Taylor, Stuart Ross (Ross) (1925 - 2021)

Summary

Ross Taylor was a geochemist who made fundamental contributions toward understanding the composition and evolution of the Moon and Earth, the origin of tektites and solar system evolution. Most of his career was at the Australian National University, where his laboratory research focused on trace element geochemistry. He was noted for his contributions to the development of spectrographic methods of analysis and pioneering the use of spark source mass spectrometry on geological materials. His interest in in the composition, origin and evolution of the continent resulted in extensive studies on the Earth's crust and his 'andesite model' for the formation of continental crust. Taylor carried out the first-ever chemical analyses of Apollo 11 lunar samples, continuing these analyses for NASA for 20 years. He became one of the world experts on the origin of the Moon. Recognition of his research came with fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science and other learned organisations, including the Geological Society of London, the American geophysics Union and the Royal Society of New Zealand. Asteroid 5670 was named Rosstaylor in 1997 by the International Astronomical Union.

Details

Chronology

1948

Education - BSc, University of New Zealand

1951

Education - MSc, University of New Zealand

July 1953 - June 1954

Career position - Spectrographer, Indiana Geological Survey, Indiana, U.S.A.

1954

Education - PhD, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.A.

1954 - 1955

Career position - Demonstrator, Department of Geology and Mineralogy, University of Oxford

1956

Education - MA, University of Oxford (Christ Church College)

1956 - 1958

Career position - Lecturer in Mineralogy, University of Oxford

1958 - 1960

Career position - Senior Lecturer in Geochemistry, University of Cape Town, South Africa

1961

Life event - Settled in Australia

1961

Career position - Senior Fellow, Department of Geophysics, Research School of Physical Sciences, Australian National University

1962 - 1973

Career position - Professorial Research Fellow, Department of Geophysics and Geochemistry, Research School of Physical Sciences, Australian National University

1964 - 2000

Career position - Associate Editor, Geochimica et cosmochimica acta

1969 - 1970

Career position - Member, Lunar sample Preliminary Examination Team, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

1970 - 1990

Career position - Principal Investigator, Lunar Sample Analysis Program, NASA

1971 - 1976

Career position - Member of Council, Australian National University

1973 - 1990

Career position - Professorial Fellow, Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University

1974 - 2000

Career position - Member of the Editorial Board, Chemical geology

1976 - 2021?

Award - Fellow, Meteoritical Society

1978

Education - DSc, University of Oxford

1978 - 2021

Award - Honorary Fellow, Geological Society of India

1978 - 2021

Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

1980 - ?

Career position - Chair, National Committee for Geology and Geochemistry, Australian Academy of Science

1980 - 1983

Career position - Member of Council, International Association of Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry

1982 - 1990

Career position - Member of the Editorial Board, Journal of geodynamics

1982 - 2021

Award - Honorary Fellow, Geological Society of London

1983 - 1986

Career position - Member of Council, Meteoritical Society

1984 - 1990

Career position - Member of the Editorial Board, Journal of lanthanide and actinide research

1986

Award - Richard Owen Award, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.A.

1987 - 2002

Career position - Associate Editor, Meteoritics and planetary science

1989

Award - Norman L. Bowen Award, American Geophysical Union (for 'important contributions to our understanding of the origins and early history of Earth and Moon')

1989 - 1990

Career position - President, Meteoritical Society

1989 - 2021

Award - Fellow, Royal Society of New Zealand

1990

Life event - Retired

1990 - 2000

Career position - Visiting Fellow, Department of Nuclear Physics, Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University

1993

Award - Goldschmidt Medal, Geochemical Society (for 'major achievements in geochemistry and cosmochemistry')

1994

Award - G. K. Gilbert Award in planetology, Geological Society of America (for 'outstanding contributions to the solution of a fundamental problem in planetary geology')

1994 - 2021?

Award - Foreign Associate, United States National Academy of Sciences

1995

Award - Clarke Memorial Lecturer, Royal Society of New South Wales

1995 - 2021

Award - Fellow, American Geophysical Union

1998

Award - Leonard Medal, Meteoritical Society

2000 - 2008

Career position - Emeritus Professor & Visiting Fellow, Department of Earth and Marine Sciences (Geology), Australian National University

1 Jan 2001

Award - Centenary Medal - for service to Australian society and science in cosmochemistry and geochemistry

2002

Award - Bucher Medal, American Geophysical Union

2008 - 2021

Career position - Emeritus Professor & Visiting Fellow, Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University

4 Sep 2008

Award - Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) (honorary) - for outstanding service to science, particularly in the fields of geochemistry and cosmochemistry as a researcher, writer and educator

2012

Award - Eugene Shoemaker Distinguished Scientist Medal, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (awarded to 'scientists who have significantly contributed to the field of lunar and/or asteroid science throughout the course of their scientific careers')

Related entries

Published resources

Books

• Taylor, S. R., Planetary science: a lunar perspective (Houston, Texas: Lunar and Planetary Institute, 1982), 481 pp. Details
• Taylor, S. R., Solar system evolution: a new perspective; an inquiry into the chemical composition, origin, and evolution of the solar system (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 307 pp. Details

Journal Articles

• Anon, 'Obituary: Emeritus Professor Stuart Ross Taylor AC FAA FRSNZ NAS 26 November 1925 to 23 May 2021', Newsletter, Australian Academy of Science, 149 (2021). https://www.science.org.au/academy-newsletter/may-2021-149/fellows-update. Details
• McLennan, S. M. and Rudnick, R. L. (editors), 'The Taylor Colloquium: origin and evolution of planetary crusts', Geochimica et cosmochimica acta, 56 (3) (1992), 871-1-64. Details
• McLennan, S. M., and Rudnick, R. L., 'Stuart Ross Taylor (1925-2021): a tribute to his life and scientific career', Meteoritics and planetary science, 56 (2021), 1784-91, https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13733. Details
• McLennan, Scott M. and Rudnick, Roberta L., 'Stuart Ross Taylor 1925 - 2021', Historical Records of Australian Science, 36 (2024), 1-15, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR24009. Details
• Taylor, S. R., 'The origin and growth of continents', Tectonophysics, 4 (1967), 17-34, https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-1951(67)90056-X. Details
• Taylor, S. R., 'Tektites: a post-Apollo view', Earth science reviews, 9 (1973), 101-23, https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-8252(73)90074-3. Details
• Taylor, S. R., 'Pieces of Another World', Sky and Space, 7 (4) (1994), 24-27. Details
• Taylor, S. R., 'Tektites, Apollo, the crust, and planets: a life with trace elements', Annual review of earth and planetary science, 44 (2016), 1-15, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-060115-012453. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7627048. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/108589885. Details
• 'Taylor, Stuart Ross (Ross) (1925 - 2021)', The Academy's Fellows [including profiles and other relevant links], Australian Academy of Science, Canberra, 2019, https://www.science.org.au/profile/ross-taylor. Details
• 'Taylor, Stuart Ross (1925-)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-533863. Details

Resource Sections

• Crompton, Bob, 'Interview with Professor Ross Taylor, geochemist', in Interviews with Australian scientists, Australian Academy of Science, 22 Feb 2000, https://www.science.org.au/learning/general-audience/history/interviews-australian-scientists/professor-ross-taylor-geochemist. Details

See also

• Robson, Alexandra K.; Production Manager and Editor eds, Who's who in Australia 2019 (Southbank, Vic.: AAP Directories, 2018), 1788 pp. Details