Michael Fuller – ThB 44-53

Submitted by Pamela Cox (nee Fuller)

Dr. Michael David Fuller, a pioneering paleomagnetist whose work transformed our understanding of the Earth’s magnetic field and lunar magnetism, passed away in July 2025.

For over 60 years, the work conducted by Mike and his students defined and deepened the fields of rock magnetism and planetary magnetism. After earning his PhD at Cambridge University in 1961, Mike worked at Gulf Oil Research Laboratory, after which he joined Professors Takesi Nagata and Kazuo Kobayashi at the University of Pittsburgh, and eventually led the paleomagnetic laboratory there. Mike subsequently held faculty and academic appointments at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa.

Under Mike’s leadership and mentorship, his labs were hubs of innovation that attracted a new generation of geophysicists including Bill Lowrie, Peter Wasilewski, Stanley Cisowski, Susan Halgedahl, and many others. Mike’s scientific legacy is immense, and includes the first evidence for ancient magnetic fields recorded by Apollo lunar mission samples, demonstrating how shock remanent magnetization could be acquired in planetary crusts, producing some of the earliest records of geomagnetic field reversals, developing methods to estimate magnetic grain sizes through the acquisition and demagnetization of laboratory-induced remanences and through hysteresis measurements, developing room-temperature parameters to estimate the paleointensity of ancient magnetic fields preserved in samples far too precious to subject to heating, and using Bitter pattern observations of titanomagnetites to suggest that metastable single domain states could be the source of PSD behavior and stable TRM in titanomagnetites.

While on a sabbatical in Zürich in the 1990s, Mike initiated pioneering investigations of the presence of magnetic nanoparticles in the human brain. Subsequently his co-investigator, Jon Dobson, extended these studies to biomedical applications of magnetic micro- and nanoparticles, developing new techniques for studying neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Mike collaborated with Bill Goree in the development of SQUID magnetometers for the analysis of geologic and biological specimens. He was the first to use a SQUID in pass-through mode News No. 62 2025 – Page 23 in order to generate records of paleosecular variation and geomagnetic field reversals from sediment cores. Each of these scientific and technical advances remains foundational in modern paleomagnetism and rock magnetism. Within the paleomagnetism community, Mike is remembered not only for his scientific insights and creativity, but for his positivity, kindness, and generosity, as a supporter of colleagues, students and early career scientists, and as a gregarious soul who loved life. Many in the community have stories of Mike providing samples, sharing ideas, providing free access to his laboratory (accompanied by an introduction to Drambuie- Mike’s local bar kept a bottle especially for him), trading software, protocols, and measurement techniques, providing kind words and encouragement, and casually offering a ride home from a conference via the “Air Mike” flight service.

His hobby as a pilot had its roots in Mike’s UK military service. Sports were an integral part of his life. He was active in rugby while in boarding school and as a young professor at Pittsburgh. Later, Mike was an avid fan of tennis both as a player and as a financial booster of the University of Hawaii at Mānoa tennis team, of which several members gave Mike tennis lessons. He remained a dedicated fan and kept track of tournaments via tennis channels on TV. Mike’s contributions to the paleomagnetism community were recognized by election as a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 1985 and with the John Adam Fleming Medal in 2012.

Mike will be remembered not only as a founder and driving force of paleomagnetism but as a joyful person and role model for unselfish collaboration. Mike is survived by his daughter, Karen Fuller, and her son Shawn Fuller.

Written by David’s colleagues, Stefanie Brachfeld, Michael O. Garcia, William Lowrie