Author: cviewadmin

It is with great sadness I have to report the passing of Dr Hasso Niemann, who was a founding father of atmospheric experiments and mass spectrometry at the center ­ which ultimately led to the successful SAM experiment currently operating on the Curiosity Rover. Hasso died peacefully in his sleep early Thursday, July 11 morning after a brief battle with cancer.

Hasso leaves a huge legacy at Goddard and in the planetary and atmospheric sciences community with a career devoted to the development of mass spectrometer technology and using these capabilities to measure the composition of planetary atmospheres. Hasso¹s career began in graduated school with rather cumbersome rocket flight experiments and has spanned the epoch that saw spaceflight mass spectrometry evolve from crude, heavy laboratory tools to its current highly sophisticated state where mass spectrometers are now viewed as a primary instrument on planetary missions. Hasso made major contributions at every turn. Early in his career at Goddard as head of the Atmospheric Experiments Branch Hasso pioneered in situ exploration of the upper atmosphere of the earth with instruments on several spacecraft. He later focused on planetary atmospheres with first in situ measurements of the upper atmosphere of Venus on the Pioneer Venus Mission and subsequently the deep atmosphere of Jupiter with the prime instrument on the Galileo Probe that allowed fundamental questions regarding the formation mechanisms of giant planets to be addressed. Hasso contributed greatly to the Cassini mission as Principal Investigator on the Cassini Huygens Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer and the Facility Instrument Provider of the Cassini Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer. His legacy continued at Goddard even after his retirement with provision of mass spectrometer by members of his group to missions such as the Mars Science Laboratory and the MAVEN Mars Orbiter.

Hasso cultivated broad and long lasting collaborations with world class planetary atmospheric scientists. He published many ground breaking papers describing the results of these experiments. Among his notable awards were NASA¹s Distinguished Service Medal for his career contributions in mass spectrometry, the Lindsay award in 1997 and the Al Seiff Memorial Award presented to him after his retirement in 2007. After his retirement Hasso continued to participate in the Cassini and continued to advise the mass spectrometer group at Goddard.

Hasso legacy will live on not only with his many planetary science colleagues but also with the technical teams that worked with him on all aspects of instrument development. Hasso’s interest in inviting young people to be part of his instrument efforts, his exemplary leadership and extraordinary work ethic in making the instruments happen, and his graceful and gracious diplomacy in dealing with the myriad people involved in the projects were all lessons in being a model scientist and human being.

The family will conduct private funeral arrangements.

Nicholas White and Jonathan Lunine

 

David S. McKay, Chief Scientist for Astrobiology at the NASA Johnson Space Center, passed away on February 20, 2013. During the Apollo program, McKay gave the first men to walk on the Moon training in geology. In recent years, McKay was perhaps best known for being the first author of a scientific paper postulating past life on Mars on the basis of evidence in martian meteorite ALH 84001. This paper has become one of the most heavily cited papers in planetary science. The NASA Astrobiology Institute was founded partially as a result of community interest in this paper and related topics.

As a graduate student in geology at Rice University, McKay was present at John F. Kennedy’s speech in 1962 announcing the goal of landing a man on the Moon within the decade. Kennedy’s speech inspired his interest in helping to train the Apollo astronauts in geology. He was a chief trainer for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin during their last geology field trip in West Texas. On July 20, 1969, McKay was the only geologist present in the Apollo Mission Control Room in Houston when Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the Moon.

McKay studied lunar dust since the return of the first Apollo 11 samples in 1969, and has contributed over 200 publications on this topic. As a result of this effort, McKay contributed major discoveries, including the source of vapor deposition on lunar soil grains, the formation of nanophase iron globules on lunar soil grains, the processes on the Moon that contribute to grain size distribution, and insight into space weathering and the chemically activated nature of in situ lunar dust.

McKay was honored by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) by having an asteroid named after him in 2002. His IAU citation mentions his years of work on lunar samples as well as the positive effect his research on martian meteorites has had on planetary research. McKay was also a recipient of the Outstanding Graduate Student Award at Rice University, the NASA Superior Achievement Award for Lunar Science Contributions; the Laurels Award from Aviation Week and Space Technology, the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal, and the Distinguished Texas Scientist Award from the Texas Academy of Science.

McKay was with NASA for more than 47 years, and made substantial contributions to science during his career. He will be missed.

Richard E. Young, planetary scientist from NASA’s Ames Research Center, passed away unexpectedly on January 16, 2013 while walking near his country home in the Sierra foothills at Dunlap, California. He was 69. Rich had a long and productive career in planetary science. After graduating from UC Berkeley, he came to Ames to work on advanced planetary mission concepts, which inspired him to seek and earn a Ph.D. from UCLA, working with Prof. Gerald (Jerry) Schubert, in 1972. After a short post-doc at NCAR, Rich returned to Ames to work on the Venus atmosphere with Jim Pollack, and joined the Theoretical Studies Branch of the Space Science Division in 1976. During his career Rich conducted research into a broad variety of topics ranging from interior structural and thermal models of the Moon, Mercury, Mars, Uranus, and Neptune, to 3D atmospheric dynamics of free and forced planetary scale waves and zonally averaged flows, and the radiative properties of terrestrial volcanic hazes. He was among the first to develop general circulation models for Venus to try to explain its four-day superrotation – perhaps the most challenging goal for understanding deep planetary atmospheres. He participated in three major planetary missions including Pioneer Venus, the Venus Vega mission, and the Galileo Jupiter mission for which he served as the entry probe chief scientist. Later in his career Rich managed the Planetary Systems Branch for five years. He retired in 2006, but remained active in science by educating the public about the reality and challenge of climate change on Earth. As a human being, Rich was the best. His hearty laugh often echoed around the halls at Ames, and he never had a bad word for anyone. He was an enthusiastic tennis player, poker player and backpacker. He had a soft spot in his heart for animals of all kinds, and in his retirement he volunteered at an animal rescue shelter near his home. He is survived by his wife Cindy, her two daughters and two grandchildren.

 

Stephen Eugene Dwornik passed away peacefully on December 17, 2012. Dwornik was born July 3, 1926, in Buffalo, New York, to Stephen Dwornik and Helena Januszkiewicz Soltys.

Beloved husband of 61 years to Kathleen Westphal Dwornik; father to Kris Bragg (Al), Karen McCaa (Kevin), and David Dwornik (Fran); Grampy to Matthew, Stephanie and Jessica Bragg; Jason (Lori), Michael and Michelle McCaa; Emily and Alex Dwornik. As a young boy he lived above, and worked at his parents’ neighborhood bar, learning from his mother a work ethic and social liveliness he never lost.

He attended Buffalo’s prestigious Technical High School and enlisted in the Army at age 17 (with the blessings of his mother in support of her adopted country). Dwornik, 102nd Division, fought along the front lines in Europe, participated in the Battle of the Bulge and received the Army’s Bronze Star for his service. After returning to Buffalo, he entered the State University of New York at Buffalo where he received both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Geology. Summer work included field work in Alaska along the Brooks Range in the late 1940s. After several years of persistent courting, he married the “One Love of his Life”, Kathleen Rose Westphal, on June 2, 1951, and moved to Springfield, Virginia, to begin a career dedicated to scientific advancements, starting with mine detection at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratories and continuing with planetary geology space research at NASA.

While at NASA, Dwornik acted as a Project Manager for the Surveyor Program (seven unmanned Moon landing spacecrafts). Dwornik co-authored several books, including Atlas of Mercury. One of his fondest memories was providing the first substantial NASA grant monies to a young astronomer named Carl Sagan. After Dwornik’s retirement from NASA, he enjoyed a second career with Ball Aerospace, including volunteer work helping to create a planetary Braille map and being a speaker for ElderHostel courses. He was a perennial joker and loved pranks, puns, and humor of all kinds. He was also a die-hard Washington Redskins fan, first obtaining season-tickets in 1954, and continuing in the family to this day. Some of his favorite memories were also spent with his entire family at Jekyll Island, GA for annual Summer vacations, continuously from 1969. He endowed the Stephen E. Dwornik Paper Award for Planetary Geology to support future generations of scientists.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the Stephen E. Dwornik Award c/o Geological Society of America Foundation, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301; or to the Multiple Sclerosis Society/National Capital Chapter, 1800 M Street, NW, Suite 750 South, Washington, DC 20036. Celebration of his life to be scheduled later.

Published in The Washington Post on December 22, 2012
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/WashingtonPost/obituary.aspx?n=STEPHEN-…

 

Dr. Bertram “Bert” Donn, the first head of NASA Goddard’s astrochemistry group, passed away on Friday December 28, 2012 at age 93. A New Yorker by birth, Bert attended Harvard University where he was taught by such legends as Fred Whipple, Cecilia Payne, and Bart Bok. A meeting with Harold Urey in the 1950s turned Bert’s attention to problems of low-temperature reactions and their connections to cometary and interstellar chemistry. Bert’s research at Goddard spanned theory, observation, and experiment, with connections to NASA missions such as Skylab, Apollo, and the International Ultraviolet Explorer. Bert also was an early NASA contributor to the astrobiological literature, he initiated several astrobiology-related research projects at Goddard, and he founded Goddard laboratories for studying the chemistry and physics of ice, dust, and nucleation. He was a 50-year member of the American Astronomical Society and a long-time DPS member. Aside from his Goddard work, Bert was a well-known and honored advocate of non-violence and peaceful conflict resolution, and was instrumental in the racial integration of Greenbelt, Maryland, where he and his family lived for 50 years. For more information please see http://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/691/Donn.html.

– Reggie Hudson and Joe Nuth (January 6, 2013)

John Guest (1938-2012) was a pioneer in planetary geologic mapping, contributing to the first geologic map of Mercury, as well as the first comprehensive map of the eastern equatorial region of Mars with Ron Greeley. He participated in the Mariner 10 and Viking missions, as well as the Magellan mission to Venus. Along with Ron, he helped to select the Viking 2 landing site. Primarily though, John was a volcanologist, happiest when he was in the field, especially at Mt. Etna. John did his PhD work at University College London, mapping volcanic fields in Chile, including the Chao Dacite and the Upper Tertiary ignimbrites in Antofagasta Province. He then went to the University of London Observatory to work with Gilbert Fielder on lunar craters, quickly realizing that craters on the Moon are not volcanic, but impact, starting his long interest in planetary science.

He founded the NASA Regional Planetary Image Facility at University College London, and taught many students there, including Rosaly Lopes, Chris Kilburn and Ben Bussey. John founded the European Planetary Geology Consortium in 1976, along with Philippe Masson, Gerhard Neukum, and Marcello Fulchignoni, which sparked many collaborations among its members. John’s work on Mars, Mercury, the Moon and Venus, as well as his very extensive work on terrestrial volcanology, leave a rich legacy.

He had a particular talent for being able to interpret geology from surface morphology – whether in the field, from aerial photographs or planetary images. He was much loved by his collaborators and students for his kind and generous spirit, and his sense of humor, which included terrifying his students in the field with tales of hairy lava tube rats and deadly snakes camouflaging in ropy lava. He was awarded the GSA G.K. Gilbert award in 1991; that same year the asteroid 1982 HL was named Guest by the International Astronomical Union Nomenclature Committee. He is survived by his wife Mary and sons James and Ben.

Prepared by Ellen Stofan, Angus Duncan, Rosaly Lopes, and Chris Kilburn.

James R. Arnold, a Univ. of California, San Diego, nuclear chemist and visionary scientist, died at 88 on Jan. 6 in La Jolla from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. He was founding chairman of UC San Diego’s chemistry department and first director of the California Space Institute.

Arnold was born in Metuchen, N.J., on May 5, 1923. At 16, he entered Princeton University, where he earned his doctoral degree in chemistry in 1946. His doctorate was awarded for his work on the Manhattan Project, the military program that produced the atomic bomb and stirred the fears of nuclear fallout that led him to join the Union of Concerned Scientists.

After earning his doctorate, he helped University of Chicago chemist Willard Libby develop radiocarbon dating in 1949. In 1955, Arnold joined the faculty at Princeton, where he expanded his investigations into the planetary sciences by studying the effects on meteorites of cosmic rays, the high-energy particles that speed through space. His work produced a method for recording the age of rocks, which helped scientists understand “how long a meteorite has been a rock in space and where it might have come from,” Arnold once explained.

His research on cosmic rays drew him to the UC San Diego, where he founded the chemistry department in 1960. He became a longtime consultant to NASA, where he helped the young agency as early as 1959 in setting science priorities for missions, including the Apollo missions to the Moon. He is remembered as being instrumental with other scientists in leading the agency to establish the national lunar sample research program for analyzing the more than 800 pounds moon soil and rocks returned between 1969 and 1973 by the Apollo missions. For over two decades, Arnold and colleagues traced the history of lunar material being bombarded by cosmic rays and extended our record of the energy output of the Sun by millions of years, thus significantly increasing our understanding of the age and composition of the Moon and also of the history and evolution of the Solar System. The continued legacy of this work on lunar material led to major discoveries even in the recent years. For his contributions, NASA awarded him in 1970 its top medal for “exceptional scientific achievement.” Arnold also received the Department of Energy’s E.O. Lawrence Award in chemistry and metallurgy.

Arnold founded the California Space Institute in 1979 to foster innovation in space research and was its Director for the first 10 years.

In 1980, Eleanor Helin and Eugene Shoemaker named an asteroid after him, (2143) Jimarnold, after he created a computer model describing how meteorites traverse the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

He held Univ. of California San Diego’s Harold Urey Chair in chemistry from 1983 until his retirement in 1993. The annual Jim Arnold Lecture recognizes his contribution by inviting an interesting speaker who has made significant contributions to chemistry and the space sciences to campus each spring.

In his last decades, Arnold advocated the colonization of space.

Arnold’s survivors include his wife, Louise, and three sons.

Prepared by Athena Coustenis

Full obituaries in

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jan/22/local/la-me-james-arnold-20120122

and

http://www.meteoriticalsociety.org/news_display.cfm?code=news_intro&item…

 

Lynn Margulis passed away on November 22, 2011, at her home, in Amherst, Massachussetts, aged 73. She was born in Chicago and enrolled at the University of Chicago when she was 14. Lynn was a renowned biologist and University Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts, whose faculty Margulis joined in 1988. Prior to that she taught at the University of Boston for 22 years. She is best known for her theory on the origin of eukaryotic organelles, and her contributions to the endosymbiotic theory. She is also associated with the Gaia hypothesis, based on an idea developed by the English environmental scientist James Lovelock.

The author of Symbiotic Planet: A New Look at Evolution penned hundreds of research papers and many books during her illustrious career. She taught classes in environmental evolution for nearly 40 years.

Lynn, who was once married to astronomer Carl Sagan and then to chemist Thomas Margulis, was elected to the National Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1983 and received the National Medal of Science in 1999. She is survived by her four children and nine grandchildren.

For a full obituary see the New York Times News Service at :
http://bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111125/NEWS0107/111…

 

William H. Smyth (1941-2011) passed away on Friday Sept. 30, 2011 after a long illness. He is survived by his wife Iris (of 43 years), three children and five grandchildren.

Bill graduated from Harvard in 1972 and after a postdoc with Michael McElroy working on Voyager observations he became an early member of AER in Lexington Ma., where he spent almost all of his career.

Bill was a leader in planetary exospheres and conducted pioneering research on the exospheres of Io, Europa, Mercury, the moon, comets, and the Saturnian H cloud, especially in complex orbital environments. His expertise on Io’s neutral clouds and the plasma torus were second to none. Bill constructed the first successful model of Io’s neutral clouds and studied their response to and the resulting mass loading of Jupiter’s magnetosphere. This led to his serving as an IDS with the Galileo mission.

Recently, Bill extended his research to the denser parts of the atmosphere and pioneered the consistent physical description of atmospheres through all degrees of collisionality. Bill was equally comfortable developing theory and analyzing observations. His meticulous penetrating research, persistent search for the underlying truth, honesty, and integrity will be deeply missed.