Vincent Ellis McKelvey

Vincent Ellis McKelvey (April 6, 1916 – January 23, 1987) was an American geologist. He was married to Genevieve Bowman McKelvey. They had one son, Gregory McKelvey of Spokane, Washington. Dr. McKelvey was an earth scientist who spent 46 years with the United States Geological Survey. Dr. McKelvey was recognized as an international authority on deep-sea mineral deposits. From 1968 to 1982, he served as scientific adviser and senior deputy to the United States delegation to the Law of the Sea Conference of the United Nations, where fellow delegates often depended on his ability to render complex scientific issues into plain English.

Vincent Ellis McKelvey
McKelvey as Director of USGS, 1971
9th Director of the United States Geological Survey
In office
1971 (1971) – 1978 (1978)
Preceded byWilliam Thomas Pecora
Succeeded byHenry William Menard
Personal details
Born(1916-04-06)April 6, 1916
Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, USA
DiedJanuary 23, 1987(1987-01-23) (aged 70)
St. Cloud, Florida, USA
NationalityAmerican
Alma materSyracuse University
University of Wisconsin
Scientific career
FieldsGeology
InstitutionsU.S. Geological Survey
ThesisStratigraphy of the phosphatic shale member of the Phosphoria formation in western Wyoming, southeastern Idaho, and northern Utah (1947)

He joined the Geological Survey, a branch of the Department of the Interior, in 1941. He was placed in charge of its explorations for uranium after World War II, was assistant chief geologist for economic and foreign geology by 1962 and was named senior research geologist three years later. Dr. McKelvey was named chief geologist of the Geological Survey in 1971 shortly before he became its ninth director, a post he held through 1977.[1]

The McKelvey diagram (or box), a visual representation of how to classify a particular mineral resource based on the value of its production (economic, marginal, etc.) and the geologic certainty of its presence (measured, inferred, hypothetical, etc.), is named after him.

USGS career

In 1971, after William Thomas Pecora became Under Secretary of the Interior, Chief Geologist Vincent E. McKelvey, a career scientist with the Survey since 1941, became Director. McKelvey, a graduate of Syracuse University with a master[2] and doctorate[3] degrees from the University of Wisconsin, had served in several research and administrative capacities in the Geological Survey. He was internationally known for his studies of phosphates, had headed the Survey's program of exploration and research for the Atomic Energy Commission for several years, had been deeply involved in sometimes controversial estimates of long-range energy and mineral-resource needs, and had most recently been engaged in studies of seabed resources.

McKelvey's term as Director was marked by an increase in multidisciplinary studies and in the diversity and complexity of Geological Survey operations, as well as an increased effort to make scientific information acquired through years of research available in a form most easily used in the solution of such contemporary problems. In 1973, the Geological Survey moved its National Headquarters from downtown Washington to a new building designed expressly for its needs in Reston, Virginia. It took on primary responsibility for operational research in seismology and geomagnetism by agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and 10 units of NOAA were transferred to the Geological Survey.

In 1976, Congress transferred jurisdiction of the Petroleum Reserve in Alaska from the Department of the Navy to the Department of the Interior, effective June 1, 1977. Responsibility for administration of the continuing petroleum exploration program on the Reserve and operation of the South Barrow Gas Field was delegated to the Director of the Survey. The new activity brought with it a 50-percent increase in funds, but most of the increase was for contractual services.

Forced resignation

McKelvey was a “cornucopian” who believed that availability of natural resources such as oil and gas was limited mainly by the technology used to extract them. But with the election of Jimmy Carter in 1976, McKelvey found his views out of favor with the administration.

In September 1977, the Assistant Secretary of the Interior Joan Davenport called on McKelvey and asked for his resignation. McKelvey said that he resigned for the good of the USGS, and told reporters that he had been told that secretary Andrus wanted to have his own team.[4][5]

This was the only instance in the history of the USGS that a director was removed because of differences with the presidential administration. Some USGS employees worried that the Survey’s science would become politicized.[6][7] Newspaper editorials in the Wall Street Journal and other papers defended McKelvey as an outstanding scientist, and criticized the Carter administration’s unprecedented removal of McKelvey as a blow to the scientific independence of the USGS.[8]

From 1978 until his death at his home in St. Cloud, Florida, Dr. McKelvey continued to work as senior research geologist for the Geological Survey and also taught at the Florida Institute of Technology during the early 1980s.

Awards and honors

Publications
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References
  1. Saxon, Wolfgang (1987-01-26). "Obituary: Dr. Vincent E. McKelvey, 70; Once Led Geological Agency". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
  2. Mckelvey, Vincent E. (1939). Stream and valley sedimentation in the Coon creek drainage basin, Wisconsin (M.S.). University of Wisconsin-Madison. OCLC 609285449.
  3. Mckelvey, Vincent E. (1947). Stratigraphy of the phosphatic shale member of the Phosphoria formation in western Wyoming, southeastern Idaho, and northern Utah (Ph.D.). University of Wisconsin-Madison. OCLC 940503378 – via ProQuest.
  4. UPI, “Geological chief forced to quit,” Tampa (FL) Tribune, 7 Sept. 1977, p.2.
  5. USGS History: A New Age Begins - accessed January 10, 2009
  6. Don Kirkman, “Geological Survey director ousted,” Pittsburgh (PA) Press, 7 Sept. 1977, p.9.
  7. “Energy crisis will shake up quiet agency,” Detroit (MI) Free Press, 2 Nov. 1977, p.64.
  8. “Good Bye Dr. McKelvey,” Wall Street Jour., 16 Sept. 1977, p.18.
  9. Geophysics: The Leading Edge of Exploration - accessed January 10, 2009


Government offices
Preceded by
William Thomas Pecora		 Director of the United States Geological Survey
1971–1978		 Succeeded by
Henry William Menard
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