The College is saddened by the death of Dr Peter Friend, who had been part of the Darwin community for over 50 years. Peter died on Wednesday 9th October at the age of 91, in the Arthur Rank Hospice surrounded by his family.
A geologist and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Earth Sciences, Peter was elected as a Fellow at Darwin in 1974, and retained a strong connection with the College as an Emeritus Fellow following his retirement in 2001.
“Many Darwinians will have met Peter Friend, a regular at lunch and coffee,” said former Master of Darwin Professor Mary Fowler.
“Peter was one of the world’s most respected sedimentologists, expert on the Old Red Sandstone and the ways in which rivers denude mountains. He was a much-loved undergraduate lecturer and leader of exciting field trips, while through his work in the Appalachians, Greenland, Spitsbergen, Spain and South Asia, Peter supervised generations of graduate students, had many collaborators and avoided polar bears. In 2015 he was awarded the Polar Medal (awarded by the sovereign for outstanding achievement and service to the UK in the field of polar research).
For decades he was a quiet friend of Darwin students, a thoughtful giver of advice, a kind and generous man filled with humour, a person of integrity who will be much missed.”
A tribute to Peter’s academic career published in December 2007 makes clear his impact as a colleague and supervisor, as well as through his own research. Sedimentary processes, environments and basins – a tribute to Peter Friend brought together papers by his doctoral students, research collaborators and fellow scientists. Its introduction demonstrates both his intellectual capability and his human warmth.
“It is one thing to be a good scientist, but the scientific community would soon be impoverished if some of those good scientists were not also able to inspire and help others,” wrote its editors, Gary Nichols, Ed Williams and Chris Paola.
“All those who have worked with Peter know what a rich experience it is – he is not only inspirational as a scientist, but through his relaxed and friendly manner he reminds us of the pleasure both of doing good science and of doing well by people in the process.”