Committee
Alan Bowden (Chair)
Alan is currently Curator of Earth Sciences at the National Museums Liverpool. After gaining an M.Sc in Marine Earth Science at University College London he spent two years working as both a petrographer and biostratigrapher whilst working in a Quarrying Consultancy. A spell of ten years then ensued in the service sector of the Petroleum Industry before leaving to work in museums.
Professional interests revolve around micropalaeontology, palaeobotany, meteoritics and the History of Geosciences. For ten years he was an external dissertation supervisor for the University of Liverpool's M.Sc course on the History of Science and Technology. His current interests in the History of Science are largely concerned with meteoritics, palaeobotany and micropalaeontology. Other interests concern the early
history of Petrology leading to the work of John MacCulloch and his geological mapping of Scotland. He has co edited two Geological Society Special Publications: A History of Palaeobotany: Selected Essays (eds) A.J.Bowden, C.V.Burek and R. Wilding (2005) and A History of Meteoritics and Key Meteorite Collections (eds) G.J.H.McCall, A.J.Bowden and R.J.Howarth (2006). A current project is as lead editor on producing a History of Foraminiferal Micropalaeontology.
Richard 'Dick' Moody (Vice Chair)
Dick is currently Emeritus Professor of Geology at Kingston University. He joined Kingston in 1964 as Lecturer/Curator and retired in 1993, having spent the last 10 years of his career as Director of Kingston Geological Services; a major Research/Consultancy group that provided innovative services, such as chemostratigraphy, to the petroleum industry. Dick has served on Council for both The Geological Society and The Geologists' Association and was President of the Association from 1998-2000. One of his major achievements during his term of office, was the organisation of Earth Alert, held in Brighton in 2000. Earth Alert II held in Scarborough in 2002 attracted around 8,000 visitors. Trained as a palaeontologist / sedimentologist, Dick has written numerous books on fossils, evolution and Earth History. He is interested in all aspects of Historical Geology and is keen to help with the planning and organisation of meetings that will promote the aims and ideals of HOGG. He is currently active in fundraising for the redevelopment of the Rotunda Museum in Scarborough and as consultant to the petroleum industry.
Anne O'Connor (Secretary)
Anne is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Archaeology at Durham University, and is currently converting from archaeology, via history, to law. After reading Archaeology & Anthropology at Cambridge (1999), her interest in the history of geology was stimulated by Ph.D. research on the historical connections between Quaternary geology and Palaeolithic archaeology in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (Durham 2003). This enjoyable immersion in past battles over Quaternary chronologies culminated in the book ‘Finding Time for the Old Stone Age’ (OUP 2007). Anne has also worked as the Research Fellow on the Leverhulme-funded Greenwell Project (Durham 2004-6), studying the antiquarian, William Greenwell (1820-1918), barrow-digger and inventor of the trout-fishing fly 'Greenwell's Glory'.
Beris Cox (Treasurer)
Beris Cox joined the Geological Survey in 1969 having graduated from the University of Wales (Swansea). Amongst the Survey's graduate intakeof that year was John Thackray through whose friendship her latent interest in the history of geology and antiquarian books was nurtured. Her Survey work as a specialist in Jurassic palaeontology and stratigraphy proved a rich feeding ground for this interest and she was a member of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History from 1973 to 1986 and has been a member of HOGG since 1997. She gained her PhD (on Jurassic ammonites) from the University of London (Queen Mary College) in 1981 and has been a chartered geologist since 1992. With the Survey, she was based in London, then Leeds and finally Keyworth from where she took early retirement in 1998. Since then she has continued to write on Jurassic topics and has been indoor meetings secretary for the East Midlands Geological Society - but she will retire from that role next year so that any HOGG committee work will have priority!
Peter Tandy (Newsletter Editor)
In 1994 Peter attended his first Geological Society meeting at Burlington House, and found himself 'volunteered' to act as editor of the newsletter of the newly-formed History of Geology Group. Now, issue number 20 is reached, with Peter having held the position unbroken for the past 9 years. His background is one of mineralogy, having entered the Mineral Department of the Natural History Museum in 1971 straight from school, and still there 32 years later. In that time he gained an Honours degree in Geology from Birkbeck College. For all but a tiny percentage of his time in the museum, his role has been to acquire, identify and catalogue new acquisitions to the collection of minerals, and generally to nursemaid the National Collection of minerals. Although in youth he tended to eschew history, over the past years his interests (not only geological) have turned towards it, and he finds great reward in reading of the achievements of immensely clever people (often amateurs) in unraveling complex stories from scant evidence, or in furthering science and technology. He has had a number of small roles in editing newsletters ranging from a now defunct NHM staff newspaper in which he was largely responsible for a commemorative century "1881" edition in 1981, to a small newsletter catering for collectors of antique typewriters! Outside of work, he has interests in almost anything except most poetry, ballet & modern art, but particularly indulges in books (history of technology & social history mainly), 'real' art (especially trompe l'oeil), football & cricket, real ale ("Sarah Hughes is my all-time favourite!")........ and sundials!
Nic Bilham
Nic Bilham is Data Manager at the Geological Society, where he has worked since 1997. He graduated in History and Philosophy of Science from Cambridge in 1993, and it was his continuing interest in the history of science which initially drew him to work at the Society. He is now responsible for a development of the Geological Society's website, and a number of other information delivery projects, and also works on areas such as business planning. Along with other members of the committee, Nic is currently involved in organising an oral history project, to mark the Society’s bicentenary.
David Earle
Nina Morgan
Hugh Torrens
Leucha Veneer
