In memoriam: Prof. A. Surjalal Sharma

19 February 2024

We regret to announce that Prof. A. Surjalal Sharma passed away on 5 January. He was a long-serving and dedicated editor of Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics. He was particularly keen to maintain this partnership between the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and the European Geosciences Union (EGU), as he had previously done as Chair of the AGU Nonlinear Geophysics section. Prof. A. Surjalal Sharma worked as space physicist for 41 years at the University of Maryland and was internationally recognised, notably for his pioneering work on complexity and self-organised criticality in plasma physics and on space weather prediction. His human qualities were also universally appreciated, particularly as an organiser and leader. He has received numerous awards, including the AGU Lorenz Lecture and fellowships from the Indian Geophysical Union and the American Physical Society. Prof. A. Surjalal Sharma will be greatly missed by the nonlinear geophysics community, and we extend our condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.