The Rausch Mineral Gallery collection includes over 200 large mineral specimens from locations around the world, representing all the major mineral groups.

Dr. Rausch was a Professor of Chemistry at UMass from 1963 to 2001, specializing in organometallic compounds. He was internationally known in his field, and chaired the dissertation committees of more than 40 PhD students.

Dr. Rausch’s favorite hobby was mineral collecting. He became interested in minerals during junior high school and eventually built one of the best private mineral collections in New England. He was one of the cofounders of the East Coast Gem and Mineral Show, the fifth largest in the nation, held in Springfield each summer.

The Department of Geosciences is deeply grateful to Marvin Rausch, and to his family, for the bequest of the Rausch Mineral Collection.