Ronald Oxburgh, Baron Oxburgh

Ernest Ronald Oxburgh, Baron Oxburgh, of Liverpool in the County of Merseyside KBE ( born November 2, 1934) is a British geologist, mineralogist, petrologist, university teacher and politician. He joined in 1999 as a Life Peer Member of the House of Lords and was between 1982 and 1988, among others President of Queens ' College, University of Cambridge.

Life

Professorships at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge

After schooling Oxburgh holds a degree in geology and was after graduation in 1960 demonstrator and lecturer in geology at the University of Oxford, where he was 1964-1977 Tutor at St Edmund Hall. Most recently, he was from 1975 to 1978 and then first deputy dean of the faculty there for physical sciences. In addition, he was repeatedly visiting professor and taught as such, among others at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech from 1967 to 1968), Cornell University ( 1967-1968 and 1973-1974 ) and at Stanford University ( 1973-1974 ).

In 1978 he moved to the University of Cambridge, where he became a Fellow of Trinity Hall and at the same time became Professor of Mineralogy and Petrology and taught there until 1991. During this time he was also Head of the Department of Geosciences at the same time as well as the 1982 and 1988 president of the local Queens' College 1980-1988. Oxburgh, which was the working group of the Royal Society for the support of Geophysics 1984-1985 Chairman, was also from 1986 to 1987 Chairman of the Committee for University grants for Geosciences. After leading the Sherman Mills Fairchild guest lecturer held 1985-1986 at Caltech, he was in 1986 again visiting professor at Cornell University and was also the 1987 Allan V. Cox Visiting Professor at Stanford University held.

In addition to his teaching, he was between 1988 and 1993 Chief Scientific Advisor of the Ministry of Defence and as such also the chairman of the commission investigating the safety of nuclear weapons.

For his many years of service, he was appointed in 1992 a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire and led from then on the additional name "Sir".

He then from 1993 to 2001 of the Imperial College London rector. In addition, he served between 1994 and 1997 as chairman of the inter-agency Committee on Environment and global change and was also a 1995-1997 board member of the Center for Defense Analyses.

Member of the Upper House

Oxburgh was raised by a Letters Patent of 27 July 1999 as a life peer with the title Baron Oxburgh, of Liverpool in the County of Merseyside in the peerage. Shortly after, on 12 October 1999 was his introduction ( Introduction) as a member of the House of Lords.

In the House of Lords he belongs to the group of non-party peers, the so-called cross benchers. During his membership in the House of Lords he was from 1999 to 2005 member of the Committee on Science and Technology and most recently between 2001 and 2005 chairman of this committee.

Since 2001 he is also an honorary professor at the Department of Geosciences at the University of Cambridge. In addition, he took over the course of his professional activity numerous positions in domestic and foreign institutions and organizations.

Academic Awards and Affiliations

Oxburgh was honored several times for his achievements and received, among other honorary doctorates from the University of Pierre and Marie Curie ( 1986), the University of Paris VII (1986 ), the University of Leicester (1990 ), Loughborough University (1991 ), the University of Edinburgh ( 1994), the University of Birmingham (1996 ), the University of Liverpool (1996 ), the University of Southampton (2003), Lingnan University in Hong Kong ( 2006), Liverpool John Moores University (2006), the University of Newcastle ( 2007), the University of Leeds ( 2009) and the University of Wyoming ( 2011). Oxburgh is among other things also a Fellow of the Royal Society (1978), the Institution of Mechanical Engineers ( 1993) and the Royal Engineers ( 2000).

Oxburgh, who was from 1985 to 1987 President of the European Union of Geosciences, has further Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall (1982 ), University College Oxford ( 1983), the St Edmund Hall ( 1986), of Queens' College Cambridge ( 1992) and the City and Guilds of London Institute ( 1996).

Furthermore, Oxburgh, who belonged in 1988 to the founding members of the Academia Europaea, a corresponding member of the Geological Survey in Vienna (1969 ), the Geological Society of America (1971 ), the Austrian Geological Society (1972 ), the American Geophysical Union ( 1981) the Academy of Sciences of Venezuela ( 1989), the Australian Academy of Science ( 1999), the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (1994 ), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2001 ), the American Philosophical Society ( 2005).

For his service to him also in 1969 the Lyell Fund Award of the Geological Society of London, which he was president from 2000 to 2002, and in 1979 awarded the Bigsby Medal of the Geological Society of London, and in 1995, the Sir Peter Kent proofreading this company. He was also in 1995 Amigo de Venezuela and at the same time winner of the Cross of the Ordre des Palmes officer Académiques. Most recently, he was in 2012 an honorary citizen of Singapore, after the Medal for public services from Singapore, he was awarded in 2008.

Publications

• The geology of the Eastern Alps, 1968