Richard Mansergh Thorne

1942 - 2019

July 25, 1942 - July 12, 2019 Richard Mansergh Thorne was born during an air raid in Birmingham, England, on July 25, 1942 to Robert George Thorne and Dorothy Goodchild Thorne. Robert was working as an aeronautical engineer at the Royal Aircraft Establishment. After the war, the family moved to Farnborough, Hampshire, southwest of London, where they eventually settled into their home ("Dunoon") on Minley Road. Growing up in post-war years, Richard remembered enjoying his first taste of "sweets" at ten years old, when a visiting Australian pilot gave him a chocolate bar and chewing gum. About his grammar school days, he said the only class he really enjoyed was math, and he quickly began to understand more than the teachers, so he spent much of his time playing sports. He received an Honors Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematical Physics from Birmingham University, England in 1963 and a Ph.D. in Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1968, based on his research into the distribution of interstellar gas in the galaxy. He joined the Meteorology Faculty at UCLA in 1968, and in 2000 he was promoted to Distinguished Professor. He was elected as a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 2000. He was a consultant to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Aerospace Corporation and the Southwest Research Institute and was a member of the Galileo Energetic Particle Detector team. Until his passing, he was a co-investigator and chair of the Radiation Working Group on the NASA's JUNO mission to Jupiter and a co-investigator and theory lead on the Radiation Belt Storm Probes-ECT (energetic particles) and EMFISIS (waves) teams. Richard made numerous pioneering and significant research contributions to the fundamental understanding of wave-particle interactions in the field of space plasma physics. His bibliography lists over 400 research papers. He provided explanations for the origin of many different classes of plasma waves found in the highly tenuous solar system plasmas and led the field in demonstrating their importance. For example, he developed a quantitative theoretical formalism to investigate wave-particle scattering in the radiation belts and employed it to explain the loss of particles and concomitant energy input to planetary upper atmospheres. His work provided quantitative modeling of the dynamics of the Earth's radiation belts, the coupling processes between the magnetosphere and upper atmosphere of planets including a quantitative assessment of precipitation-induced ionization, the effect of energetic electron precipitation on stratospheric ozone, and theories for auroral emissions on the Earth and Jupiter. In addition to his outstanding research, Richard will be remembered for his incredible mentorship that has meant so much to so many. He was also a terrific colleague and truly a friend to many from all over the world. He will be remembered not only as a remarkable scientist, but also a bon vivant in the true sense of the term. In his early days, he was often seen dancing on restaurant tabletops in his bell bottom pants and paisley shirt with a drink in his hand. He lived life to the fullest. Richard loved everything in nature. He cultivated beautiful English gardens at his two homes in Idaho, as he had at his house in Bel Air. He was an experienced backpacker, hiking throughout the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and Costa Rica. He flew and skied into the wilderness areas of Idaho for week-long hiking excursions. Although a very successful "Rocket Man," Richard was a humble, charming and fun man. He is survived by his wife, Monica; brother, Michael; sons, Peter, Michael and Thomas; and grandchildren, Malia, John and Shaelyn. Richard is also survived by loving sisters- and brothers-in-law, with whom he had close relationships, and many nieces and nephews. Richard passed away at his home in Boise, Idaho. Donations in his name can be made to https://stlukeshealthfdn.thankyou4caring.org/. Designate Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI) Patient Care.