Philip Henry Kuenen

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Philip Henry Kuenen (born July 22, 1902 in Dundee , † December 17, 1976 in Leiden ) was a Dutch geologist .

Live and act

Kuenen was the son of physics professor Johannes Petrus Kuenen and spent his earliest childhood in Scotland . He studied geology at the University of Leiden and was a student of Karl Martin and Berend George Escher . In 1925 he finished his studies, became Escher's assistant and worked in the fields of paleontology and experimental geology.

From 1929 to 1930 Kuenen took part in the Snellius expedition , which traveled the waters around the Sunda Islands in what was then the Dutch East Indies . In 1934 he became a lecturer at the University of Groningen . Since the Dutch government had decided that geology was not a major at the University of Groningen, Kuenen was able to devote a major part of his time to research. It was not until 1946 that he was appointed full professor , because the Nazis had prevented this during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II because he had British ancestors .

Kuenen is best known for his work in the field of marine geology , on which he published a book. His other contributions to geology include geochemical calculations on sediments and the water cycle, as well as research on absolute and relative sea ​​level fluctuations , the rounding of sediment grains, faults in the area of continental slopes and especially turbidites . He studied these both by means of experiments and in geological outcrops . One of his students was Arnold Bouma , another pioneer in the field of turbidite research, after whom the typical layer sequence of a turbidite was named, the Bouma sequence .

In 1970 the Doeglas Commission recommended that the Dutch government abandon all geological research in Groningen and concentrate it on other universities instead. Kuenen was a staunch opponent of this plan, but could not prevent its implementation. After a nervous breakdown in 1970, he retired in 1972.

In the course of his career, Kuenen received the Penrose Medal in 1961 , the Gustav Steinmann Medal in 1966 and the Wollaston Medal in 1970 . In 1961 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . Since 1966 he was a member of the Leopoldina .

Works (selection)

  • 1937–1942: Scientific results of the Snellius Expedition in the eastern part of the Netherlands East Indies, 1929–1930. EJ Brill
  • 1950: Marine geology. Wiley, New York
  • 1952: Turbidity currents, graded and non-graded deposits. In: Journal of Sedimentary Research . Volume 22, pp. 83-96 (with Henry William Menard)
  • 1953: Graded bedding, with observations on lower Paleozoic rocks of Britain. (= Negotiating of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Afdeeling Natuurkunde, 1. reeks, deel 20, no. 3)
  • 1959: Sand - its origin, transportation, abrasion, and accumulation. (= Alexander L. du Toit memorial lectures, No. 6)

literature

  • LMJU van Straaten: In memoriam Ph. H. Kuenen. In: Geologie en Mijnbouw . Vol. 56, No. 1, 1977, pp. 1-3
  • AJ Pannekoek: Geological research at the universities of The Netherlands, 1877–1962. In: Geologie en Mijnbouw . Tape. 41, No. 4, 1962, pp. 161-174

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dennis King: Bouma's Sequence Was Just a Start. American Association of Petroleum Geologists

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kuenen, Philip Henry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch geologist
DATE OF BIRTH July 22, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Dundee
DATE OF DEATH 17th December 1976
Place of death Suffer