A tribute to Douglas James Nichols, Palynologist, 1942–2010

Abstract

Douglas James Nichols died unexpectedly on 21 January 2010 in Berthoud, Colorado at the age of 67. Doug was born in Jamaica, Long Island, New York on 19 February 1942. He spent his early years in New York and New Jersey and attended New York University. In 1963 he received his BA in Geology and in 1966 his MS in Geology (Nichols 1966). While at New York University, he met Jan Weisbrodt and they married on 10 October 1964. Doug and Jan moved to Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania in 1966, where he studied under Professor Alfred Traverse. He completed his Ph.D. in Geology at Penn State in 1970 (Nichols 1970). Following graduation from Penn State, Doug held teaching positions at Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona and the State University New York, Geneseo, New York. During this early phase of his career, he applied his geological expertise to a project that was somewhat removed from his paleontological research. He worked with a team that was analyzing lunar features in an attempt to establish a relative time framework for the moon. This research, supported by NASA, resulted in the publication of six papers on lunar stratigraphy. He was proud of this research and believed that the experience helped hone his skills as a stratigrapher. Doug moved to Denver, Colorado in 1974 to work for Chevron Oil Company. Four years later he accepted a position as a Research Geologist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) in Denver. He worked in the Paleontology and Stratigraphy Branch of the USGS until he retired in 2006. US Geological Survey Palynological Team, Denver, Colorado, March 1986: L to R, Robert Kosanke, David Pocknall, Mary Ellen Zayhowski, Farley Fleming, Bernadine Tschudy, Robert Tschudy, Sharon Van Loenen, Doug Nichols. After his retirement, Doug continued to serve …