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Ray Sullivan spent his youth in Ebbw Vale, a steel and coal town hidden away in the mountains of South Wales. In his youth, Ray and his older brother, Herbert, roamed the surrounding hills and moorlands and became fascinated with the landscape around them. Ray’s idea of studying geology came from a newspaper article and at the time he had no idea that one day three generations of Sullivans would end up studying geology. Herbert led the way, graduating from Sheffield University with B.Sc. and Ph.D. and Ray soon followed, with a B.Sc. in Geology from Sheffield University and Ph.D. from the University of Glasgow in Scotland.
HIGHER EDUCATION:
1954-57: University of Sheffield, B.Sc. Geology (Honors)
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1957-60: University of Glasgow, Ph.D. Geology.
THESIS:
Mid Dinantian Stratigraphy of Pembrokeshire under supervision of Professor T. N. George. Research focused on the characterization and mapping of Lower Carboniferous limestone successions exposed along coastal southwest Wales.
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FAMILY: Ray met Barbara Brown on a sleigh ride in Edmonton, Alberta during the winter of 1961. They married the following year before setting off to California for Ray’s new position at San Francisco State University. The happy couple were blessed to welcome two sons, Morgan and Gareth, both of whom followed in their fathers’ footsteps by majoring in Geology. Barbara continued to work in the travel industry while embracing University Faculty associates and supporting Ray in his professional career, serving as field assistant, secretary, manuscript editor, advisor and confidant throughout his professional career. |
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RETIREMENT: Ray retired from the Department of Geosciences Sciences at San Francisco State University in 1997 but continued to teach part time until 2002 in order to complete his 40 years. For the past 20 years, Ray and Barbara have traveled widely and visited many interesting places including Easter Island, Fanning Island, Iceland, American Samoa, Midway Island, Devils Island, Beagle Channel, Patagonia, Amazon River, Russia, Ukraine, Oman, Egypt, Zimbabwe, South Africa and the country of his birth, Wales. |
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Not one to rest on his laurels during retirement, Ray continued his research on the Tertiary rocks of Mount Diablo which involved mapping, measuring sections, dating tuffs and reinterpreting the section. Ray also extended his studies into the subsurface of the Sacramento Basin in order to fully understand the evolution of this forearc basin. He also attended many American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and Geological Society of America (GSA) meetings and is an active member of the Northern California Geological Society (NCGS), serving as Program Director, Vice President and President. |
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