Prof. em. Dr. William Lowrie

William Lowrie was Professor of Geophysics at the ETH Zurich from September 1974 until his retirement on 30 September 2004.

Professor Lowrie was born in Scotland and acquired an honours degree in physics at the University of Edinburgh in 1960. He earned a master’s degree in geophysics at the University of Toronto in 1962 and a doctorate in geophysics at the University of Pittsburgh in 1967. After three years at the Research Laboratories of the Gulf Oil Corporation he held a research position at the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University, where he conducted rock-magnetic research within the oceanographic program of the observatory until his appointment as Professor at ETH Zürich in 1974. 

His research focused on rock magnetism and palaeomagnetism. The latter theme comprises the history of the Earth's magnetic field in the geological past, which can be derived from the magnetizations of dated rocks. Paleomagnetic data can be applied to the solution of geologic-tectonic problems, as well as to the analysis of geomagnetic polarity history throughout geological time. In addition to entries in geophysical encyclopaedias, Prof. Lowrie has authored more than 130 scientific publications; their h-index of citations on the Web-of-Science is 45. 

His teaching duties encompassed a broad spectrum of topics in geophysics at all academic levels of the degree program. His introductory textbook “Fundamentals of Geophysics” was published in 1997 and an expanded second edition followed in 2007. The third edition, co-authored with Prof. Andreas Fichtner, appeared in 2020. In 2011 he published “A Student's Guide to Geophysical Equations”, a textbook for senior undergraduates. “Geophysics: A Very Short Introduction”, directed at the interested lay-reader and prospective students, appeared in 2019.

Professor Lowrie was elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 1990 and Member of the Academia Europaea in 2000.

During his career at ETH Zürich Professor Lowrie carried out the following organizational duties and responsibilities:

1976-1996: in alternate years, as well as 1999 and 2002 (13 terms of 1 year): Chairman, Institute of Geophysics

1985-1987: Chairman, Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich

1985-1987: Vice-President, European Union of Geosciences

1987-1989: President, European Union of Geosciences

1996-2000: Member, Governing Council, American Geophysical Union 

1998-2000: President, Geomagnetism & Palaeomagnetism, American Geophysical Union

1998-2000: Chairman, Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich

1998-2000: Chairman, Academic Faculty of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich

1998-2000: Nominations Committee, American Geophysical Union

2000-2004: Council member, Joint Infrastructure Fund, UK National Environmental Research Council

2002-2006: Council member, Fleming Medal Committee, American Geophysical Union

2008-2010: Council member, Nominations Committee, American Geophysical Union