A. Joshua West (born 25 March 1977) is a

dual citizen Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...

British-American Olympic rower and

Earth Sciences Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...

professor. He is a two-time World Championship silver medalist, a World Championship bronze medalist, and a four-time Cambridge Blue, and represented Great Britain in the eight at the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, won a bronze medal in the eight in the 2007 World Cup series, and won a bronze medal at the 2007 World Championships in the eight, and won a

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

in the eight in the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

."Josh West"
/ref>

Early life

West is Jewish and was born in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

, United States. His mother is American and his father is British. West attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

for his undergraduate degree, majoring in geology and international studies. As an undergraduate he was a member of the

St. Anthony Hall St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the feast day of Saint Anthony the Great. The fraternity is a non–religious, nonsectar ...

literary society and was a member of the crew team.Davenport College students get Marshall awards
. ''Yale Bulletin and Calendar News Stories''. 26 (18). January 26, 1998. In 1999, West attended

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

for postgraduate study as a

Marshall Scholar The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is considered among the most prestigious scholarshi ...

. He completed a doctorate at Cambridge in 2005."Josh West '98 Earns Spot in 2008 Olympics" - Yale
/ref>

Rowing career

At Yale, West learned to row under Freshman Coach Justin Moore and Varsity Coach Dave Vogel. He participated in the Varsity Eights version of the Harvard-Yale Boat Race his senior year (1998) but lost to

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

. While studying in England, he earned a spot in the Blue Boat for

The Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. It is also known as the U ...

against

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. Earning a seat in Cambridge's Blue Boat every year until

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, West and the "Light Blues" defeated the "Dark Blues" twice in those four years (1999 & 2001). In

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, West lined up against former Yale teammates Alexander Reid and Eirik Lilledahl, who were the stern pair of the victorious Oxford crew. At , West is the tallest recorded oarsman to participate in The Boat Race. He also twice won May Bumps headships with Caius Boat Club. Building on his Cambridge successes, West eventually became a member of the British National Rowing Team and won two silver medals (2002 & 2003) with the British Four and one bronze medal (2007) with the British Eight at the

World Rowing Championships The World Rowing Championships is an international Rowing (sport), rowing regatta organized by International Rowing Federation, FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer ...

. West's most recent success came in the Eight rowing for Great Britain at the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

in Beijing, China, where the British crew picked up a

in a close finish behind the Canadians.

Academic career

West is currently an Associate Professor of Earth Sciences and Zinsmeyer Early Career Chair in Marine Studies in the Department of

at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

.Dr. A. Joshua West
/ref> His academic focus is on the chemical processes at the Earth's surface, and how they maintain a habitable planet that supports life.

References

External links

Twitter page
{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Josh 1977 births Living people American people of British-Jewish descent British Jews British male rowers Yale College alumni Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Sportspeople from Santa Fe, New Mexico Rowers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic rowers for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Marshall Scholars Olympic medalists in rowing Jewish American sportspeople Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Members of Leander Club Cambridge University Boat Club rowers University of Southern California faculty American sportsmen World Rowing Championships medalists for Great Britain American earth scientists 21st-century British earth scientists 21st-century American Jews Yale Bulldogs rowers 21st-century American sportsmen

Early life

Rowing career

Academic career

See also

References

External links