Norman L. Bowen
Encyclopedia
Norman Levi Bowen was born in Kingston
, Ontario
, Canada
June 21, 1887 and died on September 11, 1956. Bowen "revolutionized experimental petrology
and our understanding of mineral
crystallization
. Beginning geology
students are familiar with his "reaction series"
depicting how different minerals crystallize under varying pressures and temperatures." (Chamot)
Bowen conducted experimental research at the Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington from 1912 to 1937. He published The Evolution of the Igneous Rocks in 1928. This book set the stage for a geochemical
and geophysical foundation for the study of rocks and minerals. This book became the petrology handbook. He was awarded the Penrose Medal
in 1941.
Bowen married Mary Lamont in 1911, and they had a daughter Catherine.
A prize, the Norman L. Bowen Award, is awarded annually by the American Geophysical Union
.
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
June 21, 1887 and died on September 11, 1956. Bowen "revolutionized experimental petrology
Petrology
Petrology is the branch of geology that studies rocks, and the conditions in which rocks form....
and our understanding of mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
crystallization
Crystallization
Crystallization is the process of formation of solid crystals precipitating from a solution, melt or more rarely deposited directly from a gas. Crystallization is also a chemical solid–liquid separation technique, in which mass transfer of a solute from the liquid solution to a pure solid...
. Beginning geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
students are familiar with his "reaction series"
Bowen's reaction series
Within the field of geology, Bowen's reaction series is the work of the petrologist, Norman L. Bowen who was able to explain why certain types of minerals tend to be found together while others are almost never associated with one another...
depicting how different minerals crystallize under varying pressures and temperatures." (Chamot)
Bowen conducted experimental research at the Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington from 1912 to 1937. He published The Evolution of the Igneous Rocks in 1928. This book set the stage for a geochemical
Geochemistry
The field of geochemistry involves study of the chemical composition of the Earth and other planets, chemical processes and reactions that govern the composition of rocks, water, and soils, and the cycles of matter and energy that transport the Earth's chemical components in time and space, and...
and geophysical foundation for the study of rocks and minerals. This book became the petrology handbook. He was awarded the Penrose Medal
Penrose Medal
The Penrose Medal was created in 1927 by R.A.F. Penrose, Jr. as the top prize awarded by the Geological Society of America to those who advance the study of geoscience.-Award winners:* 2011 Paul F. Hoffman* 2010 Eric J. Essene* 2009 B. Clark Burchfiel...
in 1941.
Bowen married Mary Lamont in 1911, and they had a daughter Catherine.
A prize, the Norman L. Bowen Award, is awarded annually by the American Geophysical Union
American Geophysical Union
The American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...
.