Peter Robinson ’54

Peter Robinson ’54 passed away in Trondheim, Norway, on March 25. Peter’s father, Robin Robinson, was a math professor at the College. At Dartmouth Peter was a geology major and president of the Mountaineering Club. After graduation he was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Otago (1954-56). He then worked as a geologist with the Columbia Iron Mining Co. in Provo, Utah. Peter then was a National Science Foundation predoctoral fellow at Harvard, where he earned his Ph.D. in geology in 1963. In 1962 he joined the faculty of the University of Massachusetts as an instructor and served in various positions, retiring as a professor in 1999. After retirement he continued field and theoretical research in geosciences and became a consultant-researcher to the Geographical Survey of Norway. Peter was an exceptionally gifted scientist whose field of studies included the geologic history of western Massachusetts, northern New England, and western Norway; the study of crystals and their geologic history; and the tectonic history of the Atlantic region. He was honored with the University of Massachusetts Chancellor’s Medal, was a distinguished faculty lecturer in 1994, was elected to the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters in 1995, and was an honorary research associate at Macquarie University in Australia in 2002 and 2003. Peter was president of the Mineralogical Society of America 1989-1990. He authored and coauthored more than 90 peer-reviewed journal articles. He is survived by his wife, Suzanne, and children Christopher ’86, Harold, and Alexandria.