Bruce William Hapke (born February 17, 1931) is a noted American

planetary scientist Planetary science (or more rarely, planetology) is the scientific study of planets (including Earth), celestial bodies (such as moons, asteroids, comets) and planetary systems (in particular those of the Solar System) and the processes of their ...

, currently a professor emeritus at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

and a specialist in bidirectional reflectance spectroscopy.

Career

Born in Racine, Wisconsin, Hapke earned a B.S. in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

in 1953. He was awarded his Ph.D. in

engineering physics Engineering physics, or engineering science, refers to the study of the combined disciplines of physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and engineering, particularly computer, nuclear, electrical, electronic, aerospace, materials or mechanical en ...

from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

in 1962. Hapke was a research associate at the Center for Radiophysics and Space Research at Cornell University from 1960-1967. In 1967, he became a professor in the Department of Geology and Planetary Science at the

. In the course of his long and distinguished career, Hapke has taken part in Mariner 10,

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

and

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

missions. He is a past chairman of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society. Dr. Hapke is currently a professor emeritus at the

Awards and honors

*Elected a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society in 2020. * Hapkeite, a lunar mineral, was named in his honor *Asteroid 3549 Hapke *Awarded the Kuiper Prize in 2001, the most distinguished award given by the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences *Fellow of the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's a ...

References

1931 births Living people Cornell University College of Engineering alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni University of Pittsburgh faculty Planetary scientists American geologists Fellows of the American Geophysical Union Fellows of the American Astronomical Society {{US-scientist-stub