In 1978, Ian Campbell, professor of petrology, emeritus, at Caltech, passed away. He was 78.

Campbell joined the Caltech faculty in 1931 and was instrumental in building the Institute's Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences. He served over a 17-year period as its associate chairman, acting chairman, and executive officer. He left his post as professor of geology in 1959 to become the State Geologist of California and chief of the California Division of Mines and Geology in San Francisco. He retained faculty status as a research associate at Caltech and became professor emeritus in 1970.

As a state geologist, Campbell was influential in the study of the state's mineral resources, a subject in which he was a widely recognized expert. He developed new programs in the study of geothermal energy and geologic hazards, and under his guidance, the state's geologic map was completed.