Robert Sinclair Dietz (September 14, 1914 – May 19, 1995) was Professor of Geology at Arizona State University. Dietz was a geophysicist and oceanographer who conducted pioneering research along with Harry Hess concerning seafloor spreading as early as 1960 - 1961. While at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography he observed the nature of the Emperor chain of seamounts that extended from the northwest end of the Hawaiian Island-Midway chain and speculated over lunch with Robert Fisher in 1953 that something must be carrying these old volcanic mountains northward like a conveyor belt.[1]
In later work he became interested in meteorite impacts, was the first to recognize the Sudbury Basin as an ancient impact event, and discovered a number of other impact craters. He received the Barringer Medal in 1985.
Dietz was an outspoken critic of creationism, and was the faculty advisor of two student groups at Arizona State University in 1985, Americans Promoting Evolution Science (APES) and the Phoenix Skeptics. Dietz spoke on evolution and creationism at meetings of these groups[2], and also debated creationist Walter Brown and Christian apologist William Lane Craig at ASU.
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Robert S. Dietz lectures
The ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration sponsors annual Robert S. Dietz Memorial Public Lectures, which have been given by:
- 2006 National Center for Science Education Executive Director Eugenie Scott[3]
- 2007 NASA Astronaut John M. Grumsfeld[4]
Selected publications
- Dietz, Robert S. "Earth, Sea, and Sky: Life and Times of a Journeyman Geologist." Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Science 22 (1994), 1-32.
- Dietz, Robert S., "In Defense of Drift," The Sciences, vol. 23, Nov.-Dec. 1983, p. 26.
- Dietz, Robert S., Sudbury Structure as an Astrobleme, University of Chicago, 1964
- Dietz, Robert S. and scientific illustrator John C. Holden, Creation/Evolution Satiricon: Creationism Bashed, Winthrop, WA: Bookmaker, 1987
References
- ^ Biography from USCD
- ^ "January Meeting," Phoenix Skeptics News vol. 1, no. 4, January/February 1988., "Meeting Announcement," The Arizona Skeptic vol. 3, no. 2, February/March 1990.
- ^ "Eugenie Scott gives the Robert S. Dietz memorial lecture," The Lippard Blog, February 3, 2006
- ^ 2007 Robert S. Dietz Memorial Public Lecture
External links
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