Vale Chris King (1949 – 2022)

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the death of IUGS-COGE chair, Professor Chris King.

Chris King passed away in Wells (England) on the 18th of February. Chris was in the original team that started the IUGS Commission for Geoscience Education. We convened a meeting in Boulder Colorado where a small group of us designed the future directions of COGE and worked out how it could work with all the other international Earths science groups – to be a building organization.

Chris was a fundamental keystone in that process as he was deeply involved in IGEO and the setting up and running of GeoSciEd conferences. He became the Chair of the Commission just a few years ago and lead it to support educators in developing nations. Chris was always an amazing leader in our Earth Science Education community. He was so levelheaded and treated everyone with vast amounts of dignity, support and understanding. He was a gentleman in all senses of the word. His moderate and smart humour marked a way of thinking and working, creating a net of geoeducational synergies.

Our community and the world of Earth science education is a hugely better place because of Chris. His legacy is truly international. He has touched the hearts of all around the globe and will be a model for future generations as an example of great human being and great geoscientist, who devoted his entire life to earth science education.

Gary Lewis (IUGS-COGE Chair 2004-2010)
Jesús Martínez Frías (IUGS-COGE Chair 2010-2016)
(Reproduced here from the obituary published in Episodes 2022 45(1): 109-109).
Read the EGU obituary for Chris here.