Bert was an exceptional teacher and mentor. His teaching was recognized in 1973 with the university-wide “Outstanding Classroom Teaching” award from Standard Oil (Indiana). He served as Chair of the graduate studies committee for the University of Kansas’ Department of Geology for several years.
Contributions
Bert served in key roles at the National Science Foundation including member of the Antarctic Earth sciences working group (1994-97, Chair 1994-96); member of the polar Earth sciences panel (1993); member of the Earth sciences advisory committee (1980-1982); member of the geology program panel (1979-1982, Chair 1980-1982). He served as editor of the
Journal of Systematic Zoology (1971-1973); member of the International Geological Correlation Program working group for the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary (1978-1994), and Cambrian subcommission of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (1974-95); and Associate Editor of
Lethaia (1980-1991) and
Palaeobiology (1978-1983). He was a Senior Fellow of the Geological Society of America and Fellow of the Geological Society of London. In 2000, he evaluated four research institutes for the Greek Ministry of Development. Following retirement, Bert made his eighth visit to Antarctica with Ohio State University.
Bert is survived by Marge, his wife of 69 years; daughter, Alison Jane Nye (Jim); son, Gareth Alwyn Rowell (Millisa); 5 grandchildren; 6 great grandchildren; and his brother, Jack Allan Rowell. Bert was preceded in death by his sons, Ian and Colin, and granddaughters, Sally and Mhari.
By David J. McBride, Kevin R. Evans, Bruce S. Lieberman, and Federico F. Krause
The full version of this obituary appears below. Editor.
Albert John Rowell (1929 – 2023)
Palaeontologist, curator, and teacher who contributed greatly to the scientific community
Albert (Bert) John Rowell, emeritus Professor of geology, University of Kansas, and emeritus curator of invertebrate palaeontology, KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum, died at home on 28 September in Lawrence, Kansas at the age of 94.
Bert was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, UK, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a BSc in mining engineering with 1st Class Honours in 1950 and a PhD in geology in 1953. Following graduation and until 1955, Bert completed two years of National Service with the Royal Corps of Engineers, as 2nd Lieutenant training at the Royal School of Military Survey. He was deployed to Kenya as troop commander and involved in a variety of missions. This service profoundly influenced his academic interest in and dedication to the importance of fieldwork in geology.
His teaching career began in July 1955 as Assistant Lecturer in geology at the University of Nottingham, where he held the position of Lecturer from 1956 to 1964. From 1964 to 1965, Bert was a visiting professor at the University of Kansas; during that time, he was also promoted to Reader in geology at the University of Nottingham, a position that he held until 1967. That year, he emigrated to the US, accepting the positions of Professor of the Department of Geology and curator of the invertebrate palaeontology division, KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas. In 1990, he was a visiting scientist with the British Antarctic Survey and was elected a Bye-Fellow of Robinson College, University of Cambridge. He retired in 1995, following 40 years of distinguished service in both the UK and the US.
Exceptional teacher
Bert was an exceptional teacher and mentor, stressing fieldwork, diligence, quantitative methods, effective communication, and participation in both the University of Kansas’ Department of Geology and the wider scientific community. He was valued as a mentor to his students for his thoughtfulness as a scientist and as an individual. He taught undergraduate and graduate courses, including Introductory Geology and Invertebrate Palaeontology, as well as advanced topical courses and seminars. He taught at and served several terms as director of the department field camp. In 1973, his teaching was recognized with the university-wide “Outstanding Classroom Teaching” award from Standard Oil (Indiana). In addition, he served as Chair of the graduate studies committee for the Department of Geology for several years.
In addition, Bert was a highly successful researcher who was continuously funded from 1968 to 1996 by the National Science Foundation with competitively awarded grants on which he was the Principal Investigator. These awards supported students, fieldwork, and laboratory studies in a variety of locations including Antarctica, Newfoundland, and the Western US.
Over the course of his career, Bert published more than 89 papers, exclusive of abstracts. He served as principal author and editor for the original two volume set of the Treatise on Invertebrate Palaeontology for the Phylum Brachiopoda. He also co-authored and co-edited the highly regarded Fossil Invertebrates textbook. His research helped to further our understanding of key topics in palaeontology, geology, and Cambrian tectonics. His published research topics include inarticulate brachiopod systematics, development, ecology, and evolution; Cambrian trilobite systematics and chronocorrelation; Cambrian stratigraphy and tectonics; Antarctic geology; and glacial and structural geology of the Yorkshire Dales. Results of his work appeared in leading journals in geology and palaeontology and have been cited widely. Bert and his students collected and curated thousands of fossil specimens including holotypes and paratypes, which are now housed in the KU Biodiversity Institute and the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., so this legacy, as well as his publications, will live on for future generations.
Contributions
Throughout his career, Bert served in key roles at the National Science Foundation including member of the Antarctic Earth sciences working group (1994-97, Chair 1994-96); member of the polar Earth sciences panel (1993); member of the Earth sciences advisory committee (1980-1982); member of the geology program panel (1979-1982, Chair 1980-1982). He served as editor of the Journal of Systematic Zoology (1971-1973) during a pivotal time in the field of systematics; Bert’s fair and balanced editorial judgements have been praised in historical treatments of the era. Bert was a member of the International Geological Correlation Program working group for the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary (1978-1994) and the Cambrian subcommission of the International Commission on Stratigraphy of the International Union of Geophysical Sciences (1974-95). He further served as associate editor of Lethaia (1980-1991) and Palaeobiology (1978-1983). At retirement he was a Senior Fellow of the Geological Society of America and Fellow of the Geological Society of London.
Following retirement, he continued to serve as a reviewer of papers and grant proposals within the US and Australia. In 2000, he travelled to Greece at the request of the Greek Ministry of Development to evaluate four research institutes. Bert’s last and eighth visit to Antarctica was as a palaeontologist with a party from Ohio State University. In his later years, Bert took vows of a Benedictine oblate and regularly attended Conception Abbey in Conception, Missouri.
Bert is survived by Marge, his wife of 69 years; daughter, Alison Jane Nye (Jim); son, Gareth Alwyn Rowell (Millisa); 5 grandchildren; 6 great grandchildren; and his brother, Jack Allan Rowell. Bert was preceded in death by his sons, Ian James Rowell and Colin Peter Rowell, and granddaughters, Sally Rowell and Mhari Rowell.
By David J. McBride, Kevin R. Evans, Bruce S. Lieberman, and Federico F. Krause