Leon Silver
Leon Silver | |
---|---|
Born | Leon Theodore Silver April 9, 1925 Monticello, New York,U.S. |
Died | January 31, 2022 Arcadia, California,U.S. | (aged 96)
Other names | Lee Silver |
Education | Ph.D.,Geology & Geochemistry (1955) |
Alma mater | California Institute of Technology(Caltech) |
Occupation | Geology professor |
Employer | Caltech (emeritus) |
Known for | Training of Apollo astronauts in field geology |
Leon Theodore "Lee" Silver(April 9, 1925 – January 31, 2022) was an American geologist who was professor ofgeologyat theCalifornia Institute of Technology(Caltech). He was an instructor to theApollo 13,15,16,and17astronaut crews. Working with theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),he taught astronauts how to perform field geology, essentially creating lunar field geology as a new discipline. His training is credited with a significant improvement in the J-Mission Apollo flights' scientific returns. After theApollo program,he became a member of the United StatesNational Academy of Sciencesin 1974. He retired in 1996 as theW. M. Keck FoundationProfessor for Resource Geology,emeritus,at Caltech.
Early life and education
[edit]Silver was born inMonticello, New York,on April 9, 1925, as the youngest of five children.[1]His parents were Jewish immigrants fromRussiaandPoland,who moved the family toWaterbury, Connecticutsoon after he was born. He graduated fromCrosby High Schoolin 1942.[1]
After spending a year at theColorado School of Minesbefore being called up by the Navy in 1943 as a member of theNavy V-12 Program,Silver earned hisB.S.incivil engineeringat theUniversity of Colorado Boulderin 1945. He later earned anM.S.ingeologyat theUniversity of New Mexicoin 1948 and aPh.D.in geology andgeochemistryat theCalifornia Institute of Technologyin 1955.[2]
Career
[edit]Early career
[edit]Silver served in theUnited States Navyfrom 1943 to 1946, where he attained the rank ofLieutenant Junior Gradein theCivil Engineer Corps.He worked for theUnited States Geological Survey(USGS), Mineral Deposits Branch, inColoradoandArizonafrom 1947 to 1954 (field seasons only), where he attained the status of Assistant Geologist.
Academic career
[edit]After completing his Ph.D., Silver was appointed Assistant Professor of Geology (1955–1962) at Caltech; he was later promoted to Associate Professor (1962–1965), Professor (1965–1983), andW. M. Keck FoundationProfessor for Resource Geology (1983–1996). After his retirement, he had been Keck Professor Emeritus.[3]
His main research interests werepetrology,tectonics,and applications of geology andisotope geochemistrytogeochronology,crustal evolution,ore deposits,andcomparative planetology.[3]While pursuing these research interests, Silver also played a major role in the Apollo Program's lunar geological exploration as well as on numerous national scientific advisory boards and committees.[4]
NASA and Apollo Program involvement
[edit]NASA'sJohnson Space CenterOral History Project lists Silver's involvement as follows:[5]
- Geologist,Astrogeology Branchof theUSGS,(1970–1976, part-time), contracted to work with NASA
- Geology Lecturer to NASA Scientist-Astronaut Classes, Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas (Part Time 1968–1993)
- Lunar Surface Geology Experiment Team (Apollo 13–17)
- Lunar Sample Preliminary Examination Team (Apollo 15–17)
- Lunar Surface Traverse Planning Team (Apollo 15–17)
- Lunar Science Working Panel (Apollo 15–17)
- Lunar Sample Analysis Planning Team, Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas (1972–1974)
- Space Program Advisory Council Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Scientist-Astronauts (1974–1975)
Other federal government advisory roles
[edit]- Chairman of the Advisory Committee to theOffice of Basic Energy Sciencesof the Department of Energy (1990–91 and 1991–92)[6]
- Member of the Steering Committee of the NASA Synthesis Group, which evaluated mission scenarios for the President's Space Exploration Initiative (1990-1991)[7]
- Member of the President's Advisory Committee on the Redesign of the Space Station (1993)[8]
In popular culture
[edit]Silver's work with the Apollo Program has been recounted inAndrew Chaikin'sA Man on the Moon(1994). The book became aTV mini-seriesin 1998, withDavid Clennonportraying Silver in theHBOdocu-drama seriesFrom The Earth To The Moon.[4]In the series' Episode 10 "Galileo Was Right," Silver is shown teaching the Apollo 15 astronauts field geology, and participating from Houston's Mission Control in their lunar extra-vehicular activities (Moonwalks).[4]Silver was interviewed about the episode and he felt that it "romanticized" the experience, and had minor historical inaccuracies, but otherwise liked it and showed it at a lecture in 1999.[4]
In 2006, Apollo 15 CommanderDave Scottdevoted a section of his co-authored bookTwo Sides of the Moonto the training and instruction that Scott and other Apollo astronauts received from Silver.
Personal life and death
[edit]Silver was a board member of theCaswell Silver Foundationat the University of New Mexico. The Foundation was created in 1980 through an endowment byCaswell Silver,an alumnus of the Department of Geology, independent oilman, and Leon Silver's brother.[9]The Foundation supports education and research at the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of New Mexico.[10] He died on January 31, 2022, at the age of 96.[11]His grandnephew is statistician and journalistNate Silver.
Honors and awards
[edit]- In 1971 Silver was awarded aNASAExceptional Scientific Achievement Medal both for his training of Apollo astronauts in geologic science and equally for his research:
For his significant scientific achievements in the development of highly precise isotopic compositions of uranium and lead in minerals and the applications of the age determination procedures in the analyses of lunar material. While diligently conducting these laboratory investigations of lunar material, he provided a major contribution by training the astronauts in geological sciences which, through his enthusiasm, leadership and guidance, has led to the successful exploration of the moon.[12]
- Guggenheim Fellowship(1964)
- NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (1971)
- NASA Group Achievement Award,Lunar Traverse Planning Team (1971)
- NASA Group Achievement Award, Crew Training and Simulation Team (1971)
- American Institute of Professional Geologists Award for Professional Excellence (1972)
- NASA Group Achievement Award, Lunar Landing Team (1973)
- NASA Group Achievement Award, Earth Resources Experiment Team (1974)
- NASA Group Achievement Award,Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center(1974)
- Member,National Academy of Sciences(elected 1974)
- Senior Fellow,Mineralogical Society of America[13]
- President,Geological Society of America(1979)[14]
- Centennial Distinguished Alumnus Award,University of New Mexico(1989)
Selected publications
[edit]- Silver, L.T., S. Deutsch, and C.R. McKinney, "Fusion Loss of Lead in the Analysis of Zircons for Isotopic Age Dating,"Journal of Geophysical Research,Vol. 64, No. 8, pp. 1124–1124. (1959).
- Allen, Clarence R., Leon T. Silver, and Francis Greenough Stehli.Agua Blanca Fault: A Major Transverse Structure Of Northern Baja California, Mexico.New York: The Society, 1960.
- Silver, L.T., C.R. McKinney, and S. Deutschet al."Precambrian Age Determinations of Some Crystalline Rocks of the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California,"Journal of Geophysical Research,Vol. 65, No. 8, pp. 2522–2523. (1960).
- Silver, L.T., "Major Magmatic Events and Geochronology,"Journal of Geophysical Research,Vol. 66, No. 8, pp. 2560–2560. (1961).
- Silver, L.T. "Older Precambrian Geochronology in Cochise County, Southeastern Arizona,"Journal of Geophysical Research,Vol. 67, No. 4, pp. 1657–1657. (1962).
- Leon T. Silver and Sarah Deutsch. "Uranium-Lead Isotopic Variations in Zircons: A Case Study,"The Journal of Geology,Vol. 71, No. 6 (Nov., 1963), pp. 721–758.
- Silver, L.T., C.R. McKinney, and S. Deutschet al."Precambrian Age Determinations in the Western San Gabriel Mountains, California,"Journal of Geology,Vol. 71, No. 2, pp. 196ff. (1963).
- Cooper, John Roberts, and Leon T. Silver.Geology And Ore Deposits Of The Dragoon Quadrangle, Cochise County, Arizona.Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1964.
- R. T. Pidgeon, James R. O'Neil, Leon T. Silver. "Uranium and Lead Isotopic Stability in a Metamict Zircon under Experimental Hydrothermal Conditions,Science,New Series, Vol. 154, No. 3756, pp. 1538-1540. (Dec. 23, 1966).
- Duke, Michael B., and Leon T. Silver. 1967. "Petrology of eucrites, howardites and mesosiderites,"Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta,Volume 31, Issue 10, October 1967, pp. 1637-1665.
- Silver, Leon T., "Uranium-Thorium-Lead Isotope Relations in Lunar Materials,"Science,New Series, Vol. 167, No. 3918, The Moon Issue, pp. 468–471. (Jan. 30, 1970).
- Silver, L.T., "Lead Isotopic Heterogeneity in Lunar Soil 10084,35 and Its Age Implications,"Transactions of the American Geophysical Union,Vol. 51, No. 4, pp. 348ff. (1970).
- Silver, L.T., and M. B. Duke, "U-Th-Pb Isotope Relations in Some Basaltic Achondrites,"Transactions of the American Geophysical Union,Vol. 52, No. 4, pp. 269ff. (1971).
- Silver, L.T. "U-Th-Pb Isotope Systems in Apollo-11 and Apollo-12 Regolithic Materials and a Possible Age for Copernicus Impact Event,"Transactions of the American Geophysical Union,Vol. 52, No. 7, pp. 534ff. (1971).
- Silver, L.T., "Regional Provinciality in the U-Th-Pb Isotope Systems in lunar Soils,"Transactions of the American Geophysical Union,Vol. 54, No. 4, pp. 349–349. (1973).
- Silver, L.T., and Anderson, T.H., 1974, "Possible left-lateral early to middle Mesozoic disruption of the south-western North American craton margin,"Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs,Vol. 6, No. 7, pp. 955–956.
- Silver, L.T., "Implications of Volatile Leads in Orange, Grey and Green Lunar Soils for an Earth-Like Moon,"Transactions of the American Geophysical Union,Vol. 55, No. 7, pp. 681–681. (1974).
- Silver, L.T., "Thorium-Uranium Fractionation as an Indicator of Petrogenetic Processes,"Transactions of the American Geophysical Union,Vo. 57, No. 4, pp. 353–351. (1976).
- Anderson, T.H., and Silver, L.T., "U-Pb isotope ages of granitic plutons near Cananea, Sonora,"Economic Geology and the Bulletin of the Society of Economic Geologists,Vol. 72, pp. 827–836. (1977).
- Silver, L.T., and T.O. Early. "Rubidium-Strontium Fractionation Domains in Peninsular Ranges Batholith and their Implications for Magmatic Arc Evolution,"Transactions of the American Geophysical Union,Vol. 58, No. 6, pp. 532–532. (1977).
- Silver, L.T. "Regional Uranium Anomaly in Precambrian Basement of Colorado Plateau,"Economic Geology,Vol. 72, No. 4, pp. 740–741. (1977).
- Anderson, T.H. and L.T. Silver, "The role of the Mojave-Sonora megashear in the tectonic evolution of northern Sonora,"The role of the Mojave-Sonora megashear in the tectonic evolution of northern Sonora.
- Silver, Leon T. "Problems of Pre-Mesozoic Continental Evolution," in B. Clark Burchfiel, Jack E. Oliver, and Leon T. Silver, Eds.,Continental Tectonics,National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences, 1980, Chapter 2: 26-30.
- Silver, Leon T., and Peter H. Schultz, eds.Geological Implications Of Impacts Of Large Asteroids and Comets On The Earth: Conference On Large Body Impacts And Terrestrial Evolution: Geological, Climatological, And Biological Implications.Boulder, CO: Geological Society of America, 1982.
- Silver, L. T., I.S. Williams and J.A. Woodhead, eds.Uranium In Granites From the Southwestern United States: Actinide Parent-Daughter Systems, Sites and Mobilization: Second Year Report.Grand Junction, CO: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Assistant Secretary for Resource Applications, Grand Junction Office. (1984).
- Silver, L. T., and B. W. Chappell. "The Peninsular Ranges Batholith: An Insight into the Evolution of the Cordilleran Batholiths of Southwestern North America."Transnational Royal Society of Edinburgh79 (1988): 105-121.
- Silver, L.T., and E. W. James. "Geologic Setting and Lithologic Column of the Cajon Pass Deep Drillhole,"Geophysical Research Letters,Vol. 15, No. 9, Supplement S, pp. 941–944. (August 1988).
- Silver, L.T., and E.W. James, "Lithologic Column of the Arkoma Drillhole and its Relation to the Cajon Pass Deep Drillhole,"Geophysical Research Letters,Vol. 15, No. 9, Supplement S, pp. 945–948. (August 1988).
- Silver, L.T., E.W. James, and B.W. Chappell. "Petrological and Geochemical Investigations at the Cajon Pass Deep Drillhole,"Geophysical Research Letters,Vol. 15, No. 9, Supplement S, pp. 961–964. (August 1988).
- Silver, L. T. "Daughter-parent Isotope Systematics in U-Th-bearing Igneous Accessory Mineral Assemblages as Potential Indices of Metamorphic History: A Discussion of the Concept."The Geochemical Society, Special Publication 3(1991): 391-407.
- Woodhead, J. A., G. R. Rossman, and L. T. Silver. "The Metamictization of Zircon: Radiation Dose-Dependent Structural Characteristics."Mineralogical Society of America76 (1991): 74-82.
- Li, Y.-G., T. L. Henyey, and L. T. Silver. "Aspects of the Crustal Structure of the Western Mojave Desert, California, From Seismic Reflection and Gravity Data."Journal of Geologic Research,97, B6 (1992): 8805-8816.
- Pratson, E.L., R.N. Anderson, R.E. Dove, M.Lyle, L.T. Silver, E.W. James and B.W. Chappell. "Geochemical Logging in the Cajon Pass Drillhole and its Application to a New Oxide, Igneous Rock Classification Scheme."Journal of Geologic Research,97 B4 (1992): 5167-5180.
- Manduca, C.A., L.T. Silver, and H.P. Taylor. "87Sr/86Sr and 18O/16O Isotopic Systematics and Geochemistry of Granitoid Plutons Across a Steeply Dipping Boundary Between Contrasting Lithologic Blocks in Western Idaho."Contributions in Mineralogical Petrology,109 (1992): 355-372.
- Kanamori, H. (Hiroo), Robert W. Clayton, and Leon T. Silver.Earthquake and Seismicity Research Using SCARLET And CEDAR: Final Technical Report, 1 December 1990 - 30 November 1992.Pasadena, CA: Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 1993.
- Manduca, C.A., M.A. Kunz, and L.T. Silver, "Emplacement and deformation history of the western margin of the Idaho batholith,Geol. Soc. Amer. Bull.,105 (1993), 749-765.
- Silver, L.T. "Observations on the Extended Tectonic History of the Southern Sierra Nevada."Geological Society of America Joint Cordilleran and Rocky Mountain Section Meeting,Reno, Nevada. Geological Society of America. (1993).
- Nourse, Jonathan A., Thomas H. Anderson, and Leon T. Silver, "Tertiary metamorphic core complexes in Sonora, northwestern Mexico,"Tectonics,Vol. 13, No. 5 (Oct. 1994), pp. 1161–1182.
- Huang, W.S., L.T. Silver, and H. Kanamori. "Evidence for possible horizontal faulting in southern California from earthquake mechanisms,Geology,Vol. 24, No. 2 (February 1996), pp. 123-126.
- Farley, K.A., R.A. Wolf, and L.T. Silver. "The effects of long Alpha -stopping distances on (U-Th)/He ages,"Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta,Vol. 60, No. 21 (November 1996), pp. 4223–4229.
- Wolf, R.A, K.A. Farley, and L.T. Silver. "Helium diffusion and low-temperature thermochronometry of apatite,"Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta,Vol. 60, No. 21 (November 1996), pp. 4231–4240.
- Wolf, R.A., Farley, K.A., and Silver, L.T. "Assessment of (U-Th)/He thermochronometry: The low-temperature history of the San Jacinto mountains, California,"Geology,Vol. 25, No. 1 (January 1997), pp. 65–68.
- Anderson, Thomas H., José Luis Rodríguez-Castañeda, and Leon T. Silver, "Jurassic rocks in Sonora, Mexico: Relations to the Mojave-Sonora megashear and its inferred northwestward extension,"Geological Society of America Special Papers,2005, 393, pp. 51–95.
- Anderson, T.H., and L.T. Silver, 2005, "The Mojave-Sonora megashear—field and analytical studies leading to the conception and evolution of the hypothesis," in Anderson, T.H., Ed.,The Mojave-Sonora Megashear Hypothesis: Development, Assessment, and Alternatives: Geological Society of America Special Paper,393, pp. 1–50.
External links
[edit]- Interview with Leon Silver for NOVA series: To the MoonWGBH Educational Foundation, raw footage, 1998
- Edited Oral History Transcript, NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project, Leon T. Silver interviewed by Carol Butler, Houston, Texas – 5 May 2002:full textandPDF.
- CaltechOralHistories, "Interview with Leon T. Silver,"deposited 27 May 2008 (last updated 26 December 2012). Persistent URL:http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Silver_L.
- Lee Dye, "Nature Moved Mountains to Carve California: Geology: Twisting and tearing of Earth's crust over millions of years created a land of extraordinary beauty,"Los Angeles Times,January 6, 1993.(Extended discussion of Silver's research)
- Leon T. Silver 70th Birthday Symposium and Celebration: April 9, 10, and 11, 1995.Permalink:http://classify.oclc.org/classify2/ClassifyDemo?swid=32634294OCLC Work Id: 36942615.
- "Leon T." Lee "Silver (1925-2022).Obituary on Caltech Website, February 2, 2022.
References
[edit]- ^abCohen, pp. ii-iii
- ^Ph.D. thesis: Leon Theodore Silver,The structure and petrology of the Johnny Lyon Hills area, Cochise County, Arizona:California Institute of Technology, Pasadena,1955.
- ^ab"Leon T. Silver".Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences.Pasadena: California Institute of Technology. 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-07-17.Retrieved2011-09-09.
- ^abcdDrexler (1999)
- ^Butler (2002)
- ^Membership of Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee
- ^SeeAmerica at the threshold: report of the Synthesis Group on America's space exploration initiative,Thomas P Stafford, Washington, D.C.: Supt. of Docs., U.S.G.P.O. [1991].ISBN978-0160317651.
- ^"Final Report to the President: Advisory Committee on the Redesign of the Space Station,"June 10, 1993.
- ^Ashburn, Nolan (December 1998)."Memorial to Caswell Silver 1916–1988"(PDF).Geological Society of America Memorials.29.
- ^Ashcraft, Ellen K. (2002)."Caswell Silver Foundation is Sterling".Developments(Spring 2002). Albuquerque: University of New Mexico. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-09-30.Retrieved2011-09-09.
- ^"Leon T." Lee "Silver (1925–2022)".Caltech.2 February 2022.Retrieved2 February2022.
- ^"Leon Silver Receives NASA Medal".The California Tech.LXXIII(10). Pasadena: California Institute of Technology. 1971-12-02.
- ^List of Fellows of MSAArchived2011-06-16 at theWayback Machine
- ^Eckel, Edwin, 1982, GSA Memoir 155, The Geological Society of America — Life History of a Learned Society: Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America Memoir 155, 168 p.,ISBN0-8137-1155-X.
Bibliography
[edit]- Bain, Harry; Jacquelyn Hershey (1971)."Geology on the Moon"(PDF).Engineering and Science.35(2). Pasadena: California Institute of Technology: 4–13.ISSN0013-7812.Retrieved2011-09-09.
- Butler, Carol (5 May 2002)."Leon T. Silver Interview".JSC Oral History Project.Houston, Texas:NASA.Archivedfrom the original on 28 April 2021.Retrieved4 July2009.
- Chaikin, Andrew (1994).A Man On The Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts.Viking.ISBN0-670-81446-6.
- Cohen, Shirley K. (2000)."Leon T. Silver Interview: Pasadena, California, December 12 and 20, 1994; January 9, 16, and 25, 1995; and February 23, 2000".Oral History Project.Pasadena: California Institute of Technology Archives.Retrieved2009-07-04.
- Drexler, Marcy (1999)."A Little Science on the Moon".Caltech News.33(3). Pasadena: California Institute of Technology. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-10-17.Retrieved2011-09-09.
- Scott, David,andAlexei Leonov.Two Sides of the Moon: The Story of the Cold War Space Race.New York: St. Martin's, 2006. (ISBN0312308663)
- Schaber, Gerald G. (2005)."The U.S. Geological Survey, Branch of Astrogeology—A Chronology of Activities from Conception through the End of Project Apollo (1960-1973)".Open File Report.Reston, Virginia:United States Geological Survey.Retrieved2011-09-09.
- Ulivi, Paolo; David Michael Harland (2004).Lunar Exploration: Human Pioneers and Robotic Surveyors.New York: Springer-Verlag.ISBN1-85233-746-X.
- 1925 births
- 2022 deaths
- California Institute of Technology alumni
- California Institute of Technology faculty
- Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
- People from Monticello, New York
- Scientists from Pasadena, California
- People from Waterbury, Connecticut
- United States Geological Survey personnel
- University of Colorado alumni
- University of New Mexico alumni
- United States Navy personnel of World War II
- United States Navy officers
- American people of Polish-Jewish descent
- American people of Russian-Jewish descent
- Scientists from New York (state)
- Presidents of the Geological Society of America
- Military personnel from California
- Military personnel from New York (state)
- 20th-century American geologists