It is with great sadness that we inform staff and students of the passing of Ken Gregory, a former Professor of Physical Geography in the School of Geography and Environmental Science.
Ken passed away on 23 November, at the age of 82. Ken was a Professor of Physical Geography at Southampton, and also served as Head of School, Dean of Science and DVC in his time at the University. He retained close links with the University after moving to the position of Warden of Goldsmiths in 1992, and has had the Gregory lecture series, which has run since 1993 within the School of Geography and Environmental Science, named after him.
Ken was a leading scientist in the new quantitative geomorphology from the mid-1960s onwards. Geomorphology to Ken was both an academic discipline and an applied science. His interests were wide including hydrology, slope processes, river channels, biogeomorphology, floods and more unusually the philosophy and history of the discipline about which he wrote extensively.
Ken was not only remarkably influential in his academic field but he was also a research-driven administrator and educator. He believed that a role he could fulfil was to represent and promote geomorphology worldwide and including outside academia. This he did with great success from Australia (where he spent a sabbatical) to Scandinavia. All who have been either postgraduates of his (exact number to be determined!) and his colleagues will remember him as remarkably engaged, tolerant, direct and above all supportive of others research and work. All who knew him admired and/or envied his remarkable energy, enthusiasm and efficiency, which never ceased.
Ken was appointed CBE in 2007 for services to geography and higher education. He received the Founders Medal of the Royal Geographical Society in 1993 and was granted an Honorary Fellowship in 2015.
