Professor Plimer's research and dynamic leadership of Melbourne's School of Earth Sciences has been recognised by the award of the prestigious Leopold von Buch Medal by the Deutsche Geologische Gesellschaft, the first time the award was recieved by an Australian. Plimer has worked on the geology of several areas of Australia but has concentrated on Broken Hill and the Olary Block immediately to its west. He has also done innovative research on gold geochemistry and an alternative to cyanide for the extraction of gold. Plimer is a well-known public communicator of earth sciences via nearly 60 programmes per year.