The Society of Economic Geologists Awards for 2012: R. A. F. Penrose Gold Medal for 2012 * Citation of Robert O. Rye

Abstract

President Arribas, members, and guests: It is my great privilege to introduce an iconic figure in our field, Robert O. Rye, who is the first Waldemar Lindgren Award winner (1973) and SEG Silver Medalist (1992) to receive the R.A.F. Penrose Gold Medal (2012). In my examination of Bob’s career, three things stand out. First, he is an energetic overachiever with great intellect that made his own luck. Second, he was fortunate to pursue stable isotopes when he entered the field of economic geology in 1963. And last, his integrity, unpretentious style, and friendship enamored all who were lucky enough to work with him. The rest is history. Bob grew up in Los Angeles, where he was a record-setting miler and honor student at Eagle Rock High School. He was Phi Beta Kappa at Occidental College, which got him in the door at Princeton, where he was fortunate to be one of Heinrich Holland’s first graduate students. Dick persuaded him to apply stable isotopes to Providencia, a polymetallic replacement deposit in Mexico, and set him up to perform the analyses in Irving Friedman’s lab at the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver. This pioneering study showed how stable isotopes could be used to understand fluid inputs, histories, and ore-forming processes in an ancient hydrothermal system. This was heady stuff that catapulted Bob to the forefront of ore deposit research. Having proved his ability, he was offered a job at the USGS in 1964. So, he proposed to Fran and they began a new life in Denver. By …