Carl Benson outside the Geophysical Institute building on the Fairbanks campus in February 2016. Photo by Todd Paris
Carl Benson outside the Geophysical Institute building on the Fairbanks campus in February 2016. Photo by Todd Paris

Remembering Carl Benson

January 21, 2026 / GI Director Bob McCoy

GI Faculty, Staff and Students:

With a heavy heart I have to report that a giant of the Geophysical Institute, Carl Benson, died on Friday, January 16. He was 98.

Carl has been a stalwart of the Snow, Ice and Permafrost Group at the GI since coming to UAF in 1960. His research both before and after coming to Fairbanks took him on expeditions to many far-flung parts of the North Slope, Arctic Canada and Greenland, where he gathered data that’s still stimulating research. His contributions at the GI, where he arrived a year after statehood to teach and conduct research, leave a significant mark on the institute and on the university.

In 2012, Carl was the first recipient of the Roger Smith Lifetime Achievement Award, granted annually to a faculty member who shows “sustained commitment” to the Geophysical Institute. He continued to conduct research and publish after retiring as Professor of Geophysics and Geology, Emeritus in 1987. Just last month Matthew Sturm and Carl were working on a paper that will be published posthumously. 

After serving in the Navy in World War II, Carl completed a bachelor's degree in geology at the University of Minnesota, his home state. He worked in the 1950s with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he conducted research in some of the most remote areas of the world. His work on the Greenland ice sheet resulted in his PhD dissertation from the California Institute of Technology in 1960. Some of his colleagues at the time refer to Carl as the godfather of Greenland ice research.

Carl's research career at the Geophysical Institute is legendary. But even more, Carl's warmth and enthusiasm deeply touched so many people, leaving memorable impressions on his students and the public through mentorships, personal relationships, public lectures and involvement in the Fairbanks community. He encouraged graduate students and colleagues, helping to position UAF as a leader in Arctic research.

Carl's and his wife Ruth, who passed away in 2024, raised their three children in Fairbanks.

The Geophysical Institute will host a celebration of life for Carl on Friday, Jan. 30 in the Globe Room (time TBD).

Carl left a lasting mark on the scientific community, the GI and anyone who knew him; and he will be missed.

Bob

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Since it was established by an Act of Congress in 1946, scientists at the Geophysical Institute have studied geophysical processes from the center of the Earth to the surface of the sun and beyond, turning data and observations into information useful for state, Arctic and national priorities.

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