The Department of Earth Sciences at
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
is the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
's
Earth Sciences
Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...
department. First formed around 1731, the department incorporates the
Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences.
History
The department's history can be traced back to 1731 when the 1st
Woodwardian Professor of Geology was appointed, in accordance with the bequest of
John Woodward. The present Department of Earth Sciences was formed by an amalgamation of the Department of Geology, Department of Geodesy and Geophysics and the Department of Mineralogy and Petrology in 1980. When the three departments were amalgamated the
Chair of Geophysics and
Chair of Mineralogy and Petrology, along with the
Woodwardian Professorship, were assigned to the newly formed Department of Earth Sciences.
The main location of the department is at the Downing Site, Downing St. The Bullard Laboratories, located in
West Cambridge on Madingley Rd is a satellite department of the main building. The department incorporates the
Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences and the
Godwin Laboratory.
The department is the home of the
Sedgwick Club, which was founded in memory of
Adam Sedgwick
Adam Sedgwick FRS (; 22 March 1785 – 27 January 1873) was a British geologist and Anglican priest, one of the founders of modern geology. He proposed the Cambrian and Devonian period of the geological timescale. Based on work which he did ...
in 1880, and is the oldest student run geological society in the world.
Sedgwick Club website
/ref>
Notable people
Fellows and Former Fellows
* Michael Bickle FRS
* Simon Conway Morris FRS
* Marie Edmonds FRS
* Harry Elderfield FRS
* Richard Harrison
* David Hodell FRS ( Woodwardian Professor of Geology)
* Timothy Holland FRS
* Marian Holness FRS
* James Jackson FRS CBE
* Nick McCave (Former Woodwardian Professor of Geology)
* Dan McKenzie FRS CH
* Ekhard Salje FRS
* Bob White FRS
* Eric Wolff FRS
Alumni
* Stuart Agrell
* Sir David Attenborough CH
* John Auden
* George Band OBE
* Jon Blundy FRS
* Martin Bott FRS
* Chris Brasher CBE
* Derek Briggs FRS
* Peter Chadwick FRS
* Euan Clarkson
* Alan Cook FRS
* Claire Craig CBE
* Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
* Gertrude Elles
* William George Fearnsides FRS
* Richard Fortey FRS
* Sir Vivian Fuchs FRS
* Thomas Gaskell
* Alfred Harker FRS
* W. Brian Harland
* Dorothy Hill FRS
* Ted Irving FRS
* John E Marr FRS
* Rachel Mills CBE
* Sir Mark Moody-Stuart KCMG
* Yin Yin Nwe
* Mike O'Hara FRS
* Sanjaasürengiin Oyuun
* Bob Parker FRS
* Julian Pearce
* David Pugh
* Ros Rickaby FRS
* Fred Vine FRS
* Lawrence Wager FRS
* Gino Watkins
* Kathryn Whaler OBE
* Leonard Wills
* Sir James Wordie CBE, FRS
Former staff
* Edward Bullard FRS
* Oliver Bulman FRS
* Alex Deer FRS
* David Gubbins FRS
* Maurice Hill FRS
* W B R King FRS
* O T Jones FRS
* Drummond Matthews FRS
* W H Miller FRS
* Stephen Nockolds FRS
* Noel Odell
* Sir Keith O'Nions FRS
* Lord Oxburgh FRS
* Colin Pillinger FRS CBE
* Simon Redfern
* Barrie Rickards (Extensive studies on graptolites
Graptolites are a group of colonial animals, members of the subclass Graptolithina within the class Pterobranchia. These filter-feeding organisms are known chiefly from fossils found from the Middle Cambrian (Miaolingian, Wuliuan) through th ...
)
* Adam Sedgwick FRS
* Nick Shackleton FRS (Winner of the Wollaston Medal)
* R. S. J. Sparks FRS CBE
* C E Tilley FRS
* Harry Whittington FRS
References
External links
University of Cambridge Dept. of Earth Sciences
Sedgwick Museum
Sedgwick Club
{{Authority control
Earth Sciences, Department of