Three geologists are among the seven winners of the 2008 Dan David Prize, which honors scientific, technological, and humanistic achievements, and is awarded in three categories for achievements related to the past, present, and future.

The three scientists will share the $1-million prize for enhancing our understanding of the future, even though, paradoxically, their work has involved studies into the earth’s distant past. Geoffrey Eglinton, of Britain’s University of Bristol, is being honored for his studies of organic chemical fossils, which “revealed the inhabitants and climates of ancient worlds and the implications for today and tomorrow,” according to the award citation.

Ellen Mosley-Thompson and Lonnie G. Thompson, both of Ohio State University, are being recognized for their studies of “geological and environmental records in ice cores and how that assists with predicting future geological events,” the citation says.

The awards for achievements related to the past and the present each carry $1-million prizes as well. The winners for 2008 in the past category are Amos Oz, the Israeli writer; Tom Stoppard, the British playwright; and Atom Egoyan, the Canadian filmmaker. The winner in the present category is Al Gore, the former vice president of the United States.

The awards are named for Dan David, a Romanian native who made his fortune in the photography business. The prizes are endowed by the Dan David Foundation, which has its headquarters at Tel Aviv University. The prizes are to be presented there in May. Additional information about this year’s winners is available on the Dan David Prize Web site. —Andrew Mytelka