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| Photo credit: rruff.info/ribbeite |
In 1987 a newly discovered mineral, dug from the Kombat Mine in Namibia, was named after Dr. Paul H. Ribbe of Virginia Tech. "Ribbeite" was so named in recognition of Paul's many contributions to mineralogy, especially in his studies of crystal structures and mineral luminescence.
Further, in "The Vision of Paul H. Ribbe and the Remarkable Story of Reviews" this was written about his research and editorial work:
Thirty years ago, a small unassuming book entitled Sulfide Minerals appeared. Soft-bound in a bright yellow cover, it was printed at a tiny press in Blacksburg, Virginia. The editor was Paul H. Ribbe, a well-known feldspar mineralogist. The print run was a few hundred, and not many people noticed. Today, the same series, covering a multitude of topics in mineralogy, petrology, and geochemistry, has grown to a staggering 25,000+ pages in 57 volumes. Known for excellence and comprehensiveness, over 200,000 copies of these books have been sold or distributed to libraries worldwide. It is fair to say that these books have touched the scientific life of nearly every mineralogist, petrologist, and geochemist in the world since the 1970's. Paul remained series editor throughout, finally retiring just last year (2003)
Read more about this here and here.
David Kingston, Professor (UDP) of Chemistry at Virginia Tech, and fellow elder at BCF, shared these words about Paul in light of the Colossians 3 passage given above:
We first met when we were both graduate students at Cambridge University in England; he in mineralogy and I in chemistry. We met at Zion Baptist Church, and Paul and Elna took pity on me as a single and rather skinny student, and invited me to their home on several occasions for American-style home cooked meals, which were greatly appreciated. We parted ways when we both graduated, but we were reunited in 1971 when I moved to Blacksburg. About two years before I arrived Paul and Elna and four other families had founded Blacksburg Christian Fellowship, with the aim of it being a church that preached the word of God and encouraged ministry to students. Paul was the most energetic of the elders, and although I was not around at the very beginning it is probably true to say that without him BCF would not exist today. However, my real point is that Paul was a man who was a wonderful example of someone who worked at his work with all his heart, as working for the Lord. He was a Professor of Mineralogy at Virginia Tech, and greatly respected for his research and teaching. Among other achievements he founded and was the Editor for 30 years, from 1974-2004, of the series Reviews in Mineralogy & Geochemistry. He also taught hundreds of students, two of whom later took jobs at VT and are
now University Distinguished Professors. In addition to all this he spent a major part of his time serving the Lord in Blacksburg. He wrote a brief autobiography in which he described himself as follows: “My spare-time pursuits: Teaching, preaching, marrying, overseeing, etc. as a BCF Elder; at home: landscaping, traveling and supporting my wife for 33 years as Teaching Leader of Bible Study Fellowship. She wondrously supported me for the past 58+ years! The secret of our strong marriage: We both had the same calling — a life-long commitment to serving and proclaiming Jesus.” And Paul lived what he taught, serving the Lord on the VT campus and through BCF for almost 50 years. And because of this I can tell you with confidence that verse 24 is true for him “since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord
Christ you are serving. And so our Lord Christ has greeted him with the words: “well done, good and faithful servant”.
Hear David's sermon "Your Work Matters to God" here.
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