Rock Stars

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The Division's Rock Star Editorial Team reviews and edits the Rock Stars column. To learn more about GSA's History and Philosophy of Geology Division, visit its GSA Connected Community website.

Title (in alpha order by the Rock Star's last name) PDF Published
Mary Anning: She Sold (Fossil) Sea Shells by the Seashore
Renee Clary
May 2019, p. 62–63
A Life of Firsts: Florence Bascom
Jill S. Schneiderman
July 1997, p. 8–9
Etheldred Benett (1776–1845): The Lady was a Geologist
Renee M. Clary
July 2023, p. 32–33
Norman L. Bowen: The Experimental Approach to Petrology
H.S. Yoder Jr.
May 1998, p. 10–11
John Casper Branner (1850–1922): Rock Star in Two Countries
William R. Brice
July 2022, p. 36–37
J Harlen Bretz (1882–1981): Outrageous Geological Hypothesizer
Victor R. Baker
May 2022, p. 50–51
Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin (1843–1928)
Robert H. Dott Jr.
Oct. 2006, p. 30–31
Preston Cloud: Peripatetic Paleontologist
J. Thomas Dutro. Jr.
Aug. 1999, p. 16–17
Reginald Aldworth Daly (1871–1957): Eclectic Theoretician of the Earth
James H. Natland
Feb. 2006, p. 24–26
James Dwight Dana (1813–1895): Mineralogist, Zoologist, Geologist, Explorer
James H. Natland
Feb. 2003, p. 20–21
Henry Darcy (1803–1858): Founder of Quantitative Hydrogeology
Patricia Bobeck
February 2022, p. 20–21
Darwin the Geologist
Léo F. Laporte
Dec. 1996, p. 8–10
George Mercer Dawson: Pioneer Explorer of Western Canada
Charles H. Smith
Aug. 2002, p. 16–17
John William (Sir William) Dawson: Geologist and Educator
Susan Sheets-Pyenson
Sept. 1998, p. 14–15
Robert Dietz: From Ocean Floor Mapping to Chasing Meteorite Impacts
Rasoul Sorkhabi and Steven N. Koppes
February 2023, p. 18–19
Kenneth Orris Emery (1914–1998): Pioneer Marine Geologist
Donn S. Gorsline and Kelvin S. Rodolfo
Nov. 2003, p. 18–19
William Maurice Ewing: Pioneer Explorer of the Ocean Floor and Architect of Lamont
William Wertenbaker
Oct. 2000, p. 28–29
Robert M. Garrels (1916–1988): Pioneer of Modern-Day Sedimentary Geochemistry and Geochemical Cycling
Fred T. Mackenzie
Oct. 2007, p. 25–27
Robert Minard Garrels (1916–1988)
Lee R. Kump
Feb. 2016, p. 20–21
Archibald Geikie (1835-1924): A Pioneer Scottish Geologist, Teacher, and Writer
Rasoul Sorkhabi
June 2020, p. 34–36
Model Survey Geologist: G. K. Gilbert
Joanne Bourgeois
Feb. 1998, p. 16–17
Nevertheless, She Persisted: Winifred Goldring
Renee M. Clary
Nov. 2023, p. 18–19
Charles Frederick Hartt — A Pioneer of Brazilian Geology
William R. Brice and Silvia F. de M. Figueirôa
Mar. 2003, p. 18–19
Dr. Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden: 150 Years after Yellowstone
Jacob O. Thacker
Dec. 2021, p. 20–21
Arthur Holmes: An Ingenious Geoscientist
Cherry L.E. Lewis
Mar. 2002, p. 16–17
Lou Henry Hoover (1874–1944): An Independent Woman of Action
Joanne Bourgeois
Oct. 2021, p. 48–50
Clarence King: Pioneering Geologist of the West
K.R. Aalto
Feb. 2004, p. 18–19
Andrew Cowper Lawson (1861–1952): How a Boy from Canada Became a Legendary Professor of Geology at Berkeley
Gerard V. Middleton
Apr./May 2006, p. 50–51
Sir William Edmond Logan, Father of Canadian Geology: His Passion Was Precision
Charles H. Smith
May 2000, p. 22–23
A Scientist Concerned About Society: Kirtley F. Mather (1888–1978)
Kennard B. Bork
July 1996,
p. 8–10
Grand Vision of Edwin D. McKee
Earle E. Spamer
Nov. 1999, p. 18–19
Hugh Miller (1802–1856): Scottish Geologist, Popular Writer, and National Hero
Kevin Ray Evans
June 2019, p. 36–37
Raymond Cecil Moore: A Great 20th Century Geological Synthesizer
Daniel F. Merriam
Aug. 2003, p. 16–18
David Dale Owen (1807-1860): Frontier Geologist
William Elliott
Aug. 2021,
p. 20–21.
The Lady and Her Fossils: Katherine Van Winkle Palmer (1895-1982)
William R. Brice
Aug. 2020, p. 20–21
Israel Cook Russell (1852–1906)
K.R. Aalto
Feb. 2009, p. 14–15
Francis Parker Shepard, 1897–1985
Joseph R. Curray
Dec. 2001, p. 20–21
Eugene M. Shoemaker and the Integration of Earth and Sky
Mary G. Chapman
Apr. 2001, p. 20–21
George Gaylord Simpson (1902–1984)
Léo F. Laporte
Sept. 2004, p. 16–17
William “Strata” Smith
Hugh Torrens
Sept. 2015, p. 38–40
Laurence L. Sloss and the Sequence Stratigraphy Revolution
Robert H. Dott Jr.
Mar. 2014, p. 24–26
Marie Tharp—Plate Tectonics Pioneer
Hali Felt
June 2017,
p. 32–33.
W.H. Twenhofel: Patriarch of Sedimentary Geology
R.H. Dott Jr.
July 2001, p. 16–17
Formative Years of the Scientific Career of T. Wayland Vaughan
Robert N. Ginsburg
Nov. 1995,
p. 233–234
Explorer of Mountains, Minerals, and Global Ecosystems: Alexander von Humboldt
Michael T. May
November 2022, p. 30–31
From Farmer-Laborer to Famous Leader: Charles D. Walcott (1850–1927)
Ellis L. Yochelson
Jan. 1996,
p. 8–9
Johannes Walther (1860–1937): More than the law of facies correlation
Eberhard Gischler
Aug. 2011, p. 12–13
David White (1862–1935): Pioneer in Coal, Petroleum, and Paleobotanical Studies
Paul C. Lyons and Elsie D. Morey
June 2006, p. 54–55
The Father of Modern Volcanology: Howel Williams (1898–1980)
Alexander R. McBirney
Aug. 2000, p. 26–27
J. Tuzo Wilson
Derek York
Sept. 2001, p. 24–25