Person
Cook, Alan Cecil (1935 - 2011)
FTSE
- Born
- 22 May 1935
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom - Died
- 17 November 2011
Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia - Occupation
- Geologist
Summary
Alan Cook was a world-renowned organic petrologist, whose expertise was much sought coal and petroleum companies around the world. The focus of his work was on the sedimentology of coal measures, oil shales, coking behaviour, coal macerals, and basin heating models. His research into Australian Permian coals was critical in developing the overseas market for Australian coals. With his students Cook developed the use of Vitrinite reflectance as a means of predicting potential generation of oil and gas, a process now standard in the industry. Cook was active in professional organisations including the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the International Committee for Coal Petrology of which he was President from 1999 to 2007. He also served on editorial boards of Australian and international journals including Australian Coal and the International Journal of Mathematical Geology. In retirement he continued to run his consulting practice Keiraville Konsultants providing petrographic analyses for the coal and petroleum industries. The University of Wollongong holds over 10,000 geological samples stemming from Cook's work, with nearly 23,000 held by Keiraville Konsultants.
Details
Chronology
- 1957
- Education - Bachelor of Arts (BA), University of Cambridge
- 1957 - 1959
- Career position - Prospecting officer, National Coal Board, United Kingdom
- 1959
- Life event - Migrated to Australia
- 1959 - 1962
- Career position - Experimental Officer, CSIRO Coal Research Section
- 1960 - 2011
- Career position - Member, Geological Society of Australia
- 1962 - 1964
- Career position - District Geologist, Joint Coal Board
- 1964 - 1973
- Career position - Lecturer, Metallurgy Department, Wollongong University College, University of New South Wales
- 1968 - 2011
- Career position - Member, Royal Society of New South Wales
- 1970
- Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Cambridge
- 1973 - 1990
- Career position - Foundation Professor of Geology, University of Wollongong
- 1975 - 1976
- Career position - Chairman, Academic Senate, University of Wollongong
- 1976 - 1977
- Career position - Visiting Research Scientist, Kansas Geological Survey, U.S.A.
- 1978 - 2011
- Career position - Director, Keiraville Konsultants
- 1989
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE)
- 1990
- Career position - Chairman, Organising Committee, International Committee for Coal Petrology Meeting, Wollongong, New South Wales
- 1990
- Award - DSc (honoris causa), University of Cambridge
- 1990
- Life event - Retired
- 1996
- Award - Reinhardt Thiessen Medal, International Committee for Coal Petrology
- 1999 - 2007
- Career position - President, International Committee for Coal Petrology
- 2001
- Award - Centenary Medal - for service to Australian society in energy and mineral resources.
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Anon, 'Reinhardt Thiessen Medal Award, 1996', Fuel, 16 (7) (1997), 687, https://docslide.com.br/documents/reinhardt-thiessen-medal-award-1996.html. Details
- Davis, Alan, 'Alan C. Cook', International Journal of Coal Geology, 111 (2013), 3-4. Details
- Hutton, Adrian, 'In memoriam Dr Alan Cecil Cook', Society for Organic Petrology Newsletter, 21 (1) (2012), 8-9. Details
- Smith, Greg, 'Professor Alan Cook, 1935-2011', TAG: Geological Society of Australia Newsletter, 162 (2012), 49. Details
Resources
- 'Cook, A C (19350522-20111117)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-594301. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 13 March 2018, Last modified: 11 May 2022