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Leigh Royden joined the EAPS faculty at MIT in 1984. He earned an AB in Physics from Harvard University in 1977 and completed his PhD in Geology and Geophysics at MIT in 1982. During his tenure, Royden has established a significant history of service, actively promoting inclusivity and diversity within the Earth sciences, mentoring junior researchers, and addressing the challenges faced by female faculty members. He served as chair of the Program in Geology, Geochemistry, and Geobiology from 2003 to 2010, and is currently the Director of the MIT Experimental Study Group. Royden is recognized for fundamentally reshaping the understanding of large-scale continental processes and has been honored with numerous awards including the Donath Medal, the Woollard Award, and election as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018. He was also honored with election to the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and as a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 2019, receiving the AGU Walter H. Bucher Medal. His research focuses on the combination of geology and geophysics to study Earth's crust and tectonic processes, with a recent emphasis on subducting slab dynamics and regional mechanics of continental deformation.