Keith Runcorn
| Keith Runcorn | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 November 1922 Southport, Lancashire |
| Died | 5 December 1995 San Diego, Calif. |
| Nationality | United Kingdom |
| Fields | plate tectonics; paleomagnetism |
| Institutions | Cambridge U. Newcastle U. U. of Alaska, Fairbanks |
| Alma mater | Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge U. |
| Doctoral advisor | Patrick Blackett |
| Doctoral students | numerous: see body of article |
| Known for | reestablishing viability of the theory of continental drift; discoveries in planetary magnetism |
| Influences | Patrick Blackett |
| Influenced | two generations of earth scientists |
| Notable awards | numerous: see body of article |
Stanley Keith Runcorn FRS[1] (19 November 1922 – 5 December 1995) was a British physicist whose paleomagnetic reconstruction of the relative motions of Europe and America revived the theory of continental drift and was a major contribution to plate tectonics.
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[edit] Biography
He was born in Southport, Lancashire and graduated in engineering at Cambridge University in 1942.
After a period in radar research during the World War II, he joined the Physics Department at the University of Manchester where he did research on aspects of the Earth's magnetic field, taking his Ph.D. under Patrick Blackett in 1949[2]. This led to his interest in palaeomagnetism, the study of the magnetism of rocks, which he pursued first at the Geophysics Department at the University of Cambridge and later at Newcastle University, where he was appointed to the chair of Physics in 1956. At Newcastle Runcorn developed a strong research group in geophysics, and made substantial contributions to various fields, including convection in the Earth and Moon, the shape and magnetic fields of the Moon and planets, magnetohydrodynamics of the Earth's core, changes in the length of the day, polar wandering, continental drift and plate tectonics.
Runcorn received many honours, including Fellowship of the Royal Society in 1965, the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Fleming medal of the American Geophysical Union. He was also a member of the Pontifical Academy of Science. He served as the Sydney Chapman Endowed Chair in Physical Sciences at the University of Alaska from 1989 to 1995. After his retirement in 1988 he continued to be active in various lines of research until his untimely death in San Diego in 1995.
[edit] Publications
- Physics and chemistry of the Earth (1956), edited by L.H. Ahrens, K. Rankama, S.K. Runcorn
- Methods and techniques in geophysics (1966) ed.
- Continental drift (1962), S.K. Runcorn.
- International dictionary of geophysics : seismology, geomagnetism, aeronomy, oceanography, geodesy, gravity, marine geophysics, meteorology, the earth as a planet and its evolution (1967), ed.
- Mantles of the earth and terrestrial planets (1967) NATO Advanced Study Institute, ed.
- Methods in palaeomagnetism: Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Palaeomagnetic Methods (1967), edited by D.W. Collinson, K.M. Creer, S.K. Runcorn
- Palaeogeophysics, (1970) NATO Advanced Study Institute, ed.
- Earth Sciences (1971), S.K. Runcorn
- Implications of continental drift to the earth sciences (1973) NATO Advanced Study Institute, D.H. Tarling and S.K. Runcorn
- Mechanisms of continental drift and plate tectonics (1980) edited by P. A. Davies and S. K. Runcorn
- Magnetism, planetary rotation, and convection in the solar system : retrospect and prospect : in honour of Prof. S.K. Runcorn (1985) edited by W. O'Reilly, S. K. Runcorn
- The Physics of the planets : their origin, evolution, and structure (1987) ed.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Collinson, D.W. (1 December 2002). "Stanley Keith Runcorn. 19 November 1922 - 5 December 1995". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 48 (0): 391–403. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2002.0023.
- ^ Powell, T.E. and Harper, P. "Outline of the Career of Stanley Keith Runcorn." Catalogue of the papers and correspondence of Stanley Keith Runcorn FRS (1922-1995), geophysicist [1], College Archives, Imperial College London, 2002
- Gillispie, Charles Coulston, ed. (2008). "Runcorn, Stanley Keith". Complete dictionary of scientific biography. 24. Detroit, Mich.: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 298–302. ISBN 978-0-684-31559-1.
- Hide, Raymond. "Keith Runcorn". Awards & Medals. European Geosciences Union. http://www.egu.eu/awards-medals/awards-and-medals/award/portrait-keith-runcorn.html. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
- Powell, Timothy E.; Thibeaud, Caroline, eds. (2002) (pdf). Catalogue of the papers and correspondence of Stanley Keith Runcorn FRS (1922-1995), geophysicist. 1. NCUACS catalogue no. 104/3/02. College Archives, Imperial College London. https://workspace.imperial.ac.uk/recordsandarchives/Public/Runcorn,%20Professor%20Stanley%20Keith%20FRS%20catalogue%20of%20papers%20Volume%201.pdf.
- Powell, Timothy E.; Thibeaud, Caroline, eds. (2002) (pdf). Catalogue of the papers and correspondence of Stanley Keith Runcorn FRS (1922-1995), geophysicist. 2. NCUACS catalogue no. 104/3/02. College Archives, Imperial College London. https://workspace.imperial.ac.uk/recordsandarchives/Public/Runcorn,%20Professor%20Stanley%20Keith%20FRS%20catalogue%20of%20papers%20Volume%202.pdf.
- Powell, Timothy E.; Thibeaud, Caroline, eds. (2002) (pdf). Catalogue of the papers and correspondence of Stanley Keith Runcorn FRS (1922-1995), geophysicist. 3. NCUACS catalogue no. 104/3/02. College Archives, Imperial College London. https://workspace.imperial.ac.uk/recordsandarchives/Public/Runcorn,%20Professor%20Stanley%20Keith%20FRS%20catalogue%20of%20papers%20Volume%203.pdf.
- "Biography: Stanley Keith Runcorn (1922-1955)". The Vetlesen Prize. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. 2004. http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/vetlesen/recipients/1970/runcorn_bio.html. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
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