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Dr. Jay Quade
Professor
Geochemistry
Deceased October 17th, 2025
Expertise Jay received a B.S. in Geology at the University of New Mexico in 1978, and went on to obtain his M.S. (1981) and Ph.D. (1990) in Geology at the Universities of Arizona and Utah, respectively. Quade joined the faculty in the Department of Geosciences at Arizona in 1992, and has been a Full Professor there since 2003. His interests are in low-temperature geochemistry and paleoenvironmental reconstruction. He has worked all over the world documenting the evolution of climate and landscapes over the past 60 million years, including the context of early hominids in Africa. Quade is has participated in >160 scientific papers, 45 of them as a first author, since 1986. He has received many awards including the Farouk El Baz Award, GSA (2001); GSA Fellow (2015), AGU Fellow (2015), Ben Tor Award from Hebrew University (2014), Geochemical Society Fellow (2017); Arthur L. Day Medal (GSA) (2018), and U.S. National Academy of Sciences (2024)
From Department Head Professor Paul Kapp:
"It is with profound sadness that I share the loss of Professor Jay Quade, member of the National Academy of Sciences. Jay passed this morning after battling Parkinson’s disease. Jay was a real-life Indiana Jones who inspired and elevated all around him. His insatiable passion for discovery—in both the field and lab—made him one of the most influential geoscientists of his generation. He was an exemplary teacher in lower and upper division courses and devoted countless months to teaching summer field camp. Jay was a warm and thoughtful colleague, mentor, and friend. His big smile, infectious enthusiasm, and optimism brightened every room. His wisdom and kindness touched countless lives, and his loss will be deeply felt throughout our community."
Pictured Right: Jay Quade in Nepal, 1996
Pictured Below: Jay being inducted into the National Academy of Science
This is a big loss for the Department of Geosciences. With nearly 400 publications, and almost 30,000 citations, Jay has had an extremely influential career. As a 3rd generation geologist, his awards and accolades are nothing short of impressive. Most notably, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in Spring of 2024. Prior to being elected to the National Academy of Sciences, Jay earned the Arthur L. Day Medal in 2018 from the Geological Society of America for "outstanding distinction in contributing to geologic knowledge through the application of physics and chemistry to the solution of geologic problems."