Rickard, Michael John (Mike) (1929 - 2026)

Summary

Mike Rickard was a geologist whose specialty was the mapping of mountain chains. Before coming to Australia he worked in Canada, and mapped volcanic rocks for the Geological Survey of Fiji. He was appointed Reader in Geology at the Australian National University in 1963, and was a highly-regarded teacher. Before retiring in 1997, he served as Head of the Department of Geology and Dean of the Faculty of Science. Rickard was active in the Geological Society of Australia, holding office as President and becoming an Honorary Member in 1995. He was also a key member of several of the Society's tectonic mapping committees and the ACT Division. He contributed to other geological organisations, in Australia and internationally. These included as a member of the National Committee for Solid Earth Sciences of the, Australian Academy of Science, and the Terranes in Circum-Atlantic Palaeozoic Orogens and the Paleozoic Terranes in the Circum-Pacific Orogens committees , joint initiatives of UNESCO and the International Geological Correlation Programme. The Geological Society of Australia (ACT Division) Mike Rickard Third Year Prize is presented annually by the Research School of Earth sciences at the Australian National University, to a student demonstrating outstanding academic achievement.

Details

Chronology

1954

Education - BSc, Imperial College, London

1957

Education - PhD, Imperial College, London

1957 - 1960

Award - Postdoctoral Fellowship, Canadian National Research Council

1960 - 1963

Career position - Geologist, Geological Survey of Fiji

1963 - 1972

Career position - Executive Secretary, Tectonic Map Committee, Geological Society of Australia

1963 - 1995

Career position - Member, Geological Society of Australia

1969 - 1975

Career position - Member (representing Geological Society of Australia), Commonwealth Committee of Institutions of Mining and Metallurgy, London

1971 - 1973

Career position - Secretary, Geological Society of Australia

1971 - 1973

Career position - Member Organizing Committee for Third Gondwana Symposium, Canberra

1980 - 1982

Career position - Head, Department of Geology, Australian National University

1981 - 1995

Career position - Foundation Member (Fellow), Australian Institute of Geoscientists

1983 - 1984

Career position - President, Geological Society of Australia

1983 - 1984

Career position - Secretary, Geological Society of Australia

1983 - 1984

Career position - Member, National Committee for Solid Earth Sciences, Australian Academy of Science

1983 - 1992

Career position - Deputy Chairman, Tasmanide Tectonic Map Committee, Geological Society of Australia

1987 - 1991

Career position - Australian correspondent, IGCP 233 (Terranes in Circum-Atlantic Palaeozoic Orogens), UNESCO and International Geological Correlation Programme

1988 - 1991

Career position - Leader, IGCP 267 (Paleozoic Terranes in the Circum-Pacific Orogens), UNESCO and International Geological Correlation Programme

1988 - 1993

Career position - Head, Department of Geology, Australian National University

1991 - 1994

Career position - Deputy Dean, Faculty of Science, Australian National University

1992 - 1997

Career position - University Marshal, Australian National University

1995 - 2026

Award - Honorary Member, Geological Society of Australia

1996

Award - A. B. Edwards Medal, Geological Society of Australia

1997

Life event - Retired

1997 - 2004

Career position - Conjoint Associate Professor, Newcastle University

2008 - 2009

Career position - Member of Committee, ACT Division, Geological Society of Australia

Related entries

Published resources

Books

• Rickard, M. J., Harrington, H. J. and Williams, P. R., Basement Tectonics 9, Australia and other regions: proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Basement Tectonics, held in Canberra, Australia, July 1990 (Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1992), 258 pp. Details
• Rickard, Mike, comp., Geology at ANU (1959-2009) : 50 Years of History and Reminiscences (Acton, A.C.T.: ANU E Press, 2010), 276 pp. Details

Journal Articles

• Eggleton, Tony, 'Michael John Rickard', TAG: the Australian geologist, 291 (2026), 6. Details
• Rickard, M. J., McQueen, K. G. and Hayden, P., 'Structural controls on the Cowarra gold deposit near Bredbo, southeastern New South Wales', Australian journal of earth sciences, 43 (2) (1996), 201-15, https://doi.org/ 10.1080/08120099608728248. Details

Resources

• Rickard, Michael John, Geology at ANU (1959-2009) : 50 years of history and reminiscences, with Caton, Judith, Australian National University. E Press, 2010, http://epress.anu.edu.au?p=55141. Details

Resource Sections

• Rickard, Mike, 'Crook, Keith Alan (1933 - 2022)', in Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, Canberra, 2021. https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/crook-keith-alan-32586/text40443. Details