A year on: remembering Professor Paul Younger – fundraiser
Paul Younger at Stromboli (source: Hotspur Geothermal)
Alexander Richter
16 Apr 2019
The team of Hotspur Geothermal is engaging on a great effort to remember Paul Younger, co-founder and director of the company, who passed away last year. The team is going to walk "the length of Hadrian’s Wall in May, 84 miles in three and a half days from Bowness to Wallsend, Newcastle, to remember one of the greatest Geordies that ever lived."
Seven members of the Hotspur Geothermal team are walking the length of Hadrian’s Wall in May, 84 miles in three and a half days from Bowness to Wallsend, Newcastle, to remember one of the greatest Geordies that ever lived.
As a co-founder and director of Hotspur Geothermal, Paul Younger was a mentor and friend to all who worked there. The most companionable and interesting person many have ever met, he had a virulent enthusiasm for absolutely everything, from geothermal to Gaelic singing. Paul sadly passed away exactly a year ago aged 55. In his last weeks, he was so well looked after by the amazing team at the Marie Curie Hospice in Glasgow and the Hotspur team are taking this opportunity to give something back to them so they can continue helping the terminally ill and their families at such a difficult time. Donations to this excellent cause can be made through the following link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/paul-l-younger
Paul loved geology, rocks and energy, but there was more to him. He revelled in language, adored music and was a man of deep faith.
Paul was born in North-East England, in Hebburn, on the south bank of the River Tyne. He moved over the river to attend the University of Newcastle, receiving a first-class honours B.Sc. Geology in 1984, and crossed the Atlantic, to Oklahoma State University, where he completed his M.S. Geology as a Harkness Fellow, specialising in hydrogeology.
Paul returned to Newcastle in 1986 to carry out a PhD on river-aquifer interaction in the Thames Valley. After gaining industrial experience in Yorkshire and Bolivia, Paul took a lectureship at Newcastle University in 1992, where his career as an academic flourished. Internationally renowned for his work on mine-water pollution, he was elected to Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2007 and in 2008 became Pro Vice Chancellor for Engagement on Newcastle University’s Executive Board—a highly appropriate position for one who invested much time engaging with industry, government and the public.
In 2012, Paul and his wife Louise moved to Glasgow, where Paul had accepted the prestigious Rankine Chair of Engineering at Glasgow University and researched geothermal and renewable energy. As always, Paul’s enthusiasm and intellect resulted in a rise to prominence in the field, and in 2016 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Ever the polymath, Paul spoke fluent Gaelic and Spanish and loved music – playing the Northumbrian pipes with gusto. His engaging sense of humour enriched the lives of countless students, academics and industrialists across the world. The memory of Paul—his music, compassion, wit and knowledge—lives on in the hearts of his wife, Louise, and their lads, Callum, Thomas and Dominic.
All money donated will go to the Marie Curie Hospice in Glasgow. Many thanks in advance for your support and generosity: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/paul-l-younger
Source: Hotspur Geothermal; Geological Society of London. A full version of Paul’s obituary is available on the Geological Society’s Website: https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/About/History/Obituaries-2001-onwards/Obituaries-2018/Paul-Younger
