RIP Professor Andrew Goudie

Sad news was passed to me earlier today by the Chair of the GA's Trustees of the passing of former GA President Professor Andrew Goudie at the age of 81.

Andrew was a world expert in desert geomorphology and still active until his passing, publishing academic work and still learning.

His wife Heather Viles, herself an expert in Biogeomorphology, posted an update on LinkedIn earlier today:

I met Andrew several times, and he was also very supportive of my efforts to put together his entry on the GA Presidents blog, but also 

At one meeting at the University of Oxford, quite a long time ago, he was explaining how Google Earth was changing how he could visit deserts virtually, and was confident that if I moved to a random location he would be able to tell me roughly where it was from the landforms that could be viewed there.

Andrew was the GA President in 1993. This was the Centenary year for the Association, where they had patronage from Princess Anne. He hosted a Centenary gathering at the University of Oxford, which I've posted about separately.

Here he is with the Centenary cake.

An in memoriam piece has already been posted by his former workplace for many decades: the University of Oxford.

Professor David S.G. Thomas, former Head of School, said: 

"Perhaps above all, Andrew was interested in the development of others, and of the discipline, from its roots in schools to the highest levels. He gave so much to the development and careers of many individuals who have gone on to success in geography and geomorphology internationally, as well as in other fields and arenas. Andrew was the trunk of a very large geographical tree, and his influence will remain through others for many decades."