Barry J. Cooper

Barry J. Cooper (1948–2023) was an Australian geologist, professor at the University of South Australia, historian of geology and public figure. President of the International Commission on the History of Geological Sciences (2016-2020).

Biography

Cooper was born on September 23, 1948 in Ivanhoe, Victoria, Australia. He completed his PhD in 1974 at the Ohio State University School of Earth Sciences.

He worked as a professor of geology at the University of South Australia in Adelaide and Whyalla, and conducted research in the field of paleontology, history of geology and popularization of stone heritage. He was a long-standing active member of many Australian and international organizations and meetings in the geological sciences and their history.

Cooper died on October 13, 2023, in Adelaide, South Australia.

Awards The following medals were awarded from the Geological Society of Australia: 2019: Bruce Webb Medal, for contribution to the study of geology of the state of South Australia 2021: Tom Vallance Medal, for his contribution to the history of geosciences in Australia

Membership Geological Society of Australia Geological Society of America Secretary General (2008–2016) and then President (2016–2020) of the International Commission on the History of Geological Sciences (INHIGEO) Founder and Secretary General of the Stone Heritage Task Force, International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS).