Ingersoll, Andrew Perry (Planetary Scientist)

Dates

• Existence: 1940 - 2222

Biographical/Historical

Background: Caltech Professor of Planetary Science 1966-present; Earle C. Anthony Professor, 2003-present; Executive Officer for Planetary Science, 1987-1994.

Biographical/Historical

Description: ANDREW P. INGERSOLL (1940- ) specializes in planetary meteorology or the atmosphere and weather of planets. He was born in Chicago and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Amherst College (B.S. physics, 1960) and Harvard University (M.A. physics, 1961; PhD 1966). Trained as a physicist, he became interested early in his studies in geophysical fluid dynamics related to atmospheres, oceans, and weather. In 1966 he was recruited to Caltech to join the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, where he has taught ever since. Ingersoll has been closely involved in space missions such as Voyager, Mars Global Surveyor, Galileo, and Cassini to collect and interpret data for the study of the atmospheres of the planets.

Biographical/Historical

Collection Notes: Oral History 2004. A 93-page interview with Sara Lippincott. Covers Ingersoll's family background and early education; his recruitment to Caltech and research on planetary weather/meteorology. He recalls his collaboration with the Russian Venera program for the study of Venus in the 1980s. Also included are remarks on Caltech's administrative and instructional program and his participation in them.

Found in 18 Collections and/or Records: