Lithos 112S (2009) xviii

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Tribute to Steve Haggerty

Steve Haggerty is one of the staunchest supporters of theInternational Kimberlite Conferences, and is one of that small, elitegroup of scientists that has attended all nine conferences. Steve hasbrought to the kimberlite community his ownwealth of experience inthe study of opaqueminerals which due to difficulties of identificationis a group of phases often avoided or ignored by other workers; theadvent of the electron microprobe has made identification easier thanpreviously but interpretation of the textures, as seen in polished thin-sections, is still hard-learned and is a skill at which Steve excels. Hisfirst contribution in this field was when, as a post-graduate student atthe Royal School of Mines in London, with N. Watkins he made adetailed study of themagnetisation and oxidation of magnetite withina single Icelandic basalt flow. After his PhD graduation in 1968, hetook a 3-year Carnegie Fellowship at the Geophysical Laboratory, aperiod that fortuitously coincided with the return of moon samples bythe Apollo programme. During this time Steve, as a PrincipalInvestigator, worked on opaque phases in samples returned fromthe Apollo 11 and 12 sites, and a highlight was the naming, withothers, of armalcolite after the three Apollo 11 astronauts. Other workat the Geophysical Laboratory included studies on the oxidation ofhigh-Ti phases to form crichtonite and aenigmatite. In 1971 he movedto the University of Massachusetts at Amherst but not before he hadbecome infected with Joe Boyds' enthusiasm for kimberlite andmantle research. During his tenure in Amherst, Steve continuedworking on lunar samples from both the U.S. (Apollo 14 and 15) andRussian (Luna 16) programmes but inevitably returned to terrestrialgeology and by 1973, the date of the first Kimberlite Conference, Stevewas already working on opaque phases in kimberlite samples mainlyfrom Lesotho, made available by Pete Nixon. Subsequently Steve hasbeen deeply involved in kimberlite and upper-mantle xenolithpetrology, carbonatite mineralogy and diamond exploration which

doi:10.1016/j.lithos.2009.10.003

has involved him in field work in South Africa, West Africa, India,Australia and Russia. Whilst never abandoning his love of opaquemineralogy, which included the description of the new metasomaticmagnetoplumbite type phase hawthorneite (named after BarryHawthorne), he has been involved in work on mantle metasomatismand the kimberlite–carbonatite relationship. His expertise on dia-mond exploration has resulted in consultancies with several govern-ments and mining companies.

Steve is aman of immense energy, and his hardwork is apparent inhis formidable publication list; his research output has beenrecognised in his election to Fellowships of the American GeophysicalUnion, the Mineralogical Society of America and the RussianMineralogical Society. Nonetheless, he is an affable, sociable manwho plays as hard as he works; he requires only a little sleep andanyone who has been on field trips with Steve will be only too awarethat this can result in good-hearted, late-night partying and carousing.

After retirement in 2002 he moved to his present position asDistinguished Research Professor at Florida International University.Unlike the case with many retired U.S. citizens whose move to thewarmth of Florida signals a slide into slothful ease, Steves' migrationhas met with no decline in activity. Since retirement, he has beenworking on Indian kimberlites, and has enlivened the last twokimberlite conferences in Victoria and Frankfurt with his presence.

Barry DawsonEdinburgh, United Kingdom