Honorary Members
Robert Latimer Bates (1912-1994)
Ohio Geological Society Honorary Member
Robert Latimer Bates (1912-1994)
By Ronald L. Stuckey
Robert Latimer Bates, age 82, Professor Emeritus of Geology at The Ohio State University, died 21 June 1994 in Riverside Hospital, a week after suffering a heart attack at his home in Columbus, OH. An economic geologist, Dr. Bates was internationally known through his research and teaching in the vitally important area of industrial rocks and minerals. His contributions to the study of the nonmetallic mineral deposits have been honored through election as a distinguished member of the Society of Mining Engineers, an honorary life member of the Ohio Geological Society, and a recipient of the Hal Williams Harclinge Award of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (1978). His editorial expertise was honored by an Award for Outstanding Editorial Contributions by the Association of Earth Science Editors (1981), by the Ben H. Parker Award of the American Institute of Professional Geologists (1984), and by being designated as an Honorary Member of the European Association of Earth Science Editors (1988). In The Ohio Academy of Science, Dr. Bates joined in 1952, affiliated with the Section of Geology, and was elected a Fellow (1956).
Born 17 June 1912 in Brookings, SD, where his father taught English at South Dakota State College, Robert Bates spent part of his youth from ages 5 to 15 in Manchester, VT, and then in 1927 moved to New Jersey. He received an A.B. (1934) in geology from Cornell University, and the M.S. (1936) and Ph.D. (1938) in geology from the University of Iowa. While there, he was an assistant in the Department (1934-1938). Dr. Bates was a geologist with the Texas Company (1938-1940), then became a geologist with the New Mexico Bureau of Mines (1941-1945), and served as its chief of the Oil and Gas Division (1945-1947). Academically, Dr. Bates was an assistant professor of geology at the New Mexico School of Mines (1941-1943), assistant and associate professor of geology at Rutgers University (1947-1951), and associate professor (1951-1966) and professor of geology (1951-1977) at The Ohio State University.
Professor Bates taught courses in petroleum geology and the geology of industrial rocks and minerals until becoming Professor Emeritus (1977). Since then, he continued in departmental and professional affairs, writing many professional papers and textbooks. As a polished speaker he gave numerous lectures, both humorous and insightful, in this country and abroad. Dr. Bates was much in demand as an after-dinner speaker at numerous professional functions. Two weeks before his death, he gave a lively and entertaining presentation of geologic poems, “The Earth in Verse,” at the annual banquet of the Association of American State Geologists at Maumee Bay State Park, Lucas County, OH.
Professor Bates published over 120 papers, including several books, in the geological literature, concerned primarily with the nonmetallic rocks and minerals. He patiently and artfully instructed students, colleagues, and the profession at large in the craft of scientific communication through his monthly featured article, “The Geologic Column,” that appeared since 1955 in Geotimes, a trade publication. This column focused on his passion for preserving the integrity of the English language. He chronicled the sometimes humorous mangling of the language by scientists in technical reports. His focus was to point out how such use interferes with effective communication of ideas. His book, Pandora’s Bauxite (1986), is a collection of what may be termed “The best of Bob Bates.”
In 1965, Bob Bates organized the First Midwest Forum on Geology of Industrial Minerals, which consisted of a symposium on the geology of industrial limestone and dolomite. Thirteen papers, which were given at the meeting held at The Ohio State University, were published in The Ohio Journal of Science (1966). This forum has continued to meet annually (twice at Ohio State) and is the major site of interchange between industrial geologists, engineers, and academicians concerned with the extraction, use, and conservation of nonmetallic rocks and minerals that are so important to our nation’s economic vitality. Bob Bates is affectionately known as the “father” of the forum and is the only person to have attended all 30 meetings, a fact for which he was honored at the 1994 meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Robert Bates authored several books: Geology of the Industrial Rocks and Minerals (1960, 1969); Geology: An Introduction (1964, 1966, 1973), with W. C. Sweet; Laboratory Manual for Introductory Geology (1969), with W. C. Sweet and J. A. Maccini; the American Geological Institute’s Glossary of Geology (1980, 1987), edited with Julia A. Jackson; Our Modern Stone Age (1982), edited also with Ms. Jackson; Dictionary of Geological Terms (1984), edited also with Ms. Jackson; Geology of the Nonmetallics (1984); Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology (1986); Industrial Minerals: Geology and World Deposits (1990), with P. W. Harben. In Ohio, Dr. Bates’ work was mostly on industrial minerals. He was the author of Focus on Oil, Division of Geological Survey Leaflet No. 4 (1954). The 1993 Report on Ohio Mineral Industries was dedicated to him. With E. M. Spieker, he wrote Part 2, 1946-1969, of the History of the Geology Department, OSU (1970).
As a skillful writer, Dr. Bates was in great demand as an editor and critic. He served as editor of The Journal of Geological Education (1960-1964), and The Professional Geologist (1969-1970). In three organizations he was elected president: the National Association of Geology Teachers (1967-1968), the Ohio Section of the American Institute of Professional Geologists (1975), and the Association of Earth Science Editors (1982). Bob Bates was also a volunteer gardener at the Columbus Park of Roses, where he had worked on the day of his fatal heart attack.
In Robert Bates, the geological community lost one of its leaders with an articulate mind and contagious, witty sense of humor. He was a thoughtful, caring individual who had a legion of genuine friends. Dr. Bates is survived by his wife, Marion (Hoftyzer) Bates, whom he married in 1935; son Steven L., Evanston, IL; daughter Helen McDermott and granddaughter Emily McDermott, both of Rochester, MN; and a niece and nephew. [This obituary is prepared primarily from the Resolution in Memoriam submitted to the Board of Trustees of The Ohio State University (1994) by Walter C. Sweet, and the tribute appearing in the Newsletter, Ohio Geology (summer 1994, p.7) by Michael C. Hansen.]
Originally published in the Ohio Journal of Science, Volume 94, Issue 5 (December, 1994)
Thomas Miles Berg (Dates)
Ohio Geological Society Honorary Member
Thomas Miles Berg
By Michael C. Hansen and James McDonald
Thomas Miles Berg was born in Vermillion, South Dakota, where his father was a law professor at the University of South Dakota. After World War II, Tom and his family moved to Boulder, Colorado, where his father taught law at the University of Colorado. In 1952, the Berg family moved to the Washington, D.C., area when Tom’s father accepted a position as Administrative Assistant to Senator Wayne L. Morse of Oregon.
Upon graduation from high school, Tom enrolled at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and after two years, transferred to the University of Colorado in 1960. Tom received a B.A. degree in geology from the University of Colorado in 1962 and a M.S. degree in geology in 1967. His master’s thesis was titled Pennsylvanian biohermal limestones of Marble Mountain, south-central Colorado. While at the University of Colorado, Tom received two scholarship awards and an award from the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists as an outstanding graduate student.
Tom joined the Pennsylvania Topographic and Geological Survey in 1965 and began mapping the bedrock geology in the bituminous coal fields of western Pennsylvania. During the next 10 years, Tom did extensive mapping of both bedrock and surficial geology in the Valley and Ridge Province and the Pocono Plateau of Pennsylvania.
In 1975, Tom was appointed Senior Research Geologist and began work as the principal compiler of the Geologic Map of Pennsylvania. He supervised other geologists in this work and was responsible for compiling the north-central region and several other areas of Pennsylvania. The new state map was published in 1980. Tom was then appointed to the position of Chief of the Geologic Mapping Division, the largest division in the Pennsylvania Geological Survey, in 1978. In this capacity, he supervised field mapping projects and the Coal Section of the Survey. Finally, in 1987, Tom was appointed Associated State Geologist of Pennsylvania while continuing as Chief of the Geologic Mapping Division. In this capacity, he took on many additional policy-making and administrative duties.
Tom Berg was appointed State Geologist of Ohio on March 31, 1989. Upon coming to Ohio, Tom Berg initiated a number of changes to the Ohio Geological Survey. The most significant initiative was the emphasis on completing an update of the Bedrock Geologic Map of Ohio, which was last updated in 1920. The 1920 version of the map was the oldest State Geologic Map in the United States. Under the prior State Geologist, Buzz Collins, detailed geologic mapping was being conducted at 1:24,000-scale with the unstated goal of updating the Bedrock Geologic Map. By the time that Tom Berg was appointed State Geologist, only 39 out of 788 7.5-minute quadrangles had been completed for Ohio. At that rate, it was going to take over 100 years to completely remap the state in detail. Tom Berg directed the staff to change the mapping methodology. Mapping was to be using existing data archived at the Survey, in reconnaissance manner (i.e. less detail), and emphasize the use of computer mapping techniques whenever possible. This new mapping methodology allowed for the completion of the bedrock geologic maps at 1:24,000-scale within seven years. The completion of the mapping of the 1:24,000-scale bedrock geologic maps meant that Ohio became the second large state to have full coverage at this scale. In addition, the compilation of the 788 7.5-minute bedrock geologic map quadrangles into the final Bedrock Geologic Map of Ohio was accelerated by using computer techniques and allowed its completion by 2006.
There were other statewide geologic maps created during Tom Berg’s tenure. These new statewide maps provided new insight into the geologic history and processes that have shaped Ohio’s landscape. Similar to the Bedrock Geologic Map of Ohio, the Glacial Geologic Map of Ohio had not been updated since its original publication in 1960. The Survey worked with Dr. Richard Goldthwait to update the Glacial Geologic Map of Ohio beginning in the 1980s, After the death of Dr. Goldthwait in the early 1990s, the Survey published the updated version of the map in 1999. There were other statewide maps that were derived from the Bedrock Geologic Map of Ohio; these include the Bedrock Topography Map of Ohio and the Drift Thickness Map of Ohio, which were published in the early 2000s. Each of these maps revolutionized the way that geologists and the public viewed the geology of Ohio.
Most of the geologic mapping and analysis could not have been done without the computerization of data and the use of computer mapping techniques. The conversion of mapping techniques from pen and paper to digital techniques and GIS was a major revolutionary change in how the Survey does business. The change allowed the Survey to increase productivity, even at a time in history that funding and staffing levels were decreasing. Tom Berg encouraged this change of moving to GIS technology, thereby allowing the Survey to be acknowledged to be a leader in this technology and continue to be the utmost authority in geologic information.
The initiation of the 3-dimensional surficial mapping program is a very innovative program that has not been tried on a state-wide basis at any state geological survey. The surficial mapping program is a natural progression from the bedrock and quaternary geology mapping projects. By mapping in three dimensions, the program provides additional information needed by the public in the 21st Century.
The Lake Erie Geology program received a significant boost in activity and influence with the hiring of Dr. Scudder Mackey and the receiving add-on funding from the U.S. Congress. The renewed activity and funding resulted in a better understanding of the Lake Erie geology, a better understanding of the coastal erosion along the lake, and the deployment of Coastal Erosion Area maps for the first time. Major infrastructure improvements occurred which included the purchasing of a shallow draft research vessel (the GS-3) and the purchase of side-scan sonar.
The creation of the Ohio Seis network is another accomplishment during Tom Berg tenure as
State Geologist. Ohio had lost its last remaining seismic network by the early 1990’s. The creation of the new Ohio Seis network allowed for a more comprehensive coverage across the state, allowed many different volunteer operators to participate, and the design of the network made it the most cost-efficient seismic network in the world.
Finally, the Survey’s building of the Horace R. Collins Core and Sample Repository was a major accomplishment, which allowed Ohio’s core and samples to have permanent home. Prior to the opening of the repository, the Survey had been renting space to store the cores and samples for decades. The new building housed a classroom and allowed a more permanent home and future expansion of the archive space. The Core and Sample Repository has shown the citizens of Ohio its worth with all the sampling activity related to the Utica/Point Pleasant Shale exploration play.
The Ohio Geological Society awarded Tom Berg with Honorary Membership in 2000. Tom Berg was recognized by the Society for his support of research in petroleum geology in Ohio and his support of the Ohio Geological Society, especially the annual Symposiums.
