Memorial to Robert Abraham Laurence1908-1984

THOR H. KIILSGAARD U.S. Geological Survey, 656 U.S. Court House, Spokane, Washington 99201

Robert Abraham Laurence, a widely respected geologist who devoted most of his professional career to work in the southeastern part of the United States, died December 12,1984, in Knoxville, Tennessee, from a brain hemorrhage caused by a fall.

Bob Laurence was a pioneer in the field of engineering geology and contributed significantly to the effective utilization of geologic studies in the construction of dams. He represented the Geologic Division of the U.S. Geological Survey in the Southern Appalachian Region for more than 30 years. In his capacity as Regional Geologist, he established and maintained friendly and cooperative liaisons between the Survey and the public, industry, and various state and federal agencies.

Bob was born on October 1, 1908, in Wyoming, Ohio.He graduated from the University of Cincinnati (A.B., 1929;M.A., 1931)and did further graduate work at the University of Minnesota from 1932 to 1934.Hewas first employed as a geologic field assistant by the New Jersey Zinc Company in Austinville, Virginia, in1930. In 1931-1932, he was a junior geologist with the Virginia Geological Survey. He also was a junior geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey for a short while in 1934, but that year he joined the Geology Division of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), where he remained for the next 10 years. At TVA, he was involved in the planning and construction of the Cherokee, Douglas, and Norris dams. In a series of published and unpublished reports, he wrote about various engineering geologic features associated with his work, thereby reporting some of the early instances where geologic information was applied to dam construction.

John M. Kellberg, a fellow geologist at TVA, tells an interesting story about the TVA period of Bob’s professional development that illuminates his competence and work habits. Cherokee Dam was Bob’s first assignment in construction geology. The project manager at Cherokee Dam was a crusty, “old-time” construction engineer who made it plainly known that he was not happy about having a “greenhorn” geologist assigned to his staff. Bob had to prove himself in the day-to-day demands of construction geology, and prove himself he did. After completion of the Cherokee Dam in December 1941, the manager, various staff members, and equipment were transferred to the Douglas dam site. The same project manager, finding that Bob had been assigned elsewhere, strongly demanded that his superiors reassign Bob to the Douglas Dam to be “his” geologist on the project. The Douglas Dam was a rush job, with work proceeding 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Foundation problems were numerous, and decisions regarding excavation depths and foundation treatment had to be made daily, on the spot. The right decisions must have been made because, in more than 45 years, the Douglas Dam has been without leakage of any sort. While working on the Douglas Dam, Bob discovered a rare and previously unknown fossil, currently considered to be a predecessor of the present-day horseshoe crab. The fossil subsequently was studied by paleontologists K. E. Caster and H. K. Brooks, who named it Chasmataspis laurencii in honor of the discoverer.

In 1944, Bob joined the U.S. Geological Survey, with which he remained until he retired in 1978. During World War II, he was involved in mineral exploration in the southeastern United States; this work was done in conjunction with the War Production Board. He also worked in Puerto Rico, where

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he advised the Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority on foundation requirements for dams and other pertinent geologic factors related to dam-site selection. Construction of the Caonillas Dam benefited from his services. Following World W ar II, Bob was sent to the Philippine Islands to assist the Philippine government in reestablishing programs related to geologic mapping and mineral exploration, to help plan and organize cooperative geological projects between the Philippine government and U.S. agencies, and to assist the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the examination of sources of supply and the suitability of construction materials.

In 1946, he was assigned the position of Regional Geologist for the southeastern U.S., with headquarters in Knoxville, Tennessee. He remained at Knoxville until he retired. During his long tenure at Knoxville, he served the Survey in many ways. One of his more responsible assignments was as Executive Officer on joint U.S. Bureau of Mines-U.S. Geological Survey field work in the southeastern U.S. that was conducted for the Defense Minerals Exploration Administration and its successor organization, the Office of Minerals Exploration. Mineral exploration under the two programs was done by mining companies and individuals, but funded in part by the government. The Bureau-Survey field team was responsible for evaluating the merits of applicants’ proposals, for checking on-going work at properties being explored under contract, and for appraising exploration findings at the conclusion of contract work. Exploration of pegmatites for strategic quality muscovite was particularly intensive in the vicinity of Spruce Pine, North Carolina, as was the search for replacement deposits of zinc in the vicinity of Knoxville, Tennessee. Bob was knowledgeable about the geologic environments of both localities, as well as the overall region, and was of particular help to the government and the people who did the exploratory work. He told interesting stories about visits to mineralized localities in remote and mountainous parts of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, and of encounters with local residents who were more interested in the distillation of alcoholic spirits than in mining.

He served the U.S. government in capacities other than those connected with the Survey. As a field officer, he represented the Survey over the years in various duties involving the Office of Minerals Mobilization. In 1968, he was designated Assistant Director for Resources in the southern region of the Emergency Solid Fuels Administration, a post he held until 1974, when he was presented with an Appreciation Award for his outstanding contributions.

Bob served the public in many ways other than simply performing the duties of his office. He always had time to answer questions or to provide information to those who called, either at his office or at home. He was interested in public and scientific affairs and was an active participant in a variety of functions. He was chairman of the Division of Engineering Geology, Geological Society of America (GSA) in 1963-1964, chairman of the Southeastern Section of GSA in 1964, and served on the GSA Council from 1964 to 1966. From 1964 until 1970, he also served GSA as associate editor of scientific papers pertaining to the Appalachian area. A long-time member of the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG), he was Secretary of SEG from 1967 to 1974 and, for those duties, was elected an Honorary Member of the Society by the SEG Council in 1978. He was active in the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and, from 1964 to 1970, served as chairman of a committee concerned with natural building stones. For meritorious service rendered in developing and promoting standardization of specifications of natural building stones, he received an Award of Merit from ASTM in 1975 and was elected a Fellow in the Society. He served on the executive committee and as chairman of the Tennessee Academy of Science and, because of his outstanding record of scientific accomplishment, was elected a Fellow of the Academy in 1979.

In addition to membership in GSA, SEG, ASTM, and the Tennessee Academy of Science, Bob also was a member of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME), from whom his wife received, a few months after his death, a Legion of Honor Certificate for his 50 years of membership. Other organizations to which he belonged include the American Institute

MEMORIAL TO ROBERT ABRAHAM LAURENCE 3of Professional Geologists (charter member), American Association for the Advancement of Science, Sigma Xi, Knoxville Science Club, and the Cosmos Club of Washington, D.C.

Bob and his wife, Sally, were only a few months short of celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary when he died. They have one child, Richard, a professor in the Department of Humanities at Michigan State University, and three grandchildren. Their eldest grandchild is in law school at the University of Michigan, another grandchild is a senior at Harvard, and the youngest is in high school.

Bob had many interests other than his job and science. He was a devoted family man who took great pride in the accomplishments of his son and grandchildren. He was an ardent stamp collector, a bird watcher, a lover of nature and animals, and a “rock hound.” He had a wonderful sense of humor and was a fascinating story teller. He was an honorable man with a deep sense of integrity and absolute devotion to the U.S. Geological Survey. He was a friend to all who knew him. Although he won many awards during his lifetime, the accolade he would have appreciated most is the tender and thoughtful statement of his wife, who has described him as “a wonderful husband and my best friend.”

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF R. A. LAURENCE1936 Ordovician metabentonites of the Tennessee Valley area: Tennessee Valley Authority,

Division of Geology, Bulletin 5, p. 42-49.1937 Sinkholes of the Cumberland Plateau: Journal of Geology, v. 45, p. 214-215.------ Origin of the Sweetwater, Tennessee, barite deposits: Economic Geology, v. 34, p. 190-200.1937 (with Spain, E. L., Jr., and Rose, N. A.) Building and crushed stone of the Tennessee Valley

Authority region: Tennessee Valley Authority, Division of Geology, Bulletin 6, p. 3-18.1939 A small fenster in Johnson County, Tennessee: Tennessee Academy of Science Journal,

v. 14, p. 200-202.1940 Geology of the Coulter Shoals [dam] project, in Engineering geology of the Tennessee River

system: Tennessee Valley Authority, Geology Division, Technical Monograph 47,p. 213-236.

------ (and Eckel, E.C.) Engineering geology of the Tennessee River system—Geology of theNorris Dam and Reservoir: Tennessee Valley Authority, Geology Division, Technical Monograph 47, p. 213-276.

1942 A new manganese mine in Johnson County, Tennessee: Tennessee Academy of Science Journal, v. 15, p. 396-401.

------ The Nolichucky formation at Cherokee Dam: Tennessee Academy of Science Journal,v. 17, p. 173-178.

1943 An artificially recaptured stream in Grainger County, east Tennessee: Tennessee Academy of Science Journal, v. 18, p. 255-258.

1944 An early Ordovician sinkhole deposit of volcanic ash and fossiliferous sediments in east Tennessee: Journal of Geology, v. 52, p. 235-249.

------ (with Rankin, H. S.) Manganese resources of the Tennessee Valley region: Tennessee ValleyAuthority, Geology Bulletin 7, p. 1-13.

------ (and Wedow, Helmuth, Jr., and others) Engineering geology of Douglas Dam andReservoir: Tennessee Valley Authority, Geologic Branch report.

1950 Geologic investigations and exploration in southeastern United States, in Snyder, F. G., ed., Symposium on mineral resources of the southeastern United States: Knoxville, University of Tennessee Press.

1951 Stabilization of some rockslides, Grainger County, Tennessee: Economic Geology, v. 46, p. 329-336.

1956 Geologic features of the southeastern states: in Symposium on geology as applied to highway engineering: North Carolina State College, 7th Annual Proceedings, p. 45-47.

1960 Geologic problems in the Sweetwater barite district, Tennessee: American Journal of Science, v. 258-A (Bradley Volume), p. 170-179.

1961 Report of igneous rock near Rome, Georgia, is erroneous: Georgia Mineral Newsletter, v. 14, p. 39-41.

1963 Some “lost” Tennessee mineral localities: Tennessee Academy of Science Journal, v. 38, p. 156-158.

____ (and Palmer, A. R.) Age of the Murray Shale and Hesse Quartzite on Chilhowee Mountain,Blount County, Tennessee, in Short papers in geology and hydrology, Article 73: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 475-C, p. C53-C54.

1965 Ducktown, Tennessee—Field Trip 2, Part 1, American Crystallography Association and Mineralogical Society of America, joint meeting, Gatlinburg, Tennessee: in Tennessee Academy of Science Field Trip Guidebook, 18 p.

1966 (with Brokaw, A. L., Rodgers, John, Kent, D. F., and Behre, C. H., Jr.) Geology and mineral deposits of the Powell River area, Claiborne and Union Counties, Tennessee: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1222-C, p. C1-C56.

1967 (with Wedow, Helmuth, Jr.) The post-Knox unconformity and its relationship to zinc mineralization in the Douglas Lake area, Tennessee: in Tennessee Academy of Science Field Trip Guidebook, 18 p.

1968 (and Ericksen, G. E.) Economic geology, in Mineral resources of the Appalachian region: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 580, p. 51-55.

_— Ore Deposits of the Southern Appalachians, in Ore deposits of the United States,1933-1937 (Graton-Sales Volume): New York, American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, p. 155-168.

1971 Evolution of thought on ore controls in east Tennessee, in A Paleoaquifer and its relation to economic mineral deposits: Economic Geology, v. 66, p. 696-700.

1973 Construction stone, in United States mineral resources, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 820, p. 157-162.

1974 (with Harris, L. D.) Mineral resources of Knox County, Tennessee: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-767-N, scale 1:125,000.

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Printed in U.S.A. 10/87