Rosemary Hutton

Violet Rosemary Strachan Hutton FInstP FRSE FRAS (22 October 1925 – 1 April 2004), known to her peers as Rosemary, was a Scottish geophysicist and pioneer of magnetotellurics. Her research focused on the use of electromagnetic methods to determine the electrical conductivity and structure of the Earth's crust, lithosphere and upper mantle, with a particular focus on the African continent and Scotland. She spent over two decades at the University of Edinburgh School of GeoSciences as a researcher and lecturer and was a Fellow of many societies including the American Geophysical Union and The Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Early years, PhD and time in Africa

Hutton was born in Dundee, Scotland on 22 October 1925, where she attended the Harris Academy. In 1948 she graduated with an MA in mathematics and physics from the University of St Andrews and went on to take up a physics lectureship at the University of Ghana in 1954. During her time in Ghana, she registered for a higher degree and in 1961 was awarded a PhD from London University, which at that time was connected with the University of Ghana. Her thesis was entitled, 'Earth Current Variations in the Equatorial Region' and focused on electromagnetic field fluctuations associated with the equatorial electrojet.

Following her PhD Hutton stayed in Africa for 15 years, first moving to Nigeria in 1963, as a senior lecturer in physics at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and later gaining an Associate Professorship position in the Department of Physics at the University of Ibadan. During this time, she taught a range of undergraduate physics courses while continuing to develop her research in the field of geomagnetism, publishing 13 papers in scientific journals. This research attracted worldwide attention and Hutton became widely respected in both the geomagnetic and geophysical communities.