George William Grindley (22 October 1925 – 12 February 2019) was a New Zealand

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

. The Grindley Plateau in Antarctica is named in his honour.

Early life and education

Grindley was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

on 22 October 1925, and studied geology at the Otago School of Mines at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

. He graduated

Bachelor of Science 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 ...

in 1947, and

Master of Science 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 medici ...

in 1949. The title of his master's thesis was ''The reconnaissance geology of the Eglinton and East branch valleys, Western Southland''. In 1973, he was awarded a

DSc DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

by the University of Otago, on the basis of published and unpublished papers submitted as a thesis.

Career

Grindley worked at the

New Zealand Geological Survey GNS Science (), officially registered as the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Limited, is a New Zealand Crown Research Institute. It focuses on geology, geophysics (including seismology and volcanology), and nuclear science (partic ...

. He spent time on the West Coast, where he assisted

Harold Wellman Harold William Wellman (25 March 1909 – 28 April 1999) was a New Zealand geologist known for his work on plate tectonics. He is notable for his discovery of South Island's Alpine Fault. Wellman became a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zea ...

, and also worked on the displacement of the Alpine Fault. After working in south Wales and Canada for a year in the early 1950s, Grindley worked on the geological mapping of New Zealand, and was site geologist at

Wairakei Wairakei is a small settlement and Geothermal activity, geothermal area 8-kilometres (5 mi) north of Taupō, in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand, on the Waikato River. It is part of the Taupō Volcanic Zone and features several nat ...

. He also worked on geothermal power projects overseas, including in Mexico and the Philippines. He was also involved in geothermal monitoring of

Mount Ruapehu Mount Ruapehu (; English ) is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupō Volcanic Zone and North Island North Island Volcanic Plateau, volcanic plateau in New Zealand. It is northeast of Ohakune and southwest of the southern s ...

and the monitoring of

rifting In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear Fault (geology), downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly ...

in the

Taupō Volcanic Zone The Taupō Volcanic Zone (TVZ) is a volcano, volcanic area in the North Island of New Zealand. It has been active for at least the past two million years and is still highly active. Mount Ruapehu marks its south-western end and the zone runs n ...

. Grindley was a member of geological survey teams in Antarctica in 1961–62, 1977–78, and 1981–82, involved in paleomagnetic surveys and geological mapping. He was the senior geologist of the northern party of the

New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition The New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition (NZGSAE) describes a series of scientific explorations of the continent Antarctica. The expeditions were notably active throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Features named by the expeditions 19 ...

in 1961–62, which named the Grindley Plateau in the

Queen Alexandra Range The Queen Alexandra Range () is a major mountain range about long, bordering the entire western side of Beardmore Glacier from the Polar Plateau to the Ross Ice Shelf. The range is in the Transantarctic Mountains System, and is located in the Ross ...

in his honour. Grindley retired in 1987.

Honours

In 1968, Grindley was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

Death

Grindley died at his home in

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt () is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropoli ...

on 12 February 2019, aged 93 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grindley, George 1925 births 2019 deaths Scientists from Dunedin University of Otago alumni 20th-century New Zealand geologists People associated with Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (New Zealand) Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand