Sir Ronald U. Cooke

Biography

Sir Ronald Urwick Cooke is a British geographer and geomorphologist whose research career at University College London (1961–1993) spanned arid-zone geomorphology, environmental management, and stone weathering, including major work on the American Southwest and on geomorphological hazards. He was the founding Editor of Progress in Physical Geography, launched by Edward Arnold in 1977 as the review counterpart to Progress in Human Geography, and led the journal's early establishment as the discipline's standard review venue. He went on to serve as Vice-Chancellor of the University of York (1993–2002) and President of the Royal Geographical Society (2000–2003); he was knighted in 2002 for services to higher education and received the RGS Founder's Medal in 1994.