Passing of a former colleague!
Known in the geophysics community for her love of tatanomagnetites, a cherished member of the Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences at UTM, Özden Özdemir, died of a sudden massive stroke while visiting family California. She passed away on June 24, 2022, one day short of her 76th birthday. Özden retired from her research scientist position 10 years ago. During her research career, she was particularly interested in investigating how and when ferromagnetic minerals within rocks lock in their remanent magnetization, a signal which can later be read to interpret the history of movement of the Earth’s crust and measure it’s geomagnetic field through time. Her experimental approach led to important insights into how titanomagnetite, a mineral common in ocean crust, is affected by low-temperature alteration of the sea floor, and how that in turn affects our interpretation of seafloor magnetic anomalies. She and her long-time research partner and husband, David Dunlop, also retired from CPS, published the seminal textbook in rock magnetism, which is still in common use today. She published more some 70 important books and articles during her 40-year career. In addition to her research, Özden loved gardening, music, travel, and going for long hikes in the Swansea neighborhood with her deeply devoted husband Dave. They were regular attendees at department events and always in good spirits – Özden will be greatly missed by all.