Jay Quade In Memoriam

NOTE: This page is still a work in progress, please feel free to share any remarks, photos, or stories about Jay with Communications Specialist McKenzie Meza (mim4@arizona.edu(link sends e-mail))

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)

Obituary

Career CV

Please find below a beautiful GSA memorial to Jay put together by Julio Betancourt, Thure Cerling, Peter DeCelles, and David Dettman.

GSA Memorial to Jay Quade

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

Jay Quade inducted to national academy of sciences

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."

Memories from colleagues and friends of Jay:

From April 2005 to April 2006, I had the privilege of being a visiting scholar in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arizona, where I was hosted by Professor Quade. The last time I met him in person was during his visit to Beijing in June 2006. We remained in contact through email, with our final exchange taking place in June 2024. In that message, he mentioned serving on the advisory board for the journal Quaternary Research and sought my thoughts on its future direction. It’s difficult to comprehend that he is no longer with us. His dedication and kindness will always be remembered, and the time I spent with him in Tucson remains a cherished memory. - Shiling Yang, Insitute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

From Professor Peter DeCelles:

Grad student Tshering Lama Sherpa (middle) and one of our Nepalese helpers

At a landslide that blocked the road, waiting for it to be cleared

Jay was such a huge influence on my time at the U of A. I’ll never forget field camp back in 2003, picking up dinosaur bones with him and his son in the Morrison Formation in Utah. I also remember his Quaternary Geochronology class and wondering how much further my brain could stretch on such a complex subject. I always loved the stories he shared about his archaeological adventures in Africa and those early days prospecting for gold in Alaska—hiking up river channels looking for the sources of placer deposits. Every young geologist’s dream job…! He was one of a kind, and his teachings will never be forgotten. - York Lewis, B.S. Geoscience, 2024

Jay was a beacon to me for more than 20 years. Personally, and professionally. I learned so much from him and loved being with him, whether in the field or in a coffee shop. Its difficult to imagine this world without him. Our collaboration started in 2004 when he invited me to work with him in the Atacama Desert. Since then, we worked together in several deserts in the world. Jay spent several months at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. During that time we developed the ideas that are currently at the base of our mutual research project, in which we also have been sharing the supervision of PhD student. In 2023-2024 I was was lucky to spend a 6 month sabbatical with Jay in Tucson. Below are several photos of Jay and other researches. Jay left us a legacy of curiosity, inquisitiveness, and awe of the world around us. Scores of students, including me, now positioned all over the world, will remember him and will spread his spirit. - Ari Matmon, Institute of Earth Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Image	Image
Image	Image

I used to work as a graduate student for Paul's Suture Zone project with Peter Lippert and Guillaume Dupont-Nivet and that was the time I got to know Jay. I moved to Tucson as a postdoc from 2015 to 2017, and got to know Jay better. We had collaboration even after I moved to Rochester in 2017 and back to China in 2021. When I was visiting Tucson in November 2023, I had a meeting with Jay at the lunch time and we talked about the hydrothermal events that I identified in the Himalayan rocks with the help of the carbonate clumped isotope data acquired in his lab. I was surprised at that time that Jay was not in good health as he was in 2017 when I moved away to Rochester. I thought that his Parkinson’s disease was stable and in good control. I did expect things were going worse so quickly.

The first time when I met Jay in 2011 in the field, he told me that the a critical section that we studied to constrain the palelatitude of Eurasia southern margin was afected by hydrothermal alteration. Proving this and correlating it to remagnetization of these rocks took us lots of effort, and that was the most important part of my PhD and Postdoc projects which Jay contributed significantly.

Jay is a great person to be a friend and mentor, I feel lucky to have known and worked with him. Please take my deepest condolences to his family. I have been and will always by inspired by his kindness in personality and passion in geology. Below are some photos in Tibet in 2011 when I first met Jay. He was healthy, strong and nice to everyone as always. May Jay rest in peace and no sickness in heaven. - Wentao Huang from the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research

Image	Image	Image
Image	Image	← Photos shared by another colleague, Shun Li.

I was Jay Quade's graduate student from 2011 to 2015. I'm super sad to hear of his passing. He was a great and beloved mentor to me. Probably the greatest boon is that at one point in grad school Jay asked me to scan some black and white photos of his days running track at University of New Mexico when he was in college. - Adam Hudson

I just wanted to share that I am very thankful for Professor Quade, he sparked my interest in geology in his introduction to geology class in Spring 2011. After that class, I knew I wanted to be a geologist when I had previously thought I wanted to be an engineer. I then had the honor to take the field camp Professor Quade lead in Summer 2014; I still talk about this field camp 11 years later. I would definitely not be the geologist I am today without Professor Quade, may he rest in peace. - Garrett Tabor, U of A Geosciences class of 2014

Jay has been my greatest teacher and mentor, and an invaluable friend. He is the scientist who had the most profound influence on the way I practice science today. Not a week goes by without me thinking of him.

I was still a young and inexperienced French PhD student when I asked Jay to be part of my dissertation committee in France. To my surprise, he responded quickly and positively, and even flew all the way to Poitiers for the defense in 2013. When I asked if he would host me at UA for a one-year postdoc, he accepted without hesitation. Just a few days after my arrival, Jay drove me out to Pahrump, Nevada. It was the second town in the US I had been after Tucson, and it was both an amazing fieldtrip and a cultural shock. He knew every single arroyo, outcrop, and countless stories about weird guys he encountered during his years of fieldwork in the area. On the way back, we decided to go off the beaten path, he had me plant my tent on icy ground somewhere in northern Arizona, it was the middle of January. The full wild west package in less than a week.

During my year at UA, we spent days and days scouting southern Arizona sedimentary basins for suitable outcrops – officially for a paleoaltimetry study, but unofficially just to be out in the field, climbing remote mountains and investigating odd spots on the geological map. I remember the countless fire camp stories he would tell us in the evening. The forgotten crashed plane in the forest, his PhD years living with his wife and kids in a van in the middle of Nevada, the dead body in the middle of the desert, or the time he left his sherpas behind to climb a >7000 m mountain in Tibet. I remember that he was an incredibly fast hiker, always ahead of anyone while we were out in the field. Keeping pace with him was a real challenge. His daily runs up the stairs in Gould Simpson (twice per day, and eight times at the end of the week, if I recall correctly) significantly contributed to build his reputation of physical powerhouse. We brought one of his prospective master’s students for one afternoon of fieldwork in the Tucson Mountains, and we ended up stuck in a forest of jumping and teddy bear Chollas, with both of us having multiple cholla stems stuck to herself; in the meantime, he was hopping from rock to rock, untouched by the cacti. Only once I manage to outpace him during a field day, and it was no small victory for me (I can even tell that it happened in the Chiracahua Mountains). I don’t think I’ve ever seen him tired after a day of work.

I sometimes wonder if there is a place or a geological basin Jay hasn’t touched, because every time I start a new project, I discover afterward that he has already worked nearby or on a similar topic. He probably passed on to me his fascination with the same geological features, and I now find myself drawn to the same regions and research topics that captivated him. It’s actually quite a challenge, because his scientific papers always set the bar so high, forcing me to rethink everything I write or do, just to make sure I can keep up with his previous work.

It goes without saying that I learned a lot with him during my short stay in Tucson. But it’s not the science I cherish and remember the most: it’s these times when we went looking for scorpions under the moonlight, the lunch breaks in the basement of Gould Simpson (the big and dark place where Adam Hudson, he and I were the only occupants) when we would discuss about foreign politics and ancient history, or the unusual things he’d cook over the fire pit and have us taste for dinner (he introduced me to s’mores), and all the little moments that made my life in Arizona so rich and so much fun.

We stayed in touch over the years and continued to meet regularly until I moved back to France in 2020. I have been saying many times that if I ever move back to the US, it would be in Arizona, and that’s because of him. Jay’s impact on me is beyond measure and it has already been passed on to the next generation of students. And yes: I try to outrun them in the wilderness, make them camp in impossible places, and tell them wonderful campfire stories, some of which feature Jay, the crazy American geologist. - Alexis Licht

Here is one of my favorite "aha!" moments with Jay collaborating in the Atacama. We were close colleagues and friends for more than 40 years.

Jay Quade is truly outstanding in the field, where his many colleagues and students across multiple disciplines rely on his acumen, and often scurry after him for fear of missing seminal discoveries. Here’s my favorite anecdote about working with Jay in the field. In 2004, Jay and I were sampling soils every 350 m in elevation from sea level to 4500 m in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Our ~200-km transect crossed large expanses with and without vegetation, the latter regarded Absolute Desert. One of the questions we had was whether plants had ever invaded Absolute Desert. We decided to test this by analyzing carbon isotopes from soil carbonate. If the isotopic content of the carbonate was in equilibrium with the atmosphere, basically around -8‰, the answer is no. However, if the isotopic signature of the soil carbonate mirrored that of C4, CAM, or C3 plants, specific areas in the Absolute Desert must have been vegetated at some time in the past. As we traversed the transect, often driving cross-country in the Atacama, we (Jay) made the following discovery. Soils in currently vegetated areas along the Pacific coast, supported by fog, contained carbonate. The same held true in the sparse shrublands and grasslands at the highest elevations. Expanses without carbonate included intervening and rainless areas of Absolute Desert, and areas above 4500 m, the present cold limit of vascular plants. Sampling a soil pit in the Absolute Desert, we had the following conversation.

Jay: “Julio, I think our hypothesis was totally wrong.”
Julio: “No soil carbonates again?”
Jay: “Yeah. You actually need plant root respiration to build soil carbonates. There are no soil carbonates here because there are no plants.”
Julio: “I think I know where you’re going, Jay”
Jay: “Soil carbonate is the chemical signature of plants on Earth. When we get home, we’ll survey the literature for the first defensible calcretes in the geologic record.”
Julio: “Has to be after the Silurian with the origin of land plants, right?”
Jay: “That’s right.”

Our conversation the rest of that day ranged far and wide, from the impact of pedogenic carbonates on atmospheric CO2 levels throughout geologic history to the possible meaning of carbonates found on Mars. For me, collaborating with Jay in the field was a gift from heaven. - Julio Betancourt, Scientist Emeritus, USGS, Reston, VA

I collaborated with Jay on research in the Atacama Desert in Chile from about 2012 to 2019. Research collaborations with Jay were so rewarding due to his infectious enthusiasm, insightfulness, and keen intellect. His loss is a loss for all of us. Here are a few photos of time spent together conducting research in the Atacama Desert in Chile. - Julie Neilson, Research Professor Emerita of Environmental Science, University of Arizona

Jay was first my professor (2008) and then my sidewalk-chat buddy - his house is around the corner from mine. Here is an email I sent when he became a member of the National Academy of Sciences. - Dana Rosenstein

Making sparks

Checking out the Carbonates

Getting to the bottom of it with Jordan Abell

Warming up

Below is my tribute to Jay Quade, which I circulated in Anthropology to our Anthropology students, faculty, affiliates and friends. I know that this would be just one of many written in celebration of Jay's life, but it relates to his interdisciplinary nature and the tremendous appreciation that we have for him. Jay and I were close colleagues and friends throughout his time at UA, and he did a great deal for Anthropology at many levels as well.

Jay Quade, a dear friend and colleague of Anthropology, passed away from Parkinson’s Disease on 17 October 2025, just shy of his 70th birthday. Jay was a Professor of Geosciences at UA and a very active affiliate of the School of Anthropology.

Jay received his BS in Geology from the University of New Mexico (1978), his MS in Geology from the University of Arizona (1982), and his PhD (1990) in Geochemistry from the University of Utah under the guidance of Thure Cerling. After a post-doc at Australian National University in Canberra, he joined the UA Geosciences faculty in 1992 and assumed the Directorship of the Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill in the same year. Among other major awards, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2024.

Jay’s research focused on paleoenvironments, tectonics, paleoclimate and cosmogenic dating around the world. His preferred window into the past was the carbonate record—in soils, lake and spring deposits, desert pavements, and anthropogenic sediments—which he examined principally through the many techniques of isotope geochemistry. Second only to this was his interest in radiometric dating, particularly radiocarbon dating. These interests brought Jay into frequent collaboration with archaeologists at UA and elsewhere, and to distant, often extreme, places such as the Atacama Desert of Chile/Argentina, Tibet, Mongolia, Turkey, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Australia, Southern Europe, and large swathes of western North America.

His scientific contributions to scientific teams are legendary, whether tracking the evolution of ancient monsoon systems, documenting the rise of C4 plant metabolisms in ancient grassland ecosystems, extending the temporal reach of radiocarbon dating through ultra-filtration pretreatments, and, most recently, using the carbonates and biogenic mineral salts to explore the energy metabolism of an emergent village community as it transitioned from Paleolithic-style foraging to Neolithic farming using, of all things, cumulative measures of urine excretion. Though not necessarily designed as such, many of his findings touched on core questions of human evolution and culture, not least because Jay was a master at connecting the dots.

In addition to being an unflinchingly careful and creative scientist, he was a gifted storyteller. These were stories of adventure and surprises, some hilarious, but all apparently true. The fact is that Jay lived these stories through his energetic exploration of landscapes—encountering in the process a lost wallet with wads of dough, a mountainside plane crash with desiccated body inside and surrounded by a halo silver dollars (the FBI soon showed up), levering a mired jeep out of playa mud only to run into the car ahead for not seeing it through muddied glasses, the peculiar mystery of a rental Cadillac (police were involved), or rescuing confused students during geology fieldcamp excursions (he never lost one!). Keeping up with Jay could be tough at times, he was an elite athlete after all and propelled by laser-focused curiosity. He would wade through acres of ambiguity to get at the underlying facts, to learn how things really worked.

It was knowledge that mattered most, glory could take a backseat. At UA, Jay collaborated with Anthropology faculty and graduate students for more than threedecades on projects that spanned the Pleistocene through Holocene. With generosity and kindness, he invariably made space for students, post-docs and seasoned colleagues to shine.

Diagnosed with Parkinson’s recently, Jay and his lifelong partner Barbra, took his illness in stride. A challenge unlike any other, he met it full-on with courage and grace. Jay has left a big hole in our world, and he is sorely missed. - October 23, 2025—Mary C. Stiner, School of Anthropology, University of Arizona

Jay’s death hit me like a ton of bricks. He played an outsized role in my learning ‘how to science’ and I am forever grateful to him. What a wonderful mentor he was. My sincere condolences to his loved ones.

Here are a few photos I have of him - one from a trip to Tabernacle Hill in Utah in 1993 to sample for in situ cosmogenic carbon-14 for my dissertation, and two more from a trip he and I took to the White Mountains in California in the early 2000s to sample for a postdoc project on in situ carbon-14 in the early 2000s with our young sons. - Nat Lifton

Tabernacle Hill, UT - 1993

Jay and Emeric just below White Mountain Peak, CA - about 3800 m altitude (about 12,500 ft).

Jay just below White Mountain Peak, CA - about 3800 m altitude (about 12,500 ft).

When I first arrived in Tucson in 2003 to begin my master’s degree in stable isotope geochemistry, I had no idea how much the experience would shape my career and my life. I remember taking the stable isotope geochemistry class co-taught by Jay Quade and David Dettman in my first semester, and that became my first real exposure to hands-on isotope work. I had never used a glass line or even held a torch before, so sealing CO₂ in glass tubes felt thrilling and terrifying.

Jay patiently guided me through each step on his isotope glass line on Tumamoc Hill. Later, in the stable isotope lab, he guided me on analyzing gas samples with the dual-inlet system. I was clumsy and nervous, and one of my samples slipped from my hands and shattered on the floor. I felt awful. But Jay didn’t scold me, instead, he encouraged me to keep going. That moment taught me that kindness and patience are just as important in science as precision and skill. Whenever I mentor students now, I remind myself: If Jay could treat me with that much grace, I can do the same for others.

That class also had a profound influence on me beyond the hands-on lab training. It did not just teach the principles of stable isotopes, but also the ability to read and synthesize literature, think critically, and convey ideas with clarity. We delivered many presentations that semester, and honestly, it helped my English as much as my science. I will forever be grateful to Jay, Dave, and my classmates for their patience as they listening through my accent and my creative use of English. It was a tough semester, but it trained me tremendously and gave my confidence I still carry today.

After finishing my master’s degree, I stayed in the department as a lab technician, uncertain about what to do next. Looking back, I’m so grateful that Jay continued to involve me in research during that gap year. The project he brought me into, that also included Dave and Pete who later became my Ph.D. co-advisors, was truly a game changer. It showed me how creatively stable isotopes could be applied to answer broader tectonic questions. Jay’s inclusive and broad-minded approach, and his belief in people even before they believed in themselves, guided me through that time. If it weren’t for my discomfort with darkness and tight spaces, I might have joined Jay’s lab for my Ph.D. to work on a cave project. Still, Jay remained on my Ph.D. committee and co-authored three papers with me, and I am thankful for his continued guidance and support.

In the final year of my Ph.D., Jay introduced me to the groundbreaking field of clumped isotope research, a testament to his forward-thinking vision for innovative approaches that would significantly complement stable oxygen isotope interpretation. At that time, I was clueless on how to network with scientists outside of the department. However, Jay took the initiative to invite me to a discussion with Aradhna Tripati from UCLA when she visited the department to give a talk, as well as to the dinner that followed. That experience opened my eyes to fresh ideas, cutting-edge techniques, and the possibilities of collaboration. Jay's mentorship was truly invaluable, and it was through that connection that Aradhana later became one of my key collaborators.

Jay was one of the many professors in the Department of Geosciences who had an open-minded and welcoming approach towards all students—regardless of their background, whether international, female, or otherwise. During my time in Tucson, I never felt treated differently because of who I was or where I came from. It was only later that I recognized how profoundly this environment shaped my values as an educator. The department truly felt like an academic home to me—a place that demonstrated what inclusive mentorship looks like and inspired me to carry that spirit into my own career. Jay’s deep commitment to science, his selfless dedication to teaching and research, and his capacity to inspire through actions rather than words have created a lasting legacy in my life. - Majie Fan

One memory I’ll always cherish is when Jay, Andy Cohen, and a few of our colleagues went to sample the Verde Formation near Clarkdale, AZ, in September 2022. I took my then 10-year-old son with me. At the outcrop, Jay asked Zander if he had ever looked at carbonates through a hand lens, then invited him to give it a try. He showed him how to safely crack open a sample and look for specific fabrics. After that, my son happily whaled on rocks and searched for clues with Jay’s lens for a solid hour. I got a big smile out of that — and with Jay, the whole thing happened effortlessly. - Brian Gootee, AGS

Several of us were fortunate to meet Jay Quade in 1978 at Indiana University’s field camp in the Tobacco Root Mountains, Montana. Even then it was crystal clear that Jay was an amazing individual – a rare combination of insatiable curiosity, endless energy and vast knowledge bundled in a fun-loving, humble conversationalist. Long challenging walks and many engaging discussions were memorable. Jay was an influential role model for many of us at field camp and continued to be an inspiration throughout his exemplary career. His ability to be scientifically thoughtful, open-minded, and rigorous while being generous and accepting was a defining characteristic from the field camp days through to meetings for coffee in recent years. Jay did amazing things for many people over his career; we have lost a valuable colleague way too early. - Bill McClelland, Professor Emeritus, University of Iowa

Pictured: Jay Quade and Bill McClelland at Logan Pass, Glacier National Park on a 1978 field trip during field camp. Photo by Jane Gilotti

I’m so sorry, Jay was one of the great ones and he will be sorely missed. I really thought, and wished, he would have more time with us. Here is a collection of student recommendations that were submitted for a Graduate Teaching and Advising Award that Jay won (of course he did!), it is filled with student memories and indications of what an amazing teacher and mentor Jay was to many. I’ve also included a satirical magazine cover I made for the same event. I’m grateful I shared these with Jay earlier this year. It's not an exaggeration to say that I wouldn’t be where or who I am today without Jay’s mentorship and friendship. He was wonderful, kind-hearted, funny and smart as and he will be missed. - Nathan B. English

Collection of Letters

Jay at a standoff with kids in Nepal

Jay in Nepal

Jay getting directions

Jay on the Tarai

Jay and Pete Kaminsky and porters

Jay titrating on the Seti River

"Which trail is fastest?"

Jay crossing the Seti River

Jay the one sock wonder!

About 7-8 years ago, even though we only knew each other professionally, when I mentioned to Jay that I’d be on vacation in Tucson, he and his wife graciously invited me—and my husband, our two little boys, my friend’s family with their toddlers—for dinner at their home. The warm way they welcomed our chaos is a kindness and memory I’ll always cherish. Here is the letter I wrote to nominate Jay for GSA Fellowship in 2015. Rereading it today, I’m reminded of how deeply he influenced those around him. His passing is a great loss—one that will be felt by many, for many years to come—but I am profoundly grateful to have known and worked with him. It was truly an honor. - Kate Huntingon, Endowed Professor for the College of the Environment in Earth Systems, University of Washington

People

Jay Quade In Memoriam

Dr. Jay Quade

Professor

← Photos shared by another colleague, Shun Li.

CONNECT

INFORMATION FOR

HELPFUL LINKS

RESOURCES