With great sadness, the Pomona College Geology Department shares the news that Professor Emeritus of Geology Donald Zenger has passed away, aged 83.
A graduate of Union College, Don earned his master’s degree from Dartmouth College and his Ph.D. from Cornell University before joining the Pomona faculty as instructor in geology in 1962. He was a stalwart of Pomona’s Geology Department for 37 years, handling what he called “the soft-rock offerings” and teaching courses ranging from Earth History and Sedimentology to Paleontology and Oceanography. He also chaired the department for eight of those years. He retired as a full professor in 1999.
Widely known for his extensive research into the composition of dolomitization of limestones, he continued his scholarly work after retirement, pursuing a series of projects in Wyoming, where he had a cabin and loved to spend time. In the 1970s, he had the distinction of having a tiny Silurian Period fossil named after him—“Zengeri”—by a British colleague.
Don also served many years as an instructor at the University of Missouri’s field camp in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming.
Don will be missed by everyone in the department. We will be remembering Don and his contributions to the College during the 36th Annual Woodford-Eckis dinner on February 17th, 2016. If you have any memories or photographs you would like to share to include in a book commemorating Don then please forward to Jonathan Harris or Jade Star Lackey before February 1st, 2016.