Chappell Endowment secures PhD study in petrology
On Monday 26 August, RSES Director Ian Jackson, had the pleasure of receiving, on behalf of ANU and RSES, a cheque for more than $1 million from the estate of former ANU academic, the late Bruce Chappell.
This extremely generous gift to the University by one of our own was presented by Bruce's sister Connie Treloar, in the presence of her son Cliff and his wife Lynne.
Bruce joined the Geology Department as a lecturer in the early 1960s, and graduated with an ANU Ph D in 1967. At the event Ian related his experience of having Bruce as his PhD supervisor. Bruce was awarded an ANU DSc in 1990, promoted to Professor in 1992, and retired in 1997. The following year, his sustained research contributions were recognised by election to Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science. Bruce passed away in 2012 and is sorely missed by many colleagues and former students in the RSES community and beyond.
There are many dimensions to Bruce's legacy - foremost amongst which is his influential published work - much of it with long-time collaborator Allan White - in understanding the compositional variations and origins of granitic rocks.
Bruce's generous bequest ensures perpetual status for the Allan White Scholarship for PhD study in petrology, and will help ensure the long-term future of the School's valuable palaeontological collection. Earnings from the Chappell Endowment will also contribute in other ways, consistent with Bruce's wishes, to the advancement of petrology and the training of future generations of researchers.
Inaugural winners of the Allan White Scholarship Helen Cocker (2012) and Mari Scicchitano (2013) presented the Treloars with a token of the School's appreciation for attending and helping celebrate the legacy of Bruce Chappell.
