POTSDAM — Frank A. Revetta, the north country’s preeminent voice on earthquakes and geophysics for more than half a century, died Sunday. He was 96.

Revetta mapped the subterranean gravity patterns of New York and Pennsylvania over his career, nurtured a growing geology program in Potsdam, and was a teacher and friend to anyone. His beloved astronomy shows at the SUNY Potsdam planetarium continued until the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. The planetarium, which bears his name, turned 60 this year.

“Frank was a man of immeasurable passions and hobbies,” his family wrote in his obituary. “He loved running the country roads of Potsdam, hiking the Adirondack Mountains, and riding his bike to work. He took aerobics, karate, and yoga classes. He loved college football on Saturday, the New York Times on Sunday, and books every day of the week.”

In his later years, Revetta spent quiet days with his wife, Joann Affinito Revetta, at the home they shared for more than half their lives at the edge of the SUNY Potsdam campus. The Revettas have two daughters, Mia (John) Wicke of Massena and Lisa (Ismail) Orabi of Connecticut; and grandchildren Abrahim and Ismail Orabi.

“Frank was adored by the students and our community. When he was still teaching, he played an important role in providing our students with research opportunities and hands-on experience with geophysical equipment,” Alan Hersker, SUNY Potsdam interim provost, wrote to the campus community on Wednesday. “Retirement didn’t stop him. He was still always in the office and continued to run the planetarium for our students and our campus community. We still routinely get students stopping by the department asking to see Frank. It is clear that he made a lasting impression on our campus, and he will be greatly missed. “

Revetta was born June 18, 1928, to Andrew and Anna Wilson Revetta in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, about 17 miles south of Pittsburgh.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1953. He worked toward a master’s degree in geology and geophysics at Indiana University until 1954 before serving two years in the U.S. Army. He was a lab technician and later chief lab technician in Metz, France, responsible for running chemical tests on petroleum products used by the military.

When he returned to the United States, he worked for Geophysical Service in Texas, taught high school Earth science in Elizabeth near his hometown, completed his master’s degree at Indiana University Bloomington and did seismic surveys in Wyoming.

When Revetta started teaching at Potsdam in 1962, the department was simply called “science,” a university spokesperson said. Housed in Stowell Hall when it was completed in 1964, the department included faculty from multiple disciplines and the planetarium. Geology was listed as a separate department starting in the 1968 yearbook. That year, Timerman Hall became the home of geology and physics.

After a brief hiatus during his doctorate program at the University of Rochester, which he finished in 1970, Revetta returned to the developing Potsdam department. Through all those developments, he maintained his lab and planetarium, his office holding more books and journals each year and his list of accolades getting longer.

The National Association of Geoscience Teachers presented him with the 2012 Distinguished Service Award. A longtime member of the association, Revetta served as its treasurer for more than 15 years, stepping down in 2011 at

age 83.

Announcing the Geoscience Teachers award in 2012, the university wrote that Revetta had presented more than 180 abstracts with students as co-authors at professional meetings over his career, many through the Geological Society of America.

His State University of New York awards included the SUNY Potsdam President’s Award for Excellence in Distinguished Teaching, the President’s Award for Excellence in Research and Creative Endeavors, the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished Service and the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Distinguished Teaching.

He was an honorary lifetime member of the SUNY Potsdam Alumni Association and in 1998 received the John M. Clarke Medal from the New York State Geological Survey.

Revetta dutifully recorded seismographic data from his station in Timerman Hall and the network of stations he established across the region. His expertise and penchant for field collaborations with students also took him to zinc mines, archaeological digs and hospital construction sites.

In 2008, at age 80 and having taught in Potsdam for 46 years, Revetta told the Watertown Daily Times that his work was still invigorating.

“It’s the searching that’s all the fun,” he said, “and when you find the answer, it’s not so interesting anymore.”

When Revetta sat with the Times for interviews last year, that was still true.

In January 2023, he turned on the planetarium and leafed through bound pages of seismographic images at his cluttered desk in the basement of Stowell Hall.

“Every time I picked up an earthquake, it’s up here,” he said a few months before his 95th birthday, gesturing to wall-to-wall shelves of bound journals sorted by year. “This is what an earthquake looks like,” he said, opening to a page with a seismogram’s prominent peaks.

He searched for another image, then moved on to more mini lessons. Ever the professor.