Gerald Wasserburg

1927 - 2016

Wasserburg -- Gerald Wasserburg, a world-famous geophysicist and long-time Florence resident died Monday, June 13 at his Florence home. He was 89 years old.

Wasserburg was The John D. MacArthur Professor of Geology and Geophysics Emeritus at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. He was a major figure in the Apollo space program and was internationally respected for his work in the fields of isotope geochemistry, cosmochemistry, meteoritics and astrophysics.

Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Wasserburg joined the U.S. Army in 1944 and was a private in the 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Division, that liberated Czechoslovakia from the Nazis.

After earning his PhD degree from the University of Chicago in 1954 he joined the faculty at Caltech as an assistant professor of geology. He became an associate professor in 1959, professor of geology and geophysics in 1963, and MacArthur Professor in 1982. He and his wife, Naomi, began dividing their time between Pasadena and Florence in the late 1980's and they became full-time residents of Florence soon after. Although he retired in 2001, he continued producing important papers with international teams from his lakeside house in Florence. Indeed, a paper on which he was the senior author was about to be published at the time of his death.

Wasserburg fought passionately to keep ill-conceived developments from destroying the natural beauty around Dunes City. In 2007 the Woahink Lake Association honored him with its "Outstanding Citizen Award" for his tireless efforts to protect the water quality of Woahink Lake.

He is survived by his wife, Naomi, a retired biology teacher, two sons, and four grandchildren. A public celebration of his life will be arranged in Florence in the near future.