On 4 May 2003, Konrad Bates Krauskopf, a pioneering geo-chemist, died peacefully at his home in Stanford, California. Konnie, as friends knew him, had been a member of the Stanford University faculty since 1939 and was a professor emeritus after 1976.
Konnie was born in Madison, Wisconsin, on 30 November 1910, son of a chemistry professor at the University of Wisconsin and a homemaker. He grew up there and received his AB degree in chemistry at the university in 1931. He traveled west to attend the University of California, Berkeley, for doctoral study in chemistry under the direction of Gerhard K. Rollefson. Konnie received his PhD in 1934 with a dissertation on photochemical studies.
After a one-year instructorship at Berkeley, Konnie went to Stanford and decided to matriculate into the PhD program in geology. For his research, Konnie worked with Aaron C. Waters and received a second PhD in 1939 for a dissertation entitled “Geology of the Northwest Quarter of the Osoyoos Quadrangle, Washington.” He admitted that continuing to do bench chemistry was far less interesting to him than geologic fieldwork. Concurrently, he served as an instructor of a Stanford undergraduate physical science course that combined his expertise in chemistry with his newfound interest in geology.
His professional life was filled with extraordinary achievements in both geology and geochemistry. He made numerous original contributions in all aspects of academic performance that one deems critically important: research, instruction, and public and professional service.
Conciseness and simplicity of expression characterized Konnie’s teaching style. He presented with remarkable clarity subjects that generally were considered especially challenging. His lectures were polished and methodically delivered; he chose his words very carefully and forswore lecture notes. In guiding the research of advanced students, he cut them considerable slack, but was ready to provide incisive guidance when appropriate. He was the epitome of a model teacher.
Having provided geoscientists with discipline-defining texts in geochemistry and physical geology over a span of five decades, Konnie literally wrote the book on applying the principles of physics and chemistry to Earth. His pioneering works focused on and illuminated the fundamental chemical and physical foundations of the Earth sciences. Among his acclaimed books are The Third Planet: An Invitation to Geology (Freeman, Cooper, 1974); Fundamentals of Physical Science: An Introduction to the Physical Sciences (McGraw-Hill, 1941); The Physical Universe (McGraw-Hill, 1960); and Radioactive Waste Disposal and Geology (Chapman & Hall, 1988)—the last produced well after Konnie had achieved emeritus status. Most of his works have run through several (up to seven) editions. His special research emphases included seminal studies of aqueous solution-metal complex equilibria and thermodynamic applications to solid-melt-fluid partitioning, research that he published at a time when most Earth scientists were mapping quadrangles. Konnie did that too: He published seven geologic quadrangle maps. Field associates were impressed by his seemingly endless supply of limericks—one to fit any occasion.
Konnie was a member of the military geology division of the US Army during World War II. In 1947, he was appointed chief of the G-2 geographic section in Tokyo and received a citation for meritorious civilian service in 1949. He served for more than a decade as a member, then chair, of the US National Research Council Board on Radioactive Waste Management and was responsible for an outstanding, problem-defining National Academy of Sciences report.
During his long career, Konnie received many honors. He served as president of the American Geological Institute from 1964 to 1965; he received its Ian Campbell Medal in 1984 and its Legendary Geoscientist Award in 2000. In 1961, the Geological Society of America gave him its Arthur L. Day Medal; he was president of the society from 1967 to 1968. Konnie was president of the Geochemical Society from 1970 to 1971 and received its V. M. Goldschmidt Award in 1982. Those medals and awards are the highest honors given by the three professional societies. He was also honored with the Mineralogical Society of America’s Distinguished Public Service Medal in 1994.
Geochemistry has come a long way, thanks to intellectual leaders such as Konnie. Perhaps no other geochemist so expertly and faithfully served the Earth science profession in such far-ranging ways. Konnie was enormously effective in all of them—as geologist, geochemist, and science and technology adviser to the nation. He was a scientific icon. His insightful scientific contributions and keen wit are greatly missed.
