News

GS Endorses Africa Initiative for Planetary and Space Sciences

June 15, 2017

Research groups in planetary and space sciences are now emerging in Africa, but remain scattered and underfunded. To elevate planetary and space science across the entire African continent, a group of researchers is developing the Africa Initiative for Planetary and Space Sciences. It will involve coordinated actions with international partners for training M.Sc. and Ph.D. students, for developing locally-based scientific facilities, and for the progressive integration of the fascinating discoveries about our solar system into university curricula.

The identified benefits of education and research programs in these fields and the call for endorsement of this initiative are presented in two articles published this week in EOS:
https://eos.org/opinions/africa-initiative-for-planetary-and-space-sciences
https://eos.org/features/the-state-of-planetary-and-space-sciences-in-africa

In May, the GS Board of Directors voted to endorse the initiative along with AGU, EAG, and many other societies. Learn more at https://africapss.org.

John Hayes (1940-2017)

February 10, 2017

(Image courtesy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

John Michael Hayes, born September 6, 1940, passed away at his home in Berkeley, California, on February 3, 2017. John Hayes was a leader in the fields of organic geochemistry and biogeochemistry who opened these fields to stable isotopes with his pioneering work in compound specific isotopes (CSIA). The impact of CSIA in present day chemistry has been wide-reachin; it is used in drug analyses, forensic geochemistry, food processing, blood testing, and environmental geochemistry, and it has entered the popular culture via forensic science focused TV shows. His generosity of spirit and enthusiasm for bringing together the ideas and practitioners of geology, chemistry, and biology to inform each other, was at the core of his impact across disciplines. His ground-breaking work in CSIA and his legacy of an interdisciplinary approach to research was transformative and contributed profoundly to our understanding of the Earth's organic processes.

More information is available from WHOI.

Ian Hutcheon (1948-2015)

September 21, 2015

Robert Berner (1935 - 2015)

January 13, 2015

Dear G&G Community:

I write to bring you the sad news that Robert A. Berner, Emeritus Professor of Geology and Geophysics, passed away as a result of pneumonia this weekend. We extend our deepest, heartfelt condolences to his family at this most difficult time.

Bob got his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Michigan, and his Ph.D. from Harvard. He did a postdoc at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography before moving to the University of Chicago as an Assistant Professor in 1963. He came to Yale in 1965, and stayed here for the rest of his career.

Bob was one of the greatest geochemists and, more broadly, geologists who ever lived. It is simply impossible to list all of his accomplishments. Much of his research centered on the quantitative geochemistry of sediments, and it's not an exaggeration to say that he defined the field as we know it. He made seminal contributions to, for example, the geochemistry of sulfides and carbonates in the oceans, diagenesis, weathering, and geochemical cycling. He was a thoughtful teacher and mentor, inspiring a whole generation of geochemists who got their Ph.D.'s or did their postdoctoral research in his lab. Today the students of Bob's students are now making their impact on the field!

Bob's research in any one of the areas he studied would have made a spectacular career. The fact that he made such fundamental contributions to so many areas makes his achievements and legacy all the more remarkable. Arguably his broadest impact has been in the area of carbon cycling. For example, Bob spearheaded the quantitative interpretation of the CO2 content of the atmosphere over the last 600 million years of Earth history. His work provided the basis for virtually all modern carbon cycling research going on today. This understanding of past CO2 levels and paleoclimates has provided an invaluable baseline of comparison for determining the impact of today's anthropogenic CO2 emissions on the atmosphere and the associated climate change.

Bob served the field of geochemistry as the President of the Geochemical Society, and received countless accolades (Guggenheim Fellow; Member, National Academy of Sciences; and many, many others). Bob's long association with the American Journal of Science (Silliman's Journal) as Associate Editor or Editor held special significance for him; indeed, many of his most influential papers were published there.

Bob had a tremendous sense of humor and could talk about almost any topic with enthusiasm and insight. He was an expert on wine (including it's chemistry!) and loved music. Given the importance of what he worked on regarding atmospheric chemistry and carbon cycling, he attracted quite a bit of media attention. I remember one instance where the news media had become very interested in his research on trapped air samples in ancient amber. Part of this translated into print as something along the lines of: Scientists Capture Dinosaur Breath! Bob thought that was hilarious and we all had a great laugh over it too.

I remember a dinner in Bob's honor some years ago. Many of his family members were present. He was holding one of his grandchildren in his arms, pontificating about some great insight he had had about geochemistry. And the little baby just reached up and grabbed his nose. He immediately dissolved into the world of that baby---the science left his mind and you could see how the love that he had for his family was such an integral part of what made him so special.

In accordance with the family's wishes, in lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Bob's name to the Geology and Geophysics Graduate Research and Field Studies fund. You can send these by mail to the G&G Chair's office c/o Rebecca Pocock. I highly recommend Bob's fascinating autobiography, which can be found here: http://people.earth.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Berner/Robert%20A_%20Berner%20Autobiography.pdf

Sincerely,
Jay

--
Jay J. Ague, Henry Barnard Davis Professor of Geology & Geophysics
Chair, Department of Geology & Geophysics
Yale University, P.O. Box 208109
New Haven CT 06520-8109 USA
Phone: 203-432-3171 FAX: 203-432-3134
jay.ague@yale.edu http://people.earth.yale.edu/profile/jay-ague/about

Curator-in-Charge of Mineralogy & Meteoritics, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History

Reprinted with permission.

Karl K. Turekian (1927-2013)

March 18, 2013

Karl Turekian, who was the Sterling Professor of Geology and Geophysics at Yale University, passed away March 15. Turekian was a world-renowned geochemist, past President of the Geochemical Society, editor or associate editor for eight geochemistry journals, and author of numerous books and hundreds of papers. He received his A.B. from Wheaton College in 1949 and his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1955 then started what turned out to be a 50 year career as Professor at Yale. Turekian was a larger-than-life personality whose infectious enthusiasm for geochemistry contributed hugely to the development of the field. His personality shines through in his autobiography which chronicles his path through the wide range of geochemical topics to which he contributed over his remarkable career, and well displays his ability to tell a good story.

Devendra Lal (1929-2012)

December 14, 2012

Professor Devendra Lal, an illustrious cosmic ray physicist, Earth and planetary scientist, and distinguished mentor passed away on December 1, 2012 at his residence in San Diego, California. He was 83.

Throughout his long career, Professor Lal was known for the diversity and creativity of his research interests. His early work on the composition and energy spectrum of primary cosmic radiation and in elementary particle physics became the basis for his research on the mechanisms and rates of natural physical and chemical processes on Earth and in the solar system using radionuclides. He published extensively on cosmic ray produced radioisotopes in terrestrial environments, in the atmosphere, in polar ice, in the oceans and oceanic sediments, and in lakes. And he worked on nuclear tracks and radioactivity in lunar samples and meteorites. This work brought him numerous international honors, among them as a Fellow of the Royal Society, Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, and recipient of the V. M. Goldschmidt Medal of the Geochemical Society.

To his many friends and colleagues around the world Professor Lal was best known for his insatiable curiosity, his good humor, and as a caring and demanding teacher. He was fond of asking: "What new idea did you have today?" No idea was too big or too outlandish to be considered. He loved to experiment, and if something didn't work he would try it another way. Some of his experiments were gigantic, such as dating ocean waters by submerging meter-sized frames packed with iron-impregnated sponges or fibers into the deep sea for many hours to extract minute quantities of the natural radioisotope silicon32. He often frustrated his colleagues and students with his all-consuming pursuit of science. He was both uncompromising and patient with students, often lamenting their poor preparation, especially in mathematics, but also spending hours with them until they understood the material.

Devendra Lal was born February 14, 1929 to a large family of modest means in Varanasi, India, where he completed his bachelor's and master's education at Banaras Hindu University. His pioneering PhD thesis research on cosmic ray physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Bombay (Mumbai) and Bombay University, completed in 1960, had its roots in the origins of modern physics in Germany and the United States through his thesis advisor Professor Bernard Peters, who was a refugee from both Nazism in Germany and McCarthyism in the US.

He first came to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography as a visiting researcher in 1957, and 10 years later as a professor of nuclear geophysics. Over his long career Professor Lal divided his time between Scripps/UC San Diego and appointments in India, first as a professor at the Tata Institute and then as professor and director of the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, before making Scripps his full-time academic home in 1989. Professor Lal and his late wife Aruna have been generous supporters of Scripps and PRL, notably through their endowment of the Devendra and Aruna Lal Fellowship in support of creative and exceptional Scripps graduate students and a similar Trust that provides scholarships for selected high school students from Ahmedabad to pursue college educations in science. His wisdom and his good humor will be sorely missed, but his academic legacy and personal impact will remain with us for many years to come.

-Ray Weiss

John J. Mahoney (1952-2012)

November 26, 2012

John J. Mahoney had earned a B.A. in biology from the University of Colorado in 1975. He then went back to his native Montana where he worked for a while as a carpenter. During that time John had an 'encounter' with Al Engel working on Al's house. You didn't just meet Al, you definitely had an encounter. Somehow Al had learned about John's interest in deep-sea sediments and encouraged him to apply to Scripps Institution of Oceanography for graduate work. John thought he was interested in sedimentology but once he got to Scripps in 1978 other encounters changed his mind. For his thesis he used high precision isotope data coupled with careful major and trace element analyses to probe the origins of one of the world's major flood basalt provinces, the so-called Deccan Traps of India, as well as a similar but much smaller (although also important) lava outpouring, the Rajmahal Traps (also in India). John earned his Ph.D. in 1984, spent a year at Univ. Minnesota as a postdoc, and shortly thereafter (1985) he moved to the University of Hawaii. John established a radiogenic isotope laboratory at UH and used it to pursue a wide array of research topics, including the causes and consequences of flood basalt volcanism, the formation of oceanic plateaus, linear chain volcanism in the Pacific, and magma formation at mid-ocean-ridges and Hawaiian volcanoes. He pursued related research into topics such as the dynamics of mantle melting and the use of geoneutrinos to understand Earth's internal radioactivity. He was awarded a research excellence medal by UH in 1995, and with Mike Coffin (now at Univ. Tasmania), established the Large Igneous Provinces commission of IAVCEI in 1993, stayed at its helm until 1998. He edited an influential AGU monograph on flood basalt volcanism in the 1990s and was an editor of JGR Solid Earth during the 2000s. John was a dedicated educator and mentor to graduate students and postdocs. He was also an outdoorsman and concerned about the environment. During the 2000 presidential race, he was contacted by Al Gore's team about a possible science advisory position if Gore won the election. John Joseph Mahoney died on Friday 23 November in Honolulu after a brief illness. John was a professor emeritus and research scientist in the department of Geology & Geophysics, and a lover of the natural world. He is survived by his wife Nancy; his siblings Donna Mahoney, Marla Mahoney, and Tom Mahoney, and their families; and by his three WW II jeeps. His wife, Nancy, was with him when he died. As a student and colleague John was thoughtful and polite. One never saw him get really angry - frustrated, maybe (especially with the red tape in India) but not angry. He will certainly be missed.

-Doug Macdougall, Jim Hawkins, Guenter Lugmair, and Ken Rubin (courtesy The Scripps LOG, December 7-14, 2012 vol. 48 no. 49)

Varanasi Rama Murthy (1933-2012)

October 15, 2012

Dr. Varanasi Rama Murthy passed away October 12, 2012. Known simply as Rama to his many friends and colleagues, his career ranged widely with numerous contributions to mantle geochemistry and cosmochemistry as well as to science education. Born July 2, 1933, Rama received his undergraduate training from Andhra University and the Indian School of Mines. He migrated to the United States for his graduate studies resulting in his PhD in Geology from Yale University in 1957. His first postdoctoral studies were on the isotopic composition of meteorites, working with Clair Patterson at Cal Tech to refine the Pb isotope age of the Earth, then with Harold Urey as an Assistant Professor at the newly formed University of California, San Diego on nucleosynthetic anomalies in silver and molybdenum in meteorites and a comparison of samarium, europium and gadolinium isotopic composition between meteorites and Earth rocks to elucidate the role of neutron irradiation in the early solar system.

Moving to his position on the faculty of the University of Minnesota where he stayed from 1965 until his retirement in 2006, Rama's attention turned to chemical and isotopic studies of mantle rocks, a highlight of which is his 1985 Annual Reviews of Earth and Planetary Sciences contribution with Mike Roden on the subject of mantle metasomatism, one of the early expositions on this important process of chemical modification of Earth's interior. On the return of the first Apollo samples, Rama undertook geochronologic and chemical studies of lunar basalts leading to models for the chemical evolution of the Moon (e.g. Rama Murthy et al., Nature 1971).

Following a long term interest in the composition of Earth's core that began with his first paper on the subject in 1970 (Rama Murthy et al., Physics of Earth and Planetary Interiors), Rama is perhaps best known for his suggestion (Science 253, 1991) that the excess siderophile abundances in Earth's mantle might reflect a high-temperature, magma-ocean, formation for the core. In his model, the high-temperature, high-pressure, of this mode of core formation drove metal-silicate partition coefficients of siderophile elements between liquid metal and silicate to lower values than those measured in one atmosphere experiments. This suggestion led to a huge and continuing experimental effort by a number of workers who explored the pressure and temperature dependency of siderophile element partitioning. Rama continued this line of investigations with experimental work of his own withcolleagues at the Geophysical Laboratory to see whether potassium might be soluble in iron metal at high temperature and pressure and thus provide a radioactive heat source inside the core.

While undertaking this active research career, Rama also served a number of administrative roles at the University of Minnesota including the Head of the School of Earth Sciences, Associate Dean and Acting Dean in the Institute of Technology, and Vice Provost and Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs. His generous nature, wide ranging interests, and ability to tell a good story made him a favorite colleague of many and a success in his many academic pursuits. During his career, Rama received numerous awards including election as a Fellow of the AGU, a Life Fellow of the Indian Geophysical Union, and award of the Outstanding Service Award from NASA. Rama retired in 2006 where he continued his scientific pursuits as a Research Professor with the Institute of Meteoritics at the University of New Mexico.

Igor Lvovich Khodakovsky (1941 - 2012)

July 30, 2012

Igor Khodakovsky, the famous Russian geoscientist, principal senior scientist of Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, (GEOKHI RAS), Moscow, doctor of chemical sciences, professor, passed away on 29 July 2012 in a drowning accident at Raystown Lake, Pennsylvania, USA. He was 71. Igor was traveling with his youngest son Andrei and was visiting his many friends and scientific colleagues across the USA. Igor is survived by his wife, Tatiana Ivanova, his sons Gleb Khodakovsky and Andrei Khodakovsky, his daughter, Julia Rostovtseva (Khodakovskaya) and his grandchildren Nikita, Boris and Elisabeth.

Born in Moscow, Russia, on 4 April 1941, Igor earned his BS in geochemistry from Moscow State University, Geological Faculty, 1963, his PhD, 1969, and relatively soon thereafter his Doctoral Habilitation Degree, 1976, from GEOKHI RAS. In 1977 - 1988 Igor was the head of the laboratory of Thermodynamics of Natural Processes founded by him. He received his professorship in 1983.

He wrote in his memoirs that his interest to study cosmochemistry was greatly motivated by his secret hope to be the first geochemist to step on the Moon. In 1962 while still an undergraduate student, he was invited to meet with the Head of the Geochemistry Chair - Academician Alexander Vinogradov. Professor Vinogradov wished to know whether Igor would be willing to participate in a flight to the Moon as a geochemist. Igor agreed to participate and was very excited by this prospect. He promised and for a long time kept this proposition a deep secret. He did not know that the Soviet Moon Program had been changed in favor of automatic probes flights (Luna -10, -16, and -20).

Shortly after beginning his work in GEOKHI RAS, Igor demonstrated that he was a talented experimentalist and gifted theoretician in geochemistry, cosmochemistry and thermodynamics of geological systems. During the 1960's, Igor became one of the initiators and an active participant in the calorimetric measurement of mineral heat capacities in GEOKHI RAS. In those years, his developments of thermodynamics in geochemical processes became one of the mainstays of the fundamental basis for geochemistry. An investigation into correlations between partial molal entropies and partial molal heat capacities of aqueous species was the topic of his PhD. The prediction of equilibrium constants for geochemical reactions in hydrothermal systems was found to be reliable enough for wide applications. Consequently, Igor became a leader of thermodynamic investigations in national and international geoscience. He developed both theoretical and empirical correlations for calculations of the heat capacities of ionic and neutral substances as a function of temperature. Those methods were applied broadly in the well known Handbook of Thermodynamic Data by Naumov, G.B., Ryzhenko, B.N. and Khodakovsky, I.L. (in Russian - Atomizdat, 1971; in English - Springfield, 1974).

Methods of extrapolation to high temperature of heat capacities, molar volumes and enthalpies of aqueous electrolyte solutions at infinite dilution, the corresponding extrapolation of equilibrium constants and thermodynamic properties of aqueous solutes up to 300°C were described and analyzed in Igor Khodakovsky's publications of those years. Igor contributions to establishing the self-consistency of ion thermodynamic properties with critical evaluations of large experimental data sets became benchmarks in this field of geosciences.

He also compiled standard thermodynamic properties for large numbers of mineral compounds including the radionuclides. These key data became decisive for many thermodynamic calculations and for solution of physico-chemical problems of toxic elements and radionuclide migration in the earth's environment.

Igor was very active in the expansion of an accelerating science - cosmochemistry. He led innovative modeling of several planetary atmospheres (Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn), of crust formation on Venus and Mars, and of the role of volatiles in the formation of meteorites and planets of the Solar system. In cooperation with astrophysicists the pioneering modeling computations were used for the prediction of composition and chemical forms of volatile elements at different stages of the protoplanetary disk evolution. This approach was recently successfully applied by colleagues of Igor to the data obtained during exploration of Jupiter, Saturn and their satellites.

He was a pioneer of chemical thermodynamic applications in the computer modeling of the chemical composition of Venus' atmosphere as well that of Venus' and Martian surface rocks. He and his colleagues originated a model of the atmosphere of Venus. The model was successfully used in both planning of cosmic experiments and for their interpretation (Venus-13, -14; Vega-1, -2). For instance, he concluded that the chemical composition and physical properties of surface rocks on Venus are probably determined by the oxidation and sulfate formation governed by the rock-atmosphere interaction. This conclusion was found to be in agreement with the experimental data obtained by (Venus -13, -14; Vega -2). That thermodynamic approach was also very useful in assessing possible cloud particle compositions in Venus' atmosphere. In 1983, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour for his contributions to cosmic space research.

He creatively participated in the development of national and international thermodynamic data bases (RAS, CODATA, MAGATE) and their publication as handbooks.

One of his last achievements in mineral thermodynamics was the development of an improved heat capacity equation. The improved semi-empirical equation models with good accuracy from zero K to high temperatures. The applicability of this new equation at very low temperatures is indispensable in cosmochemistry and planetary science.

In 1994 - 2007, he held the Chemistry, Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry chair in Dubna University. He taught courses on inorganic and physical chemistry, thermodynamics of natural and technogenic systems, general geochemistry and cosmochemistry, geochemistry of the biosphere, and the history of chemistry. His work ethic, energy, outstanding organizational abilities, deep enthusiasm and joint collaboration with leading specialists in different fields of science contributed to his productivity. In 2012 he was awarded the distinguished title of Honored Scientist of Moscow Oblast.

A dedicated scientist, Igor spent many hours in libraries working on data storage. In his files he stored thousands of papers for hundreds of known thermosystems. During the 1960's through the 1980's, his card system held thermodynamic references to more than 10,000 solid compounds and components of aqueous solutions. With time, these data found their place into computer storage. This work on data collection and analysis continued until his last days.

Under his supervision, 20 PhDs and many Bachelor degrees were successfully defended. He was always sensitive to younger specialists. He treated them with respect, trust and often with good humor. He did for them more than was expected . He always could feel and see the scientific perspective, and support able workers on the scientific frontier. People who worked with him truly appreciated and respected him.

Igor L. Khodakovsky was a lead scientist in the field of process modeling in geochemical and cosmochemical systems. He authored and co-authored more than 300 scientific publications, including sets of monographs. He was presented with the high distinction of the A.P.Vinogradov Award. He was a constantly active member of many Science Councils: in geochemistry (GEOKHI RAS) and in chemical thermodynamics and thermochemistry (RAS). He organized many national and international symposia on thermodynamics in geology and thermodynamics of natural processes. He encouraged and arranged for many extended visits to his country by scientists and their family members, enriching important international scientific and cultural exchange for those involved. Those colleagues are among those who are saddened by his passing.

The name of Igor Khodakovsky is forever written in the history of thermodynamic modeling in geochemistry and cosmochemistry. Igor's memory persists in the hearts of his immediate family, his colleagues and friends.

Boris N. Ryzhenko and V.P. Volkov, GEOKHI RAS; Dubna University; Gleb Khodakovsky; Tatiana Ivanova; Andrei Plyasunov, IEM RAS, Chernogolovka, Moscow Oblast, Russia; Hu Barnes, EMS PSU; Estelle Parizek; Richard Parizek, EMS PSU; Victor Balashov, EESI PSU, University Park, PA, USA

Heinrich (Dick) Holland (1927-2012)

May 30, 2012

Dick Holland died May 21, 2012 in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, just short of his 85th birthday. He was born in Mannheim, Germany and spent his early years there before coming to the U.S. in 1940. He received his bachelor's degree in chemistry (with high honors) from Princeton University in 1946 at the age of 19, served in the U.S. Army, then entered graduate school at Columbia University in 1947, receiving is master's degree in 1948 and Ph.D. in 1952, both in geology. At Columbia he worked with Laurence Kulp as part of a remarkable group of graduate students who went on to become leading figures in geochemistry. He served on the faculty of Princeton University from 1950 to 1972, rising from the rank of instructor to full professor. In 1972 he moved to Harvard, where he later became the Harry C. Dudley Professor of Economic Geology. In 2006 he 'retired' from Harvard and became a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania, where he remained active in research and writing until his death. During his career he held visiting appointments at the Universities of Oxford, Durham, Hawaii, Heidelberg, Penn State, Imperial College, London, and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and his numerous awards included the V.M. Goldschmidt Award of the Geochemical Society, the Penrose Gold Medal of the Society of Economic Geologists, and the Leopold von Busch Medal of the Deutsche Geologische Gesellschaft.

In the 1950s and 60s geochemistry blossomed, with the advent of various isotopic techniques and the application of quantitative physical chemistry to geologic problems. Holland's earlier work was focused primarily on understanding ore deposits in the context of physical chemistry. He published two major papers (1959 and 1965) on the applications of thermodynamic data to problems of hydrothermal ore deposits and numerous papers, both experimental and theoretical, on the stabilities of carbonates and other minerals. His work on ore deposits continued throughout his career but became gradually displaced by his interest in the chemical evolution of the ocean and atmosphere. His 1962 paper 'Model for the evolution of the Earth's atmosphere' (in Petrologic Studies: A volume to honor A.F. Buddington, Geol. Soc. Amer., pp. 447-477) established the idea of a progressive change in the Earth's atmosphere from highly reducing to highly oxidizing. Over the years in books (The Chemistry of the Atmosphere and Oceans, 1978; The Chemical Evolution of the Ocean and Atmosphere, 1984), book chapters (e.g. The Geologic History of Sea Water, 2004; The Geologic History of Sea Water Revisited, 2008; both in The Treatise on Geochemistry) and numerous papers, he established the paradigm that is now the conventional wisdom: an early atmosphere that was reducing followed by a 'great oxidation event' about 2.3 billion years ago in which oxygen levels rose to approximately their present-day values. He continued to refine his ideas on controls on atmospheric oxygen, particularly the role of nutrient cycles, in a series of papers, the latest of which appeared in EPSL in 2012. In addition to his modeling, he and his students and colleagues conducted several studies of Precambrian paleosols as indicators of the oxygen content of the atmosphere. He wrote (with Ulrich Peterson) a popular undergraduate text 'Living Dangerously,' which addressed questions of resource depletion and environmental degradation. He and Karl Turekian were also responsible for conceiving and bringing to fruition The Treatise on Geochemistry. Dick was always ready to discuss his science and try out new ideas on students and colleagues alike. His manner was always mild and good humored, but his arguments were always rigorous. He loved a debate and did not give in easily.

On a personal level, Dick was a devoted family man and developed deep personal relationships with his many students-he even hosted weddings at his home and served as 'father of the bride' for several of us. He will be deeply missed both for his contributions and for his warmth as a human being.

[Prepared by James Drever with input from Mark Logsdon and Hiroshi Ohmoto]

Geochemical Society Awards

• 1994 V.M. Goldschmidt Medal
• 1996 Geochemical Fellow

Geochemical Society Service

• 1964-67 GS Director
• 1969-70 GS Vice-President
• 1970-71 GS President
• 1973 F.W. Clarke Award Citationist
• 1979 F.W. Clarke Award Citationist