Minze Stuiver

Minze Stuiver was a Dutch-American geochemist who lived from 1929 to 2020 and worked at the University of Washington own Quaternary Research Center, where he built the Quaternary Isotope Lab, credited with transforming radiocarbon dating from a simple archaeological and geological tool into a precise scientific technique. With Hans Suess he developed early radiocarbon calibration curves, and with Henry Polach he established standardized conventions for reporting radiocarbon data still used across the field; his later research examined solar cycles, ocean circulation and climate change through stable isotopes preserved in ice cores. He received the Alexander von Humboldt Prize in 1983, the Pomerance Award in 1993 and the Distinguished Career Award of the American Quaternary Association in 2000. He received the Penrose Medal in 2005.