2016, a politician named Mary Creagh called him "The Godfather of Microplastics." She said this during a public meeting about how microplastics affect the environment. Many news groups around the world have used this nickname for him since then.