Robert K. Goldhammer
(1957-2003)
Dr. Robert K. Goldhammer, Assistant Professor at The University of Texas at
Austin, died May 26 in West Texas when the vehicle he was riding in overturned.
Goldhammer was on his way to summer field camp with geology students from the
Department of Geological Sciences within the John A. and Katherine G. Jackson
School of Geosciences when the accident occurred on Interstate 10 between
Balmorhea and Fort Stockton.
A gifted teacher and scientist, Bob joined the Department of Geological Sciences
in January 2001 after working 12 years in the oil and gas industry and
establishing himself as a world-renowned carbonate sequence stratigrapher. The
classroom suited his dynamic personality and gave students the benefit of his
extensive experience. Admired by his students for his wit and breadth of
knowledge, he received the G. Moses and Carolyn G. Knebel Distinguished Teaching
Award in the Department by election of his students in 2002—just a year after he
joined the faculty—and the College of Natural Sciences Teaching Excellence Award
in 2003.
Goldhammer earned his doctorate in geology at Johns Hopkins University in 1987,
after working on his dissertation in The Dolomites, Italy. He received a
master's degree in geology in 1982 from the University of Oklahoma and a
bachelor's degree, with high honors in geology, in 1979 from Colgate University.
He began his career at Exxon Production Research Company in Houston as a
Reservoir Geologist in May 1982. He worked a brief stint at Shell Development
Company in 1987–88, where he developed a regional stratigraphic analysis of the
Permian Basin. Goldhammer returned to Exxon in June 1988 as a Reservoir
Specialist and focused on carbonate facies and sequence stratigraphy. His work
at Exxon took him to Turkey, France, Australia, northeast Mexico, Guatemala,
Belize, the Canadian Rockies, Alaska, West Texas, and Oklahoma. In November
1995, he came to the Bureau of Economic Geology at The University of Texas at
Austin, where he worked for a year conducting international research on
carbonate and clastic reservoirs. After leaving the Bureau, he worked briefly as
a consultant in Houston before joining Sonat, where he remained for a year until
the company was sold. He spent the next several years at Texaco before returning
to the University to fulfill a dream to teach.
Besides writing many internal reports at Exxon, Goldhammer is also the author of
many papers and abstracts in professional journals. He received the 1994 SEPM
Outstanding Paper Award for his paper on sequence stratigraphy in West Texas,
which was published in the Journal of Sedimentary Petrology. He served as an
associate editor of the Journal of Sedimentary Research from 1992 to 1996. In
addition to being a widely cited author, Goldhammer was a captivating speaker
and in 1994–95 toured as a distinguished lecturer for the American Association
of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), of which he was a longtime member. Goldhammer
also supported professional societies through service as a session chair and
coordinator at annual meetings.
Reflecting on the loss to the geoscience community, longtime friend and Texas
State Geologist Scott Tinker said, "Most of us add incrementally to scientific
advancement. Bob was one of very few individuals who could make step changes in
our science. He was most happy when he was teaching in the field. He had the
rare ability to put together the complete geologic picture from the small
windows offered by the Earth." Bob developed extensive field exercises that were
popular training opportunities for other professionals. Fieldwork gave him the
limitless horizons in which he thrived, and he led countless field trips at
society conventions to areas such as northeast Mexico, northern Italy, West
Texas, and southeast Utah.
Friends, colleagues, and students of Dr. Goldhammer will mourn the loss of this
energetic and brilliant scientist. His professional work was a standard in the
field of sequence stratigraphy upon which many will build. His publications will
endure. And his connection with others will be remembered as a gift to be
cherished by those who were fortunate to call him a friend.
Goldhammer leaves behind his beloved wife of 10 years, Ursula "Uschi" Hammes,
fellow geologist whom he met while leading a field trip in The Dolomites, Italy,
and their daughter, Nora, 4, and son, Max, 1. He is also survived by his
parents, Robert F. Goldhammer and Joan O'Neill, and his brother, Richard
Goldhammer, and sister, Susan Davis.
A memorial fund reflecting his love for his students has been established with
the American Association of Petroleum Geologists in honor of Goldhammer. The
family has asked that those wishing to make a contribution for the benefit of
student research in carbonates send donations payable to the AAPG Foundation for
the Robert K. Goldhammer Memorial Grant (Attn: Diane Keim, P.O. Box 979, Tulsa,
OK 74101).
Arrangements were handled by Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home at 3125 North Lamar
Boulevard, Austin, Texas. There was a celebration of life—Bob's life and the
student who was killed, Raquel V. De Savariego, those students who survived the
accident and are healing, and for all of those whose lives were touched by Bob
and Raquel—on Saturday, May 31, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Lila B. Etter
Alumni House (UT Alumni Center) on the University campus.
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