John Dixon, professor of geosciences, is retiring from his post, effective December 2017. Dixon has been with the University of Arkansas for nearly 40 years.

Dixon began his career at the U of A as an assistant professor in 1981. He became an associate professor in 1987 and served as the chair of the Department of Geography for much of the 1990s. Dixon was appointed as a full professor in 2000. He has served as the graduate coordinator for the space and planetary science doctoral degree program for the last six years and was a co-developer of the environmental dynamics doctoral program.

Dixon's research expertise is in critical zone processes and landscape evolution. He is primarily interested in the nature and rates of chemical weathering in arctic and alpine environments. He also has research projects focused on the geomorphology of Mars, focused principally on the origin of Martian gullies.

The Australia native holds a bachelor's degree with honors in geography from the University of New South Wales, a master's degree in geography from the University of Adelaide and a doctorate in geography from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Following retirement, Dixon plans to travel domestically and internationally with his wife Tresa, pursue his interests in art and photography and spend more time volunteering at the Walton Arts Center.

Having supervised 50 graduate students during his time at the U of A, he acknowledges that he will greatly miss his involvement in graduate education, which has been one of his most rewarding endeavors.

A retirement reception for Dixon will be held at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 3, in Gearhart Hall room 206.