Péwé, Troy Lewis, 1918-1999

Troy Lewis Péwé was born in Rock Island, Illinois on June 28, 1918. He earned his A.B. in Geology at Augustana College (1940), his M.S. in Geology at the University of Iowa (1942), and his Ph.D. in Geology at Stanford University (1952). His doctoral research focused on the history of permafrost in the Fairbanks, Alaska area. Péwé married Mary Jane Hill (1922-2010) on December 21, 1944 and the couple had three children, Richard Hill, David Lee, and Elizabeth Anne (Péwé) Clay.

After earning his M.A., Péwé performed classified research and worked for the U.S. Army as a civilian instructor in map reading and aerial photograph interpretation (1943) and as a research scientist (summers of 1944 and 1945) in Rock Island, Illinois. In 1946, Péwé accepted a position as an instructor in geomorphology at Stanford University and began working with the U.S. Geological Survey as a geologist with the Alaskan Geology Branch and Military Geology Branch (1946-1958). Beginning in 1958, he served as a W.A.E. (When Actively Employed) geologist with the Alaskan Geology Branch.

Péwé became a part-time professor of geology at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks in 1954 and was promoted to head of the Department of Geology in 1958. He left Alaska in 1965 to accept a position at Arizona State University. Here, he served as a professor and head of the Department of Geology (1965-1976) and as a professor and director of the Museum of Geology (1976-1999). The University of Alaska, Fairbanks honored Péwé with an honorary doctorate of science in 1991 and named an important research site at Gold Hill the Troy L. Péwé Climatic Change Permafrost Reserve. Troy L. Péwé died in Phoenix, Arizona on October 21, 1999.

From the guide to the Preliminary Inventory of the Troy L. Péwé Papers, 1902-1999, 1940-1999, (Arizona State University Libraries University Archives)