Allison R. Palmer

Institute of Technology, May 21, 1999

Dr. Palmer received his Ph.D. in geology from the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Minnesota in 1950. He has had an outstanding career of nearly fifty years as a geologist with the United States Geological Survey and in academia (SUNY-Stony Brook). The author of more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, his research has played a fundamentally important role in our understanding of the origin and evolution of life on Earth. As general editor of the giant Decade of North American Geology (30 volumes, 20,000 pages), he has accomplished in a thirteen-year effort what many thought was an impossible task, and this has earned him the respect, gratitude and admiration of the entire geologic community. Dr. Palmer has received numerous awards in geology for his research, service and teaching. He is considered one of an elite group of scientists of his generation.