We are very saddened to report of the death of our friend and colleague Dr Jonathan (Jon) Tennant, who was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, during the early morning of Thursday the 9th April. As well as being an Executive Editor for the Geoscience Communication journal, Jon was a powerhouse in the Open Scholarship movement, working tirelessly to develop practices that enabled science to be accessible for everyone, rather than being the preserve of an elite few.

Jon was an extremely gifted palaeontologist, completing his PhD in January 2017 at Imperial College London in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering, where he was awarded the Janet Watson Award for research excellence. As well as having an exceptional publication track record, Jon also ensured that all of his research was freely available through Open Access, and he was a passionate, engaging and revolutionary spokesperson for Open Scholarship more generally.

As an executive editor for Geoscience Communication, Jon helped to develop the journal into an inclusive and diverse platform for promoting interdisciplinarity in the geosciences. Anyone that ever heard Jon speak about his work or the Open Scholarship movement, or read any of his research, blogs, Tweets, or children’s books, will attest to what a wonderful geoscientist and human being he was.

We are absolutely devastated to lose Jon, as both a colleague and as a member of the EGU family. He will be very sorely missed, and we send our most heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.

On behalf of the Geoscience Communication editorial staff and the entire EGU community,

Sam Illingworth
Iain Stewart
Kirsten v. Elverfeldt