Professor Ken Campbell was born in Ipswich, Queensland in 1927. He joined the Australian National University as Senior Lecturer, Department of Geology, Faculty of Science from 1 March 1962; and Reader from 1 July 1964. He was appointed Dean of Science in 1978, and became Professor in Geology in 1982. Campbell retired in 1993, and was appointed Emeritus Professor and Visiting Fellow (honorary) in the Department of Earth and Marine Sciences in the Faculty of Science.