Charles Richard Stelck, O.C.,

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

, F.R.S.C., P.Geol. (May 20, 1917 – May 14, 2016) was a Canadian

petroleum geologist A petroleum geologist is an earth scientist who works in the field of petroleum geology, which involves all aspects of oil discovery and production. Petroleum geologists are usually linked to the actual discovery of oil and the identification ...

paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

stratigrapher Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithostrati ...

, and university

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

. He is known for his pioneering work on unraveling the

stratigraphy Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithost ...

of the

Western Canada Sedimentary Basin The Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) underlies of Western Canada including southwestern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan, Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories. This vast sedimentary ba ...

, and his inspired use of

biostratigraphy Biostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy which focuses on correlating and assigning relative ages of rock strata by using the fossil assemblages contained within them.Hine, Robert. "Biostratigraphy." ''Oxford Reference: Dictionary of Biology ...

as an exploration tool for finding

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

and

natural gas field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the prese ...

s.Pemberton, G.S., MacEachern. J.A., Gingras, M.K., 2016. An iconic professor: the life of Charles Richard Stelck, O.C., Ph.D., F.R.S.C., P.Geol. Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, vol. 64, no. 4, p. 495-515.

Career

Charlie Stelck was born in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, Alberta, where he grew up hunting and fishing with his father and learning wilderness survival skills. As a teenager, he spent summers working on

geological Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth s ...

field parties, and after winning a Tegler Scholarship, he enrolled at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

. He intended to pursue a degree in chemistry and education but entered the geology program at the urging of his friend, Robert Folinsbee, obtaining a

B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in geology in 1937 and an

M.Sc. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

in 1941. Later, after winning a fellowship from

Imperial Oil Imperial Oil Limited () is a Canadian petroleum company. It is Canada's second-largest integrated oil company. It is majority-owned by American oil company ExxonMobil, with a 69.6% ownership stake in the company. It is a producer of crude oil, ...

, he obtained his

degree at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1951. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Dr. Stelck worked on the Canol project and for Imperial Oil, mapping the geology of the

Rocky Mountain The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

foothills from

Jasper, Alberta Jasper is a specialized municipality and townsite in western Alberta within the Canadian Rockies. The townsite is in the Athabasca River valley and is the commercial centre of Jasper National Park. History Established in 1813, Jasper ...

to the Canadian Arctic by horseback, canoe, and dogsled. During that time he confirmed that the

oil field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the prese ...

Norman Wells Norman Wells (Slavey language: ''Tłegǫ́hłı̨'' "where there is oil") is a town located in the Sahtu Region, Northwest Territories, Canada. The town, which hosts the Sahtu Regional office, is situated on the north side of the Mackenzie Riv ...

in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

was producing from a

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

, and he postulated that other such reefs could be present elsewhere in the subsurface of the

. This work led to the discovery of additional fossil reefs that proved to be excellent

petroleum reservoir A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the prese ...

s, such as the Leduc oil field. After the war Dr. Stelck began a long career as a professor at the University of Alberta, during which time he was a teacher and mentor to generations of students. Much of his research involved the use of

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

foraminifera Foraminifera ( ; Latin for "hole bearers"; informally called "forams") are unicellular organism, single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class (biology), class of Rhizarian protists characterized by streaming granular Ectoplasm (cell bio ...

for determining

and interpreting

paleoecology Paleoecology (also spelled palaeoecology) is the study of interactions between organisms and/or interactions between organisms and their environments across geologic timescales. As a discipline, paleoecology interacts with, depends on and informs ...

, and he introduced the use of

palynology Palynology is the study of microorganisms and microscopic fragments of mega-organisms that are composed of acid-resistant organic material and occur in sediments, sedimentary rocks, and even some metasedimentary rocks. Palynomorphs are the mic ...

for unraveling the biostratigraphy of nonmarine sediments to western Canada. His efforts proved to be of great value in the exploration for oil and gas and led directly to a number of major discoveries, including the natural gas fields at Fort St. John and

Monkman Pass Monkman Pass, in the Canadian Rockies, is southwest of Tumbler Ridge and northeast of Hansard. Found in the Hart Ranges, some consider this mountain pass as the southern limit of the informal grouping known as the Northern Rockies, although t ...

in northeastern

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. Dr. Stelck died on May 14, 2016, at the age of 98. During his career he had published more than 100

peer review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (:wiktionary:peer#Etymology 2, peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the ...

ed scientific papers, the last one in the year of his death, as well as writing dozens of works on the geology of Alberta and northeastern British Columbia for various text books. In addition to the many honours he received, some of which are listed below, ''Asteroid 187680 Stelck'' is named for him, as are many fossil organisms such as the

ammonite Ammonoids are extinct, (typically) coiled-shelled cephalopods comprising the subclass Ammonoidea. They are more closely related to living octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish (which comprise the clade Coleoidea) than they are to nautiluses (family N ...

''Stelckiceras liardense''. The University of Alberta has established the C.R. Stelck Chair in Petroleum Geology to continue his work.

Awards

*1960, elected to the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

*1980, received the Centennial Award of the

Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) is an engineering society that regulates the practices of professional engineering and geoscience in Alberta. APEGA receives its mandate from the Engineering and Geos ...

*1982, received the Rutherford Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching from the University of Alberta *1982, awarded the

Logan Medal :::''There is also a Logan Medal of the arts, awarded by the Chicago Arts Institute.'' The Logan Medal is the highest award of the Geological Association of Canada. Named after Sir William Edmond Logan, noted 19th-century Canadian geologist. It i ...

by the

Geological Association of Canada The Geological Association of Canada (GAC) is a learned society that promotes and develops the geological sciences in Canada. The organization holds conferences, meetings and exhibitions for the discussion of geological problems and the exchange o ...

*1994, awarded the

R.J.W. Douglas Medal The R.J.W. Douglas Medal is presented annually by the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists in recognition of outstanding contributions to the understanding of sedimentary geology in Canada, commending major contributions to regional tectonics, P ...

by the

Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists The Canadian Energy Geoscience Association (CEGA) is a professional geoscience society in Canada. CEGA works to advance the science of geology, foster professional development of members and promote community awareness of the profession. The orga ...

*1997, appointed Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

*2001, awarded the Stanley Slipper Medal by the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists *2001, received the Grover Murray Distinguished Educator Award from the

American Association of Petroleum Geologists The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) is one of the world's largest professional geological societies with about 17,000 members across 129 countries. The AAPG works to "advance the science of geology, especially as it relates to ...

*2003, awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree by the University of Alberta *2005, inducted into the Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame *2005, received the Alberta Centennial Medal *2012, received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal

References

Biographies & Histories of PalynologyUniversity of Alberta TributeGeology profs helped shape province's fortunesOil Industry Honours Pioneering Geologist

External links

University of Alberta Convocation Address
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stelck, Charles Richard 1917 births 2016 deaths Canadian geologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Officers of the Order of Canada Logan Medal recipients Scientists from Edmonton Stanford University alumni University of Alberta alumni Academic staff of the University of Alberta