About George W. Moore

About George

George was born in Palo Alto, California in 1928 to George R. and Grace A. Moore. He attended grade school and high school in Palo Alto and later went on to graduate from Stanford University with a B.S. in 1950 and an M.S. in 1951, both in geology. He completed his Ph.D. at Yale University in 1960. He was a member of the US Army, serving twice, once in Korea.

He had a distinguished career as a geologist, working as a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey from 1951-1987. His field of specialty was tectonics. He continued to work on a part-time basis from 1987 to 1995 and obtained Honorary Scientist Emeritus status thereafter. He received superior performance awards from U.S. Geological Survey in 1963 and 1983. Since 1987, he had an appointment as Courtesy Professor of Geology in the Department of Geosciences at Oregon State University, where he also served as Deputy General Chair of the popular Condon Lecture Series. George has a fine record of professional and community service, including lecturing in classes, for Da Vinci Days, and for international scientific organizations, such as the China Antarctic Research Center, and for World Explorer Cruises, Alaska. He reviewed scientific manuscripts, delivered short courses, and served on the editorial board for the Glossary of Geology. He also has led professional and general field trips for geology and speleology.

He authored more than 230 publications ranging from scientific papers to geological maps and map compilations as well as works of general interest about geological catastrophes, a book on speleology (study of caves) and most recently, a manuscript on wine and terroir in Oregon, slated for publication by the OSU Press in 2008. George’s work is most noted for its originality and for his willingness to consider ideas “outside the box.” He is noted for his contributions to the theory of plate tectonics, particularly in understanding the significance of tectonic terranes. He coined the word “speleothem” and is co-author of the benchmark 1960 Conservation Policy of the National Speleological Society.

As a student, he was a member, and president in 1959, of the Dana (geology) Club at Yale. He later became a Fellow of the Geological Society of America and of the American Association of Advancement of Science. He was a member of the American Geophysical Union and of the National Speleological Society, for which he served as president from 1963 to 1965. He was also a long-time member of the Peninsula geological Survey, where he was president from 1986-1987.