Professor Craig Richard Glenn obtained his B.S. and M.S. in Earth Science at UC Santa Cruz, and his Ph.D. in Marine Geology at the University of Rhode Island. He then spent a year as a Research Fellow at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich before joining the Department of Geology and Geophysics, UH Mānoa in the late 1980's. Professor Glenn served this department for over 35 years.
Professor Glenn was heavily engaged in service to his scientific community. He served as a member of the Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM), the International Association of Sedimentologists, and the American Geophysical Union. Craig participated in five UNESCO-IUGS International Geological Correlation Programs, was the Co-Chair and founder of the SEPM Research Group on Marine Authigenesis, FRiends Of Marine AuthiGEsis (FROMAGE), and chaired the 2017 Geological Society of America Cordilleran Section Meeting in Honolulu. He became a Fellow of the Geological Society of America in 2000. During his early career, Craig’s research focused on modern and ancient paleoproductivity and marine authigenic mineral formation. Over the last two decades, Craig has been known worldwide for his pioneering research on submarine groundwater discharge in Hawaiʻi, especially in developing and applying remote sensing techniques. In the early 2000’s he led a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded project to use aerial thermal infrared imagery to map submarine groundwater discharge along the Kona coast of Hawaii. The project produced numerous high-resolution, spatially extensive images illustrating the leaky nature of the coastal zone and abundant groundwater discharge into the ocean. The images have not been surpassed in quality and extent since, and are proudly displayed in the hallway of NSF's Virginia headquarters.
More recently, Prof. Glenn led the Department of Health and Army Corps of Engineering-funded landmark study titled the “Lahaina Groundwater Tracer Study”, which became the basis of a U.S. Supreme Court decision about the vital role of groundwater on the health of the nation's oceans, rivers, and lakes. “The court found that point source discharges to navigable waters through groundwater are regulated under the Clean Water Act. ” (https://earthjustice.org/feature/supreme-court-maui-clean-water-case). Justice Breyer is cited in expressing how impressed he was with the science articulated about groundwater pollution, “The scientists really convinced me they’re geniuses and they can trace all kinds of things...” (https://www.science.org/content/article/scotus-clean-water). This is an example of Professor Glenn's excellence in bringing together scientists and stakeholders to address tough problems in water resources. He has since continued to advance our understanding of submarine groundwater discharge via source tracking of nutrients and recharge, and improved remote sensing techniques.
At the University of Hawaiʻi, Craig was a key instructor to essential and famous courses in Sedimentology and Stratigraphy and Marine Geology. He was an incredibly dedicated mentor, having served as primary advisor to more than twenty M.S. and Ph. D. students, many of whom are leaders in environmental services and/or research. Across the Department, SOEST, WRRC, and UHM Craig has been a highly valued collaborator and colleague, and a good friend.
Craig Glenn passed away on Thursday Sept 5, 2024 after a 4-year battle with severe health problems. He was blessed to have had the loving support of his two daughters and good friends.
As an advisor, Professor Glenn was a strong advocate for his graduate students. Craig’s tireless work securing funding and navigating administrative hurdles provided his graduate students a great deal of freedom to pursue their research interests. This freedom was invaluable in developing their skill sets in the full spectrum of scientific research activities and provided a strong foundation for success in future scientific endeavors. - Joseph Fackrell
Craig was kind and caring and had a great sense of humor. He was fond of reminding his students, with a smile and glint in his eye, that he would return their draft theses with ‘more red than lead!’ Even long after students had graduated and moved on, Craig would stay connected by sending digital birthday and holiday cards and periodic text messages checking in on his former students' lives. - James Bishop
It's deeply saddening to hear about Craig's passing as he always seemed like such a core part of the G&G faculty to me. Craig played a pivotal role with the team who for some reason saw something in my application to G&G over a decade ago and gave me the break that has shaped who I am today and kept me at UH all this time. Craig always made time to help show me the ropes and to mentor me in all aspects of the academic world. I remember many afternoons sitting in his office piled high with old journal articles and Keurig coffee cups, learning about his perspectives on science, academia, or any number of other subjects. I know his presence will be missed by many in the department. - Christopher Shuler
Craig had a knack for team building during our fieldwork on the western coast of the Island of Hawaii. Everyone would stay in the same condo complex, and Craig would be upbeat and rally everyone together for dinner after a long field day. Each morning, Craig would be up at before dawn brewing coffee, looking at the weather forecast and our plans, and preparing sandwiches for everyone for lunch. Craig set a great example of how to reach out to residents in the areas where we were working. He had the ability to talk to anyone (friendly or unfriendly), answer their questions, and find common ground. Craig also made the effort to find stakeholders and government staff who were living or working near the areas where we were conducting research. He would spend time talking with them about our plans and research, learning more about the area, and sometimes finding a way to get them involved with our fieldwork. - Adam Johnson
I am deeply saddened to learn about Craig's passing. Craig was a great scientist, a caring advisor to many, and a unique personality. Craig gave me the opportunity to study the ocean in the most beautiful place on earth, and I am forever grateful to him for that. My five years in Hawaii, two spent working for Craig, shaped me as a scientist and a human being. Craig helped me move into my first apartment in Hawaii, took me and other students on a full day-long tour of Oahu, and treated us to Holiday dinners each year with our significant others. Craig's daily uniform - an aloha shirt and khaki shorts, which he adorned even for field work - will live in infamy along with his legendary eCards. Craig will be deeply missed by his former students and the greater scientific community, which has suffered a great loss. - Michael Mathioudakis
Craig was a special guy, physically huge, but gentle and caring. He was one of my PhD students who came to the University of South Carolina, then Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography to work with me. My graduate students were all essentially part of our family and we were a close knit group. He was one of the most caring persons I have known, an empath for certain. Craig initially worked in Egypt on phosphorites and greensand and, in the field, we had some fascinating interactions with the people there. He stood out with his physical stature of course! Some time after Craig received his PhD and took a job at U of H, my wife and I visited him in Hawaii. It was great to see Craig in a fantastic environment, and we toured the Big Island by automobile. Most of all, it was terrific to see Craig responding to his location and dealing with environmental issues there, as well as to witness his interactions with students at UH. He will be deeply missed. - Michael A. Arthur
I am deeply saddened to learn about Craig's passing. My association with Prof. Craig Glenn dates back to 1990, when, as a raw East West Center Graduate Degree Fellow, I walked into his office one day without even an appointment, and requested that he take me in as a Ph.D student. For a moment, I could see he was perplexed- probably because he couldn’t make out a word of what I was trying to say in my (Indian) English. He didn’t throw me out of the room. Instead, he asked me to sit down and repeat slowly what I was trying to say. He didn’t ask why I wanted to do a Ph.D with him, not even whether there was anything in his ongoing research which fascinated me. In his own characteristic style, he handed me a book on Marine Geology (it was the book by James Kennett, I still treasure it), told me I could keep it, to read the book, enrol for a 400-level course in Marine Geology and get back to him at the end of the Semester. I did, and told him why I still wanted him as my mentor. What followed was five-years of Ph.D work under a great human being. (It turned out that I was his first Ph. D student as well). Not only did Craig walk me through the intricacies of the UH academic system, but also allowed me to continue the work on the Black Sea sediments which he had initiated a few years back at ETH, Zurich. Craig was an excellent teacher, always patient, tolerating my many short-comings, and my long-winded English. More importantly, he encouraged me to find my own way through the labyrinths of scientific ideas, for which I am forever indebted. What started out as a teacher-student relationship soon became a life-long friendship. I completed my Ph.D in 1995, returned to India and resumed my professional career as a scientist. We continued our unbroken friendship through the years over several long emails and the annual E-cards. In retrospect, one of the best decisions I had taken in my life while at the UH was when I walked into Craig’s office that day and requested (asked?) that I may be taken in as his Ph.D student. Craig will be deeply missed not only by me but by his several students and friends. - Rajan Sivaramakrishnan
