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Vale Jane Soons

Jane Soons

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our friend and colleague Emeritus Prof Jane Soons on 8 September 2020. Jane was Canterbury University’s first female professor. She was appointed as a lecturer in Geography in 1960 where she taught geomorphology. Jane became known internationally for her study of the glacier-sculpted landscapes of the Rakaia Valley, and also made major contributions to our understanding of the glacial landforms of the West Coast and the movement of the Franz Josef Glacier. Jane became a professor in 1971 and was for many years the only female professor on Canterbury staff. She convened the National Committee for Quaternary Research for the Royal Society and in 1994 she won a Royal Society Silver Medal. She was also a past President of the International Quaternary Association (INQUA) and Fellow of the Australia New Zealand Geomorphology Group. She was a foundational figure in modern geomorphology in New Zealand and an amazing role model for generations of female scientists.

On a personal note she was also our close friend.

Vale Jane Soons.

Jamie Shulmeister and Maree Hemmingsen

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1745-7939.2009.01166_1.x