Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Henry Schwarcz Oral History Interview With Dr. Bogdan Onac, January 22, 2008, Henry Schwarcz (Interviewee), Bogdan Onac (Interviewer)

Environmental Sustainability Oral Histories

Dr. Henry Schwarcz, karst scientist of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, begins the interview with background information about his childhood and education. He mentions how proximity to great karst scientists and a "hot bed" of research was highly influential while seeking his undergraduate and graduate level degrees. The bulk of the interview consists of Dr. Schwarcz chronologically discussing breakthroughs in various processes for determining the age of karst samples. He details the progression in the theory of dating karst and the increasingly sophisticated scientific apparatus involved in dating karstic samples. Dr. Schwarcz closes by expressing concern over what he …