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Christine Mary Rutherford Fowler, FRAS, FGS, FRCGS (born 1950) is a British geologist and academic. From 2012 to 2020, she served as the Master of Darwin College, Cambridge. She was previously a lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London, rising to become Dean of its Faculty of Science.

Early life and education

Fowler was born in 1950 to Rosemary and Peter Fowler.^[1] She comes from a family of eminent scientists. A great-grandfather was Ernest Rutherford, the 'father of nuclear physics', and her grandfather, Rutherford's son-in-law, was the mathematical physicist Ralph H. Fowler.^[2]

She studied mathematics at Girton College, Cambridge, graduating with a first class Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1972.^[2][3] In 1972 she joined Darwin College, Cambridge to undertake post-graduate studies in geophysics and completed her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1976.^[4] Her doctoral thesis was titled "Seismic Studies of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge".^[5]

Academic career

From 1977 to 1978, Fowler was a Royal Society European Fellow at ETH Zürich in Switzerland.^[3] She joined the University of Saskatchewan in Canada as a research associate in 1981.^[3][6] She was an assistant professor from 1982 to 1983, before returning to her research associate position.^[3] She remained associated with the university as an adjunct professor between 1991 and 2001.^[3]

In 1992, Fowler joined Royal Holloway, University of London as a lecturer; she was later promoted to senior lecturer.^[3][7] Between 2002 and 2008, she was head of the Department of Earth Sciences.^[7] She was made Professor of Geophysics in 2003.^[3] In 2011, she was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Science.^[3]

In April 2012, it was announced that Fowler had been elected the sixth Master of Darwin College, Cambridge.^[2] She took up the appointment in October 2012, succeeding William Brown.^[6] She retired in 2020 and was succeeded by Dr Michael Rands.^[8]

Personal life

In 1975, Fowler married Euan Nisbet, now a Professor of Earth Sciences at Royal Holloway.^[3][9][10] They met at Darwin college, Cambridge while students.^[2][9] Together, they have three children: two daughters and a son.^[3] Their daughter (Ruth) Ellen Nisbet, who is a biochemist and academic, also studied at Darwin College, Cambridge.^[2]

Honours

In 1996, Fowler was awarded the Prestwich Medal by the Geological Society of London.^[11] She is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (FRAS), a Fellow of the Geological Society of London (FGS), and a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (FRCGS).^[6] In July 2018, Fowler was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science (DSc) by the University of Leeds,^[12] and by the University of Edinburgh.^[13]

Selected works

• Fowler, C. M. R. (1990). The Solid Earth: An Introduction to Global Geophysics (1st ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521370257.
• Fowler, C. M. R.; Ebinger, C. J.; Hawkesworth, C. J., eds. (2002). The Early Earth: Physical, Chemical and Biological Development. London: Geological Society of London. ISBN 978-1862391093.
• Fowler, C. M. R. (2005). The Solid Earth: An Introduction to Global Geophysics (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521584098.

References