Stephen Cummings Porter (April 18, 1934 – February 19, 2015) was an American geologist who taught in the department of Geological Sciences (now called the department of Earth and Space Sciences) and directed the Quaternary Research Center at the University of Washington. He was chief editor of the journal ''

Quaternary Research ''Quaternary Research'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of Quaternary science. The journal was established in 1970, is now published by Cambridge University Press, and is edited by Derek B. Booth, Nicholas Lancaster and Lewis A. Owen. Pre ...

'' from 1976 until his retirement in 2001. He died on February 19, 2015, aged 80. Porter was well known for his work in glacial geology, and was a pioneer of the subject, particularly in China, which he visited for fieldwork and conferences more than 30 times over the course of his career. He also did field work in several many and formerly glaciated areas around the world, including Alaska's Brooks Range, The Italian Alps, Chilean Andes, New Zealand Alps, Himalayas, the Hindu Kush, and Hawaii's Big Island. Among his important contributions was the elucidation of climate record contained in the Loess Plateau sediments of China, and the recognition of the role of volcanism in explaining the cold temperatures of the

Little Ice Age The Little Ice Age (LIA) was a period of regional cooling, particularly pronounced in the North Atlantic region. It was not a true ice age of global extent. The term was introduced into scientific literature by François E. Matthes in 1939. Ma ...

Porter was honored for his work with numerous awards, including two awards from the Chinese Academy of Science, and the Kirk Bryan Award from the Geological Society of America. He was awarded in 2004 the Distinguished Career Award from the

American Quaternary Association The American Quaternary Association (AMQUA) is a professional organization of North American scientists devoted to studies of the quaternary geological period. They were founded in 1970 and their stated goals are to "foster cooperation and communic ...

and in 2011 the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) Distinguished Career Medal. Porter served as president of both the

(1992–1994) and the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) (1995–1999), and was an elected Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

, the Geological Society of America and the Arctic Institute of North America.

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Faculty page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Stephen C. 1934 births 2015 deaths American glaciologists 20th-century American geologists Scientists from Santa Barbara, California Scientific journal editors Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the Geological Society of America Yale University alumni University of Washington faculty