Nationality United Kingdom Occupation Geophysicist | Name Rosemary Hutton | |
Full Name Violet Rosemary Strachan Hutton Born 22 October 1925 ( 1925-10-22 ) Dundee, Scotland Known for Magnetotelluric studies Died April 1, 2004, St Andrews, United Kingdom | ||
Violet Rosemary Strachan Hutton (22 October 1925 – 1 April 2004), known to her peers as Rosemary, was a British geophysicist and pioneer of magnetotellurics. Her research focused on the use of electromagnetic methods to determine the electrical conductivity and structure of the Earth's crust, lithosphere and upper mantle, with a particular focus on the African continent and Scotland. Rosemary spent over two decades at the University of Edinburgh School of GeoSciences as a researcher and lecturer and was a Fellow of many societies including the American Geophysical Union and The Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Contents
- Early years PhD and her time in Africa
- Move to Edinburgh and teaching
- Research and notable projects
- Later years
- References
Early years, Ph.D. and her time in Africa
Rosemary was born in Dundee, Scotland on 22 October 1925, where she attended the Harris Academy. In 1948 she received an MA in Mathematics and Physics from the University of St Andrews and went on to take up a Physics lectureship at the University of Ghana in 1954. During her time in Ghana, Rosemary registered for a higher degree and in 1961 was awarded a Ph.D. from London University, which at that time was connected with the University of Ghana. Her thesis was entitled, 'Earth Current Variations in the Equatorial Region' and focused on electromagnetic field fluctuations associated with the equatorial electrojet.
Following her Ph.D., Rosemary stayed in Africa for 15 years, first moving to Nigeria in 1963, as a Senior Lecturer in Physics at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and later gaining an Associate Professorship position in the Department of Physics at the University of Ibadan. During this time, she taught a range of undergraduate physics courses whilst continuing to develop her research in the field of geomagnetism, publishing 13 papers in scientific journals. This research attracted worldwide attention and Rosemary became widely respected in both the geomagnetic and geophysical communities.
Move to Edinburgh and teaching
Rosemary's work in Africa was recognized by Professor Alan Cook FRS, who invited her to join the newly established University of Edinburgh School of GeoSciences. In 1969, Rosemary took up a lectureship in Edinburgh where she remained for over two decades, being promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1973, Reader in 1982 and retiring as an Honorary Fellow in 1991. Over the course of her tenure, Rosemary was influential in developing the teaching of undergraduate geophysics within the University of Edinburgh School of GeoSciences and recruited a number of international doctoral and postdoctoral students. The world-renowned research group she founded at Edinburgh, established itself at the cutting edge of instrumentation, method, processing and analysis.
Research and notable projects
Rosemary's research focused on several different areas. The electrical conductivity structure of the Earth was her primary field of research and led to the development of state-of-the-art magnetotelluric equipment at Edinburgh, which was subsequently picked up and sold internationally. She used these instruments to perform geophysical surveys of geothermal regions and continental rift systems, such as the Kenyan Rift Valley, and used the results to infer the tectonic evolution of these areas. One aspect of her work that Rosemary was especially passionate about was the electrical conductivity and tectonics of Scotland, in particular how an anomalous region of high conductivity referred to as the Eskdalemuir anomaly could be linked to the closure of the Iapetus Ocean and greater regional development.
During her time at Edinburgh, Rosemary received funding from both national and international research councils to carry out surveys in countries including Italy, Greece, Portugal and Kenya, both for academic and mineral exploratory purposes. In 1992, The V. R. S. Hutton Symposium: Electromagnetic Studies of the Continents was held as part of the Assembly of the European Geophysical Society, to honor Rosemary's great contribution to the field.
Later years
Rosemary's later years were spent at her home in Peebles. On 1 April 2004, she died at St Andrews Memorial Hospital, after a brief illness. In her will, Rosemary left £20,000 to University of Edinburgh School of GeoSciences to benefit overseas research students studying geophysics.