Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2004 13:26:57 -0600 (CST)

Subject: DPS Mailing #04-04:  Remembering Sinton and Pickering

Note from the Secretary:  This is a special enews containing timely 

information.  The regular enews with Division and meeting information 

will be out next week.

--Linda French Emmons

BILL SINTON REMEMBERED

Bill Sinton, a pioneer in the field of infrared planetary 

astronomy,died Tuesday morning (March 16th) at his home in Flagstaff 

after a ten-year battle with Lou Gehrig's disease.  A native of 

Baltimore and a WW2 veteran, he obtained his PhD from Johns Hopkins 

University in 1953.  He worked at Lowell Observatory and at the 

University of Hawaii, where he played a key role in the early 

development of Mauna Kea Observatory.  He led one of the first 

systematic programs to observe Io's volcanos from the Earth, and helped 

to found the International Jupiter Watch in 1987.  After his retirement 

and return to Flagstaff in 1990, and even after he became ill, he 

remained active in the field,

serving on Lowell Observatory's advisory board and frequently attending 

conferences even when confined to a wheelchair.  His memoir "I Choose 

to Live", describing his experience with the disease, was published in 

2002.  He will be missed.

There will be a memorial service in Flagstaff on March 27th.  If you 

have any remembrances of Bill that you would like to be mentioned at 

the service, please pass them along to John Spencer  

([email protected]).  You can also reach his wife Marge Sinton 

directly at [email protected]

WILLIAM H. PICKERING, FORMER DIRECTOR OF JPL, REMEMBERED

Dr. William H. Pickering, a central figure in the U.S.space program and 

former director of NASA's Jet Propulsion laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, 

Calif., passed away Monday of pneumonia at his home in La Canada

Flintridge, Calif. He was 93.  

Pickering was born in Wellington, New Zealand, and was naturalized 

a U.S. citizen in 1941. He received a Ph.D. in physics from Caltech 

before becoming a professor of electrical engineering there in 1946.

Pickering, known affectionately as "Mr. JPL," served as

director from 1954 to 1976.  Pickering received numerous awards 

throughout his career, including NASA's Distinguished Service Medal. In 

1975, he was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Gerald 

Ford, and in 1976 he was given honorary knighthood from the Queen of 

England. He also   received awards from numerous science and 

engineering societies.

His widow, Inez Chapman Pickering, and daughter, Elizabeth

Pickering Mezitt, survive him.

Linda French Emmons, DPS Secretary Illinois Wesleyan University 

[email protected]