- Email: [email protected]
John I. Hedges
Organic Geochemistry 33 (2002) 1205–1206 www.elsevier.com/locate/orggeochem
Obituary
John I. Hedges John I. Hedges died unexpectedly on 26 July 2002 while on sabbatical in Munich, Germany. John was born in central Ohio in the winter of 1946 and spent much of his youth on the family farm, where his fascination with the natural world grew. He majored in chemistry at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio and received his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 under the guidance of Patrick Parker at the Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas. While at Texas John met and married Joyce, his beloved companion and foil for the past 29 years. John spent his postdoctoral years with Tom Hoering at the Carnegie Institution’s Geophysical Lab in Washington D.C. and joined the faculty of the University of Washington’s Department of Oceanography in 1976. Mentoring students was one of John’s greatest joys. John Ertel, Greg Cowie, Miguel Gon˜i, Brian Bergamaschi, Jeff Walters, Kathy Meyers-Schulte, Matt McCarthy, Peter Hernes, and most recently Anthony Aufdenkampe, Kenia Whitehead, Angie Dickens and Susan Lang all worked and thrived with John. Paula 0146-6380/02/$ - see front matter PII: S0146-6380(02)00143-2
Coble, Dennis Hansell, Annelie Skoog, Yves Ge´linas and Rick Keil were post-doctoral fellows in John’s laboratory. Much of John’s career was spent studying black muck, not unlike that found on his family’s pig farm. His research spanned many areas of oceanography and organic geochemistry and since his early days he was particularly interested in terrestrial influences on the ocean. He developed analytical methods for the detection of lignin, introducing one of the most unambiguous and widely used tracers of terrestrial input to the ocean that exists. He studied the sources and fates of cutins, tannins, carbohydrates and amino acids and was involved with several projects studying the behavior of organic material in rivers and the ocean. John’s other love was dissolved organic carbon, and he worked to set a standard for its measurement and to determine its chemical composition and biogeochemical behavior. Through all this, John was assisted by Michael Peterson, who frequently had to remind John how to turn on his computer! In all of his endeavors, John was a superb collaborator.
1206
Obituary / Organic Geochemistry 33 (2002) 1205–1206
John was elected a fellow of the Geochemical Society in 1998, and he received the Alfred E. Treibs Award in 2000 for his many outstanding contributions in organic geochemistry. His acceptance speech for the Treibs Award provides a personal, often amusing and reflective look at his career (Hedges, 2001). His recent research interests included understanding the global significance of black carbon, using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy for investigating the organic composition and fate of marine materials, and determining how inorganic matter affects the preservation and sinking of organic matter. His interest in pigs (particularly the barbecued version!) never waned. John was a giant in the fields of chemical oceanography and organic geochemistry, as well as in the field of humanity and common decency. He was loved by so many, and we will miss him. John leaves, in addition to Joyce, his two daughters, Angelique and Elizabeth. A John Hedges Memorial
Fund is being established at the School of Oceanography of the University of Washington to help support student travel to national and international scientific meetings and to sponsor a John Hedges Seminar Series. Contributions may be made to the School of Oceanography, Attn: Laurie Bryan, School of Oceanography, Box 357940, Seattle, WA 98195–7940, USA.
References Hedges, J.I., 2001. Acceptance of the 2000 Alfred E. Treibs Award. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 65 (6), 1001–1002.
Ron Benner Cindy Lee Stuart Wakeham E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Wakeham)
Obituary
John I. Hedges John I. Hedges died unexpectedly on 26 July 2002 while on sabbatical in Munich, Germany. John was born in central Ohio in the winter of 1946 and spent much of his youth on the family farm, where his fascination with the natural world grew. He majored in chemistry at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio and received his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 under the guidance of Patrick Parker at the Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas. While at Texas John met and married Joyce, his beloved companion and foil for the past 29 years. John spent his postdoctoral years with Tom Hoering at the Carnegie Institution’s Geophysical Lab in Washington D.C. and joined the faculty of the University of Washington’s Department of Oceanography in 1976. Mentoring students was one of John’s greatest joys. John Ertel, Greg Cowie, Miguel Gon˜i, Brian Bergamaschi, Jeff Walters, Kathy Meyers-Schulte, Matt McCarthy, Peter Hernes, and most recently Anthony Aufdenkampe, Kenia Whitehead, Angie Dickens and Susan Lang all worked and thrived with John. Paula 0146-6380/02/$ - see front matter PII: S0146-6380(02)00143-2
Coble, Dennis Hansell, Annelie Skoog, Yves Ge´linas and Rick Keil were post-doctoral fellows in John’s laboratory. Much of John’s career was spent studying black muck, not unlike that found on his family’s pig farm. His research spanned many areas of oceanography and organic geochemistry and since his early days he was particularly interested in terrestrial influences on the ocean. He developed analytical methods for the detection of lignin, introducing one of the most unambiguous and widely used tracers of terrestrial input to the ocean that exists. He studied the sources and fates of cutins, tannins, carbohydrates and amino acids and was involved with several projects studying the behavior of organic material in rivers and the ocean. John’s other love was dissolved organic carbon, and he worked to set a standard for its measurement and to determine its chemical composition and biogeochemical behavior. Through all this, John was assisted by Michael Peterson, who frequently had to remind John how to turn on his computer! In all of his endeavors, John was a superb collaborator.
1206
Obituary / Organic Geochemistry 33 (2002) 1205–1206
John was elected a fellow of the Geochemical Society in 1998, and he received the Alfred E. Treibs Award in 2000 for his many outstanding contributions in organic geochemistry. His acceptance speech for the Treibs Award provides a personal, often amusing and reflective look at his career (Hedges, 2001). His recent research interests included understanding the global significance of black carbon, using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy for investigating the organic composition and fate of marine materials, and determining how inorganic matter affects the preservation and sinking of organic matter. His interest in pigs (particularly the barbecued version!) never waned. John was a giant in the fields of chemical oceanography and organic geochemistry, as well as in the field of humanity and common decency. He was loved by so many, and we will miss him. John leaves, in addition to Joyce, his two daughters, Angelique and Elizabeth. A John Hedges Memorial
Fund is being established at the School of Oceanography of the University of Washington to help support student travel to national and international scientific meetings and to sponsor a John Hedges Seminar Series. Contributions may be made to the School of Oceanography, Attn: Laurie Bryan, School of Oceanography, Box 357940, Seattle, WA 98195–7940, USA.
References Hedges, J.I., 2001. Acceptance of the 2000 Alfred E. Treibs Award. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 65 (6), 1001–1002.
Ron Benner Cindy Lee Stuart Wakeham E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Wakeham)