Charlotte E. Keen

Charlotte E. Keen (née Davidson) is a Canadian geologist and professor emeritus at the Geological Survey of Canada. Her work focuses on the structure of the Earth's crust and the upper mantle using geophysical imaging and magnetic measurements. She was the first woman to go on a Canadian Survey Ship.

Early life and education Keen was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She attended elementary school in Ottawa

In 1964 Keen became the first woman to go to sea on the Canadian Survey Ship Hudson. As a woman, Keen was technically not allowed to be on board, but was smuggled aboard with Frances Wagner in the Strait of Canso. She published her first Nature paper whilst still an undergraduate student. She moved to the United Kingdom, where she completed a PhD at the University of Cambridge and was one of the first two women members of her department.

During her doctoral studies, she investigated the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and her thesis included the first demonstration of seismic refraction experiments near a ridge. After completing her PhD, Keen joined the Atlantic Oceanography Lab of Energy, Mines and Resources in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. She has studied the crystal structure of the continental margin of Eastern Canada. Keen was responsible for the development of the LITHOPROBE, the largest ever research science project in Canada. LITHOPROBE looked to investigate the geology and continental lithosphere of the ocean floor. In 1986 she was appointed the Head of Regional Reconnaissance at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. She retired from the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in 1998. Keen is an adjunct Professor at Dalhousie University.

Awards and honours

2014 - Discovery Centre Hall of Fame 2003 - Dalhousie University Honorary Doctoral Degree 1995 - Geological Association of Canada Distinguished Fellow 1995 - Canadian Geophysical Union Wilson Medal 1994 - Geological Society of America Woollard Award 1986 - American Geophysical Union Fellow 1980 - Royal Society of Canada Fellow 1979 - Geological Association of Canada Past President's Medal 1975 - Atlantic Provinces Inter-University Committee on the Sciences Young Scientist Medal