Issue 17-11, March 8, 2017
+————————————CONTENTS—————————————-+
- IN MEMORIAM: TOBIAS C. OWEN (1936-2017)
+——————————————————————————————–+
1———1———1———1———1———1———1———1———1———1
IN MEMIORIAM: TOBIAS C. OWEN (1936-2017)
Tobias (Toby) C. Owen died on March 4, 2017. With his passing, science has
lost a great talent, a valued colleague, and to many in the US and abroad, a close
friend. A former student of G. P. Kuiper, Toby’s earliest work was in spectroscopy
of the giant planets, and this interest quickly broadened to encompass all aspects
of the origin and evolution of planetary atmospheres. With a special interest in
isotopic abundances, he pursued and promoted a wide range of observational and
theoretical investigations toward understanding the origins of all the planets and
small bodies of the Solar System. As one of the world’s leading planetary scientists,
he was an active participant in a great number of missions, including Apollo 15 and 16,
Viking, Voyager, Galileo, Rosetta, Juno, and Cassini-Huygens. He played a leading
role in the development of the Cassini-Huygens mission as a joint project of NASA
and ESA, and was called upon frequently to promote this and other missions to
funding agencies in Europe as well as to NASA. Toby had close ties with European
colleagues, notably in France where he inspired a vigorous planetary group at the
Paris Observatory, and also promoted collaboration with planetary scientists in the
USSR/Russia and in other countries. The DPS as a division of the AAS began with
the initiative of Frank Drake, Carl Sagan, and Toby, acting on a suggestion of Juan
Oro and with the support of several planetary specialists at Kitt Peak National
Observatory. In 1968, Toby and Carl forged the relationship with the AAS that
persists to the present time. The full story can be found on the DPS website at:
history/chamberlain_cruikshank_1999
Toby was a professor at SUNY Stony Brook for many years, and then at the
University of Hawaii, where he was affiliated until his passing. He will be
remembered as a man of the world, unfailingly generous and modest, and a
great scientist. He inspired all of his many colleagues with his enthusiasm for
all aspects of planetary science, including the big questions of the origin of the
Solar System and of life in the Universe. Toby received a number of honors in
the US and in Europe, and in 2009, he was awarded the Gerard P. Kuiper Prize
of the DPS.
Dale Cruikshank
DPS Historian
———————————+
Send submissions to:
Anne Verbiscer, DPS Secretary ([email protected])
To unsubscribe visit http://aas.org/unsubscribe or email [email protected].
To change your address email [email protected]