Wasserburg, Gerald J. (Gerald Joseph), 1927- (Geologist, Geophysicist)

Dates

• Existence: 1927 - 2016

Biographical/Historical

Background: Caltech Professor of Geology and Geophysics, 1955-2001; Chairman, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, 1987-1989; Executive Officer for Geochemistry, 1987-1989; Professor Emeritus 2002-.

Biographical/Historical

Description: GERALD JOSEPH WASSERBURG was born March 25, 1927, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He entered the University of Chicago in 1948 with a major first in geology, then in physics. He earned his PhD from Chicago in 1954 with a thesis on potassium-argon dating under Harold C. Urey and Mark Inghram. He joined the Caltech faculty in 1955 and was named full professor in 1962 and John D. MacArthur Professor of Geology and Geophysics in 1982.

Wasserburg's research interests are geochemistry, geophysics, and astrophysics. He developed ultra-high precision and high sensitivity mass spectrometric and chemical techniques to study the origins and history of the solar system and its component bodies. He designed the first digital output with magnet switching and online processing computer-controlled mass spectrometer, which he named "Lunatic I," at the same time denominating his laboratory at Caltech The Lunatic Asylum. His work established a time scale for the development of the early solar system including the end of the process of nucleosynthesis and the formation of solid objects such as planets, the moons, and meteorites about 4500 million years ago. Wasserburg is widely acknowledged for his isotope studies of lunar materials collected by NASA's Apollo missions and his involvement in US space research programs. Among his many honors and awards is the Crafoord Prize, 1986.

Biographical/Historical

Collection Notes: Papers, mixed media.

Collection size: 85 linear ft.

Collection guide online at OAC.

Found in 22 Collections and/or Records: