 |
|
|
||
The 1982 Joseph A. Cushman Award
Helen Tappan and Alfred R. Loeblich, Jr. |
| The 1982 Joseph A. Cushman Awards for Excellence in Foraminiferal Research were presented to HELEN TAPPAN (LOEBLICH) and ALFRED R. LOEBLICH, JR., in recognition of their separate and joint contributions, especially in the area of foraminiferal systematics. The Loeblichs have distinguished, and inextricably intertwined, careers in micropaleontology which started when they were students together in college. Although they are perhaps most recognizable as a team, both Helen and Al have made significant contributions as individuals; the Joseph A. Cushman Award is given to each of them separately. Helen Tappan and Alfred R. Loeblich, Jr. stand as two of the foremost micropaleontologists of this century. Al Loeblich was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1914, the son of European immigrants. Al, with great intelligence, a demanding sense of perfection and a strong desire to succeed, was drawn to higher education, eventually enrolling in geology at the University of Oklahoma. Helen Tappan, however, came from a long line of early Americans and was born in Norman, Oklahoma. Her father, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Oklahoma, had always encouraged scholarly activity, so that Helen, with her natural charm and intelligence, also appreciated higher education and scholarship. When Helen and Al finally met in a sophmore chemistry class at the University of Oklahoma, they were immediately attracted to one another by these attributes, which have continued to form the basis of their dynamic synergism. Soon after Helen and Al both graduated with B.S. (Phi Beta Kappa) and M.S. degrees, they were married in the garden of her parents' home in Norman, Oklahoma on June 18, 1939. Helen and Al enrolled for doctoral studies in geology at the University of Chicago with Carey Croneis as their major professor. Al became interested in Paleozoic bryozoans and Helen studied foraminifera, an interest she developed while at Oklahoma. Upon completing their residency requirements at Chicago, Al accepted a position as Instructor at Tulane University in New Orleans. After the outbreak of World War II, Al, a reserve officer, entered the Army as a 1st Lieutenant and served in the Pacific theater. During the war, as might be expected, Al collected microfossil samples from remote Pacific islands, shipping them home in ammunition cans to be used in later studies. In the meantime, Helen took over Al's teaching duties at Tulane until 1943, when she joined the U.S. Geological Survey in California. Al came home a Captain, and accepted a position with the U.S. National Museum as Associate Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology, while Helen remained with the U.S.G.S. in Washington, D.C. When the Museum acquired the world-famous Joseph Cushman foraminiferal collection, Al joined Helen in full-time study of foraminifera. The collection was transferred from Sharon, Massachusetts and curated by Al. In 1957, Al left the National Museum for Southern California and a position with Chevron Research Company. Helen came too, and became a lecturer, and later a Professor in the Department of Geology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Al has since retired from Chevron, this time joining Helen at UCLA as an Adjunct Professor of Geology. They now live near the campus, going every day to continue their work in the offices and laboratories they share. Their contributions began early-Helen's in 1937 and Al's in 1940. They have now published hundreds of papers, a number of books, many reviews, and they continue to produce significant contributions. Their early work (other than the usual new species occurrence and technique papers, as well as three contributions on Bryozoa by Al) focussed on description of new faunas and taxa of foraminifera, particularly from the Mesozoic. Later, Al and Helen were invited to participate in the preparation of a proposed volume on foraminifera for the "Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology." Al insisted that he and Helen do the entire job, and they began work by carefully documenting all previously described genera, examining type specimens throughout North America and Europe, studying material obtained from around the world, and devising a radical and controversial new classification of the group. This work resulted naturally in an outpouring of nomenclatorial and systematic papers. In 1964, their "Treatise" volume was published, with Al and Helen making additions and corrections until the very last possible moment. The "Treatise" revolutionized the study of foraminifera by emphasizing the biology, test ultrastructure, ecology, stratigraphic distribution, and, especially, the systematics of the group. The "Treatise" serves as the cornerstone of modern foraminiferal studies, and has been and remains the single most-cited reference in foraminiferology. Also during this period, Al and Helen recognized the potential of planktonic foraminifera in biostratigraphy and they organized a special volume on the topic. This work, involving other authors, is known by specialists simply as Bulletin 215 (of the U.S. National Museum), for it provided the impetus for the the study of these forms, which have since become the most important group used in the biostratigraphy and paleoceanography of the last 150 million years of geologic time. Having honed their nomenclatorial skills in preparing the "Treatise," The Loeblichs turned their attention to other groups of microfossils-silicoflagellates, tintinnids, calcareous nannofossils, dinoflagellates and acritarchs, and chitinozoans. They prepared detailed compendia or systematic revisions of these groups that are in common use today. Even more importantly, these careful encyclopedic treatments called attention to these groups and made their sustained study and use possible. Since the Loeblichs' treatments, each of these groups has become important in general micropaleontologic applications. Some of these compendia were done in collaboration with their son and daughter-in-law, and so the Loeblich micropaleontologic dynasty began to grow. As Helen began teaching, she was confronted by broader academic questions about micropaleontology. She began to wonder about the evolutionary implications of the microfossil record and its relationship to earth history. Although Al encouraged her and supplied much background work, he commonly let Helen take credit for her ideas in singly-authored papers. Al began to devote much effort to organic microfossils, describing new taxa and biotas, and unravelling nomenclatorial problems-with Helen's help and support, of course. Seemingly, Al liked to stick with the objective facts that could be seen on specimens, or found in the literature, while Helen did not mind speculating a bit more, an ideal combination. Much of the Loeblichs' work, as well as the rest of the world literature on plant protists, both systematic and theoretical, was synthesized by Helen in her monumental 1028 page book "The Paleobiology of Plant Protists" published in 1980 by W. H. Freeman and Co. Although the Loeblichs seem to have left foraminifera in the last few years, they keep world-wide research on the group under close scrutiny and, from time to time, they have published their views on systematic rearrangements. Indeed, a revised "Treatise' is underway, now that the number of described genera has more than doubled since the original 900-page, two-volume "Treatise". Al and Helen have contributed much to the professions of geology, micropaleontology, protozoology and botany through their varied society and government activities. They have served in editorial capacities for a number of professional journals, served on committees of societies, organized symposia, and advised panels for JOIDES (deep-sea drilling program). Indeed, this very Cushman Foundation owes its existence in large part to the Loeblichs as incorporators and editors of its first journal. As important and lasting as these contributions are, the Loeblichs consider their most outstanding achievement to be the large number of formal and informal students they trained. We were all lucky to have two major professors in Al and Helen, even when Al had no formal relationship with UCLA. Both of them worked hard to develop in their students the same high standards as they showed themselves throughout their careers, and to question the tried and true, even when it was theirs. We never received criticism for new or outrageous scientific views, but errors of fact or literature were quickly corrected. Over twenty students have completed higher degrees with Helen (and Al!) at UCLA. Together these students have contributed well over a 1,000 papers themselves on all microfossil groups (and some other topics), and they occupy prominent positions as paleontologists, geologists and administrators in academia, government and industry (U.S. and foreign). In turn, these Loeblich students have trained, and are training, their own students who are entering similar positions. The Loeblichs have already planted the seeds and watched the initial branching of a micropaleontologic family tree that has grown rapidly into the mainstream of modern paleontology. Thus, Helen and Al have accomplished more in their two careers to date than many a classroom full of paleontologists might ever do. Their success can be attributed to the ways in which their two personalities and ambitions have complemented one another. Helen, the quiet, gentle, caring person, joined with Al, the critical, ambitious perfectionist, to form a dynamic team unrivaled in paleontology, or indeed probably most other fields. The Board of Directors of the Cushman Foundation is honored to present them with the 1982 Joseph A. Cushman Awards, and at the same time, to welcome them as Honorary Directors. JERE H. LIPPS, University of California, Davis from: Journal of Foraminiferal Research, July 1983, v. 13, no. 3 More information about A. R. Loeblich:
More information about Helen Tappan
|
| |
||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |