2018 Alex du Toit Memorial Lecture: Professor Lewis D Ashwal

Wandering Continents of the Indian Ocean

24 October 2018 | 18:00 for 18:30 | Geology Lecture Theatre (GLT), University of the
Witwatersrand | RSVP egoli@www.gssa.org.za

The Alex du Toit Memorial Lecture Series is staged every two years and is aimed at
highlighting and comparing modern scientific endeavor to the achievements of Alex du
Toit (1878 -1948). Traditionally it oscillates between a local and international speaker in
the years that it is presented.

The 2018 Alex du Toit Lecturer is Professor Lewis D Ashwal of the University of the
Witwatersrand, and he will present “Wandering continents of the Indian Ocean”,
documenting his work in the discovery of ancient continental crust underlying parts of
the Indian Ocean. This work has been reported by the popular press, including
international coverage by the BBC.

Professor Ashwal‘s geological expertise covers a broad spectrum of the earth sciences,
including igneous and metamorphic petrology, geochemistry and geodynamics. He is
one of the few South African-based experts on meteorites, and is an internationally
recognized expert on the origins of anorthosite and related rocks. He has published 125
research papers and two books, and has won numerous awards. He has recently been
awarded a major grant from the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust to research Large
Igneous Provinces in Southern Africa, and he has served as an Editor for the South
African Journal of Geology since 1999.

 

This event is sponsored by The MSA Group