Obituary: George McGill, Professor Emeritus of Structural and Planetary Geology

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George Emmert McGill, 86, of Amherst, a professor emeritus of structural and planetary geologist who worked with NASA on probes of the solar system, died March 13.

Born June 10, 1931, in Des Moines, Iowa, he earned a bachelor’s degree in geology and biology from Carleton College and a master’s in geology from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He received his doctorate in structural geology from Princeton in 1958 and that same year joined the faculty of what was then a small geology and geography department at UMass Amherst.

He enjoyed a career at UMass that spanned 38 years, including two terms as department chairman, 1977-84 and 1988-93. He retired in 1996.

He spent many happy weeks in the wilderness, solving geologic puzzles in remote areas of Montana, Canada and the southwestern United States. However, he was probably best known for his work in planetary geology. He worked with NASA on many projects and had significant roles in the Pathfinder mission to Mars and Magellan mission to Venus, as well as geological mapping of Mars, Mercury and the moon.

He played an instrumental role in building and developing the geology department he loved.  

He was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Geophysical Union and a fellow of the Geological Society of America,

He is survived by his wife, Esterica C. McGill, and his daughters Kathryn Ann McGill (Grahame Waghorn), Sandra McGill Piedmonte (Brian) and Edith McGill Glasgow (Robert). 

Memorial donations may be made to First Congregational Church of Amherst, 165 Main St.