George P. L. Walker
George Walker Queen's University, Belfast (BSc, 1948), (MSc, 1949) University of Leeds (PhD, 1956) | |
|---|---|
| Known for | Volcanology; mineralogy. |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Volcanologist |
| Institutions | Imperial College London University of Auckland University of Hawaiʻi |
| Doctoral advisor | William Quarrier Kennedy |
| Doctoral students | Steve Sparks Stephen Self Geoff Wadge Ian S. E. Carmichael[1] Colin Wilson |
George Patrick Leonard Walker British geologist who began his career studying mineralogy and later made significant contributions to volcanology.[2][3][4][5][6]
He was widely regarded as one of the pioneers of modern quantitative volcanology.[7]
Biography
Walker was born in
Ruwenzori Mountains and the Belgian Congo
.
Career and research
In 1952 Walker took up an assistant lectureship in mineralogy at
pyroclastic rocks and the products of explosive volcanic eruptions, in Italy, the Azores and Tenerife
.
In 1977, Walker was awarded a Captain James Cook Fellowship of the
Royal Society of New Zealand, which he took up at the University of Auckland. Although this began as a visiting position, in 1978 Walker resigned from Imperial College, and moved to New Zealand with his family. In 1981, he moved to the newly created Gordon Macdonald Chair in Volcanology at the University of Hawaiʻi. He remained in post until retirement, in 1996.[2][10]
Awards and honours
Walker received many awards and fellowships in recognition of his meticulous and influential work.
- Icelandic Order of the Falcon, conferred by the president of Iceland in 1977.
- Election as Fellow of the Royal Society in 1975.
- McKay Hammer award of the Geoscience Society of New Zealand in 1982.[11]
- Lyell Medal of the Geological Society of London in 1982.
- University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents Award for Excellence in Research in 1985.
- Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Society of New Zealandin 1987.
- Fellowship of the Geological Society of America in 1987.
- Fellowship of the American Geophysical Union in 1988.
- Honorary D.Sc. from the University of New Zealand in 1988.
- Dr. scient. hon. c. from the University of Iceland in 1988.
- Thorarinsson Medal (IAVCEI) in 1989.
- Wollaston Medal (Geological Society of London) in 1995.
Selected publications
- Walker, George P. L. (September 1960). "Zeolite Zones and Dike Distribution in Relation to the Structure of the Basalts of Eastern Iceland". The Journal of Geology. 68 (5): 515–528. S2CID 140566286.
- Walker, George P. L. (July 1973). "Explosive volcanic eruptions — a new classification scheme". Geologische Rundschau. 62 (2): 431–446. S2CID 129590129.
- Walker, George P.L. (September 1983). "Ignimbrite types and ignimbrite problems". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 17 (1–4): 65–88. .
- Wilson, Lionel; R. Stephen J. Sparks; George P. L. Walker (1987). "Explosive volcanic eruptions — IV. The control of magma properties and conduit geometry on eruption column behaviour". Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society. 63 (1): 117–148. .
Personal life
In 1958, Walker married Hazel Smith. They had a daughter, Alison, and a son, Leonard.
References
- EThOS uk.bl.ethos.602161.
- ^ S2CID 58809052.
- S2CID 122824685.
- ISBN 9781862392809. [ISBN missing]
- ^ a b Wadge, Geoff (22 February 2005). "George Walker". The Guardian.
- IAVCEI - A George P.L. Walker symposium on Advances in Volcanology Archived 2010-07-13 at the Wayback Machine- Reykholt, Borgarfjordur, W-Iceland, 12–17 June 2006
- ^ Thordarson, T.; Self, S.; Larsen, G.; Rowland, S. K.; Höskuldsson, Á (1 January 2009). "Studies in Volcanology: The Legacy of George Walker". Geological Society of London – via pubs.geoscienceworld.org.
- ISBN 9781862396241– via pubs.geoscienceworld.org.
- S2CID 131498667.
- ^ "Professor George Walker". The Times. 18 February 2005.
- ^ "McKay Hammer Award » Geoscience Society of New Zealand". Geoscience Society of New Zealand.
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