Alumnus Donates $100,000 to Earth Sciences Department

Donation to support field-based research projects

By Iqbal Pittalwala on June 5, 2012

By Lucas Joel

John Dunham, a graduate student alumnus of the University of California, Riverside, has donated $100,000 to his former department, Earth Sciences.  The donation will help support field-based work of faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates in the department.

Dunham, who had a 34-year career in petroleum geology, made the donation in the name of his Ph.D. advisor, Emeritus Professor Michael Murphy.

Dunham attributes his professional success to the guidance he received from Murphy.

“Mike was patient with me while we worked out in the field, and he was always sure to let me know what he thought I could do better,” said Dunham, who graduated with a doctoral degree in geological sciences in 1977.

Murphy, who studies paleontology, has been an Earth Sciences faculty member since UC Riverside first opened its doors in 1954.

“As a student, John had a strong ability to apply the scientific method to problems he was working on in the field,” he said. “I think this trait is part of what helped him succeed career-wise after graduating.”

Dunham gave a talk on campus about his work on June 1.

Archived under: Science/Technology, Department of Earth Sciences, gift, InsideUCR, Michael Murphy, Paleontology

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