Steve Rippington

We have learned, with sadness, of the death of Steve Rippington, Honorary Visiting Fellow in the School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, on 25 May 2024.

Dan Smith writes:

Steve was known to many in the former Department of Geology. He first joined as an undergraduate in 1999, staying here as a PhD researcher until the successful completion of his work on the tectonics of Mongolia in 2008. He is fondly remembered as a researcher, colleague, demonstrator and friend by the staff, postgraduates and undergraduates that he spent time with here - a talented geoscientist, a patient educator, and a fun-loving man with an unstinting passion for fancy dress parties.

His field experience in both Idaho and the Gobi desert marked him out as an exceptional field geologist, and the Cambridge Arctic Survey Project recruited Steve for their geological mapping of Ellesmere Island. He subsequently moved to Arkex as a Senior Geoscientist, and later established himself as an independent consultant, mixed with project management and grant writing at Iconiq Innovation. He remained a member of SGGE, with honorary visiting status, and even returned to teach on the Devon and Cornwall Third Year field course in 2019.

Since his diagnosis with bowel cancer in 2022, Steve used his extensive social and professional network to raise awareness of the disease, to advocate for early screening, and to fund raise for charity. Steve is survived by his wife Jess, and their kids Arthur (10) and Ivy (3).