Biographical note

Eric H Christiansen received a Ph.D. in geology from Arizona State University, after studying at Brown University, Brigham Young University, and the College of Southern Idaho. The volcanic plains of southern Idaho, the vastness of the desert sky, and the first steps of astronauts on the Moon inspired him to become a geologist. First at the University of Iowa and later at Brigham Young University, Eric teaches courses in physical geology, field geology, geochemistry, igneous petrology, volcanology, ore deposits, and planetary geology. He is the author of many scientific papers on the volcanic evolution of the western United States (especially large supervolcanoes). Together with students and colleagues, his research has also extended to other planets where the volcanoes of Io, the Moon, and Mars, and the sand dunes and mountains of Titan were subjects of investigation. In addition to his research he has written textbooks on physical geology, igneous petrology, and planetary science. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Park Service, the US Geological Survey, and NASA. He belongs to the American Geophysical Union, the Geochemical Society, and a fellow of the Geological Society of America where he acts as Chair of the Division of Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Petrology and Volcanology. Eric lives at the foot of the fault-bounded, actively rising, Wasatch Range where the mountains and the ever changing seasons are inspirations. W. Kenneth Hamblin earned his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan, and throughout his distinguished career he taught at the University of Kansas, the University of Georgia, and Brigham Young University. Ken was the author of numerous textbooks, scientific articles and has been active in various scientific societies. Thousands of students have been introduced to the fascinating worlds of geology through his textbooks and laboratory manuals. The style and development of ideas in his books has been influential in shaping the way that introductory geology was taught to a generation of students. He loved photography, especially from an airplane and many of the oblique aerial photographs are his. He had an eye for capturing a photo that was not just pretty, but could illustrate fundamental geologic principles—and he visited all seven continents in his efforts. His focus was on the fundamental features of the landscape, the rock sequence, their structure, and the geologic history these features record. He photographed for geologic information, not simply for aesthetic beauty, although many of his photos are beautiful. In addition to his teaching and research, he participated in geologic studies in the Great Rift Valleys of East Africa, the diamond fields of West Africa, the Alps, Siberia, and the Canadian Arctic. He was a guest lecturer at various universities in South Africa, Switzerland, and France. Dr. Hamblin spent much of his career studying the tectonic geomorphology of the Colorado Plateau; one of his passions in life was to understand and capture the beauty of the landscapes of the Grand Canyon. His other books include Beyond the Visible Landscape: Aerial Panoramas of Utah’s Geology, andAnatomy of the Grand Canyon: Panoramas of the Canyon's Geology. He was devoted to his family and to his wife, Sally, who appears in several of the photographs in the book and helped with many aspects of Ken’s work as an author, scientist, and photographer. Although Ken died a few years ago, his contribution to the ideas, words, and photographs in this new book are honored by his inclusion as an author. It memorializes his inspiration of others, his keen eye, sharp wit, and vast insight.