B. Clark Burchfiel

Burrell Clark Burchfiel (born March 21, 1934) is an American structural geologist. Born in Stockton, California, he earned his Ph.D. in 1961 at Yale University. His first academic appointment was to the Geology department at Rice University. He is the Schlumberger Professor of Geology at MIT. Research interests: Origin, development, and structural evolution of the continental crust. His current work involves study of the geological history and evolution of the Tibetan plateau.

Selected publications

B. C. Burchfiel, Structural geology of the Spector Range Quadrangle, Nevada, and its regional significance, GSA Bulletin; February 1965; v. 76; no. 2; p. 175-191

B. C. Burchfiel, R. J. Fleck, D. T. Secor, R. R. Vincelette, and G. A. Davis, Geology of the Spring Mountains, Nevada, GSA Bulletin; July 1974; v. 85; no. 7; p. 1013–1022

B. C. Burchfiel and G. A. Davis, Nature and controls of Cordilleran orogenesis, western United States: Extensions of an earlier synthesis, American Journal of Science; 1975,; v. 275; no. A; p. 363-396

Burchfiel, B.C., and Davis, G.A., 1981, Mojave Desert and environs, in Ernst, W.G., ed., The geotectonic development of California (Rubey volume 1): Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, p. 217-252.

B. Clark Burchfiel, Brian Wernicke, James H. Willemin, Garry J. Axen & C. Scott Cameron, A new type of decollement thrusting, Nature 300, 513 - 515 (9 December 1982) Abstract

Peter Molnar, B. Clark Burchfiel, Liang K'uangyi, and Zhao Ziyun, Geologic Evolution of Northern Tibet: Results of an Expedition to Ulugh Muztagh, 1987, Science Vol. 235. no. 4786, pp. 299 – 305. Abstract

B. Clark Burchfiel, and L. H. Royden, Antler Orogeny; a mediterranean-type orogeny, Geology; January 1991; v. 19; no. 1; p. 66-69

B. C. Burchfiel, D. S. Cowan, and G. A. Davis, 1992, Tectonic overview of the Cordilleran orogen in the western U. S., in Burchfiel, B. C., Lipman, P. W., and Zoback, M. L., eds., The Cordilleran Orogen: conterminous U. S.: The Geology of North America, Volume G-3, Decade of North American Geology, Geological Society of America, Boulder, p. 407-480.

Awards and positions held

• 1985, elected to National Academy of Sciences
• 1995, Career Achievement Award from the Geological Society of America
• 1998, elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences
• 2003, elected President of the Geological Society of America
• 2009, Awarded the Penrose Medal

External links

• Use of GPS in field work in Tibet; structural geology of the eastern Tibetan plateau 2003 GSA Presidential address, by B.C. Burchfiel