An Informal History of Geosciences at UMass Amherst - Paperback

by John F. Hubert (Author)

With many illustrations, John Hubert follows UMass Amherst from its founding as the Massachusetts Agricultural College (Mass Aggie) in 1867 under the Morrill Land Grant Colleges Act of 1862, evolving into the Massachusetts State College, then University of Massachusetts, and now University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The Department of Geology and Mineralogy started in 1946, changed to Geology, then Geology and Geography, and now Geosciences. John traces the personalities and occasional humorous events as the initial emphasis on geological field studies expanded into the current geosciences that integrates the history of the Earth with its dynamic internal and surface processes, climate change, water resources, diverse people and societies, and achieving a sustainable quality of life.

Author Biography

John earned his B. A. in geology at Harvard (1952), M. S. at the University of Colorado (1954), and Ph. D. at the Pennsylvania State University (1958). After teaching 12 years at the University of Missouri at Columbia, John moved to UMass in 1970, retiring in 2005. Over the years he supervised 59 graduate students and wrote more than 60 publications. Now Professor Emeritus, John reflects on the many changes during his 45 years at UMass Amherst.