Clark R. Chapman is a senior scientist and astronomer at the Southwest Research Institute's Boulder, Colorado, Department of Space Studies His research generally focuses on astronomy including meteorology and comets. He earned an undergraduate degree in astronomy from Harvard, Master's Degree in Meteorology from M.I.T., and PhD in Planetary Science from M.I.T. (1972). He is best known for his work on potentially hazardous asteroids and was among the first scientists to bring attention to asteroids and comets that are potentially hazardous to Earth. co-founder and on the Board of Directors of B612 Dr. Chapman has served extensively on the IAU's commission for the study of comets and minor planets, serving as member, vice president and president. He currently is a member of the division focused on planetary systems and

astrobiology Astrobiology, and the related field of exobiology, is an interdisciplinary scientific field that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology is the multidisciplinary field that investig ...

. Chapman also worked on the science teams of the MESSENGER mission to Mercury,

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

and Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous mission. In addition to 3 books on the inner planets, Chapman often contributes to

Sky and Telescope ''Sky & Telescope'' (''S&T'') is a monthly American magazine covering all aspects of amateur astronomy, including the following: *current events in astronomy and space exploration; *events in the amateur astronomy community; *reviews of astronomi ...

Astronomy Magazine ''Astronomy'' is a monthly American magazine about astronomy. Targeting amateur astronomers, it contains columns on sky viewing, reader-submitted astrophotographs, and articles on astronomy and astrophysics for general readers. History ''As ...

The New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publishe ...

and

The Planetary Report ''The Planetary Report'' is a quarterly magazine published by the Planetary Society, featuring articles and photos of Solar System exploration, planetary missions, spacefaring nations, intrepid explorers, planetary science controversies and the l ...

as well as articles on planetary subjects in The New Encyclopedia Britannica and The Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. He also was the first editor of the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.

Awards

1999 Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication in Planetary Science 2000 Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Clark 1945 births Living people American astronomers Harvard College alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni Planetary scientists