INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY

The organization that was to become the Institute for Geophysics was established in 1972 when Maurice Ewing, one of the most highly acclaimed Earth scientists (read about Ewing's papers) of the twentieth century and a native of Texas, returned to his home state. Ewing, who also founded the present-day Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, established and served as the first Director of the Earth and Planetary Sciences Division of the Marine Biomedical Institute as part of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. During his lifetime, Ewing used exploration geophysics to lead the world into the post-World War II era of global research in the ocean basins. By the time of his death in 1974, the Earth and Planetary Sciences Division had become an established center of lunar and seismology research, and had initiated the first academic program in marine multichannel seismic research. The autobiography of J. Lamar Worzel, a former student of Ewing's who also served as acting director (1974-1979) after Ewing's death, provides more details of the events at this time.

Building on this solid foundation, the University of Texas Board of Regents developed a plan to promote advanced research and teaching programs in areas related to the state's natural resources, particularly the coastal zone. To facilitate this plan, the administration of the Earth and Planetary Sciences Division was transferred to the Marine Science Institute of the University of Texas at Austin in 1974 and the Division was renamed the Galveston Geophysics Laboratory.

UTIG Appointed Directors

In 1982, to promote closer interaction with the Department of Geological Sciences (DGS) and to augment its role in graduate education, the Laboratory was renamed the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) and moved to Austin. Arthur E. Maxwell assumed the directorship. Maxwell had made his mark in the annals of Earth science by serving as co-chief scientist of Leg 3 of the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) in 1968. Led by Maxwell, the scientists on DSDP Leg 3 confirmed seafloor spreading and thus substantiated the now widely accepted hypothesis of plate tectonics, an accomplishment that has been called the most significant discovery in the history of scientific ocean drilling. DSDP Leg 3 also led to the validation of the paleomagnetic time scale, giving geophysicists a powerful tool for estimating the age of the ocean floor. Between 1982 and 1994 UTIG expanded its role in marine geophysics and seismology, and developed major research programs in polar regions, particularly Antarctica and the southern Oceans.

In 1994, Maxwell retired as Director and was succeeded by Paul Stoffa, who also holds the Shell Distinguished Chair in Geophysics in the Department of Geological Sciences. Stoffa is a marine seismologist with expertise in multichannel seismic acquisition, the use of parallel computers in seismic processing, and the modeling and inversion of geophysical data. Under Stoffa, UTIG's scope broadened still further to include a wider range of geophysical projects and a program of educational outreach. In January of 2007, UTIG moved into its home at the University of Texas at Austin's J.J. Pickle Research Campus in north Austin.

After leading the Institute for Geophysics for 16 years, Stoffa stepped down from its directorship and returned to full-time research in December 2008. Dr. Terry Quinn was named Director in August, 2009.

Terry Quinn
Director of UTIG