Robert Bury Ferguson
Robert Bury Ferguson (February 5 1920 - January 18 2015) was a Canadian mineralogist and crystallographer, and Professor, spending most of his career in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. He became Emeritus Distinguished Professor in 1985, and continued his research and participation in academic life.
Early years and early education[edit]
Ferguson was born on February 5, 1920 in Galt (Cambridge), Ontario to Alexander Galt Ferguson and Harriet Henrietta (Bury) Ferguson, and brother Ian and sister Mary. Robert Bury Ferguson grew up in Galt, Ontario and graduated from Galt Collegiate Institute in 1938.
Career[edit]
Ferguson attended the University of Toronto from 1938 to 1947 (BSc 1942; MSc 1943; PhD 1948). His advisor was Martin Peacock, a mineralogist and X-ray crystallography.[1] He joined the University of Manitoba in 1947, tasked with teaching mineralogy and crystallography, and to manage the newly acquired X-ray diffraction facility. There was then an influx of students after the war.[2]
Ferguson was one of the 16 mineralogists, who met in Ottawa, on 23 August 1954, to effectively found the Mineralogical Association of Canada (MAC)[3] in 1955. He was president of the MAC association in 1977 and honoured with the Hawley Medal in 1981.[1] He was a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Ferguson has a mineral, Bobfergusonite, a transition-metal phosphate discovered in a pegmatite at Cross Lake, Manitoba, named after him as well.
The Robert B. Ferguson Museum of Mineralogy,[4] originally established in 1971, was renamed for Ferguson who was instrumental in establishing the museum.[2]
Notable research students and post-doctoral fellows[edit]
Known as as researcher and mentor Ferguson had numerous research students and post-doctoral fellows. Notable post-doctoral fellows are K.V. (Subbu) Subbarao, Petr Černý, and Frank C. Hawthorne.[1]
Notable students include Louis Delbaere (Ph.D.), Robert I. Gait (Ph.D 1967), Joel D. Grice (M.Sc. 1970), Carol P. Huber, Michael N.G. James (M.Sc.), Robert J. Traill (Ph.D. 1956), Lowell T. Trembath (M.Sc. 1961). Although Ferguson was in the academic grouping of geology, several of his students had chemical crystallography projects.[5][2]
Personal life[edit]
Ferguson met his wife Margaret Warren in Winnipeg through the church community and they married December 29, 1948 in Edmonton, Alberta. Bob and Margaret built their cottage on Big Duck Island in The Lake of the Woods.[6] They have three children, Lyn, Robert W. and Marnie. Ferguson volunteered with his the church, such as board president and member of many committees.[6]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Turnock, Allan (2015). "ROBERT BURY FERGUSON, FRS (1920–2015):". The Canadian Mineralogist. 53 (1): 173–174. doi:10.3749/canmin.OBIT000001. ISSN 0008-4476.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 University of Manitoba, U of M Today (22 January 2015). "Mourning Robert Bury Ferguson, Professor Emeritus". Retrieved 16 September 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Mineralogical Association of Canada – Association Minéralogique du Canada". Retrieved 2021-09-26.
- ↑ "University of Manitoba - Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources - Department of Geological Sciences - Welcome to our Museums". umanitoba.ca. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
- ↑ "Crystallography in Canada". history.amercrystalassn.org. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "FERGUSON ROBERT - Obituaries - Winnipeg Free Press Passages". passages.winnipegfreepress.com. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
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