Laurence R. Lines Memorial Graduate Scholarship
The Laurence R. Lines Memorial Graduate Scholarship was established in memory of Dr. Laurence (Larry) R. Lines, who passed away in November 2019 after a brief and valiant battle with cancer.
Larry was the eldest of five boys, growing up on the family farm in Athabasca, AB. During these years he learned to deeply value resilience, ingenuity, and cooperation, and these became strengths Larry would carry throughout his life.
Through university, Larry’s interests in physics and geophysics grew and he often spoke of his years as a graduate student as some of the best times in his life. He found great enjoyment in untangling scientific problems and exchanging ideas with others immersed in similar work. The field of geophysics opened a realm of opportunity for Larry and he built a career that enabled him to bridge the worlds of industry and academia. He wanted to investigate scientific ideas through research, and to share and publish these ideas in ways that could benefit both academic research and industrial innovations.
The first 15 years of his career were spent in industry, largely at Amoco’s Research Center in Tulsa, OK. In 1993, his work shifted from industry to academia, where he spent several years at Memorial University of Newfoundland as a Chair in Applied Seismology before returning to Alberta in 1997 as a professor at the University of Calgary. Larry successfully led numerous research grants and consortia, educated hundreds of students—including 73 graduate students—and brought deep integrity and enjoyment to his academic and professional communities.
Larry especially enjoyed teaching and mentoring students, sharing his ideas while continuing to learn alongside others. His enthusiasm for learning was always apparent to his students, whether through an encouraging nod during difficult exams, working through problems together on a whiteboard, or even creating a memorable song-and-dance on seismic waves.
To honour his memory, contributions to this scholarship will allow Larry’s spirit to continue to encourage future geoscience graduate students. The award will go a graduate student with outstanding work in geoscience, especially with collaboration or community emphasis.