George Whipple Clark (1928-2023) was an American
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...
and
professor emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
. When he retired, M.I.T. described him as "a central figure in the development of high-energy
astrophysics, particularly in the design, analysis, and interpretation of experiments for the study of high-energy cosmic ray particles and the celestial sources of
gamma ray
A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ or \gamma), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically ...
s and
X-ray
An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...
s."
["George Clark Retires" "MIT Physics Department Newsletter", Spring 1999.]
Biography
He was born in Harvey, Ill. on August 31, 1928, the son of the late Robert Keep Clark and Margaret Whipple Clark, and nephew of legendary pancreatic surgeon, Allen O. Whipple.
Clark received a bachelor's degree from Harvard in 1949 and a Ph.D. from M.I.T. in 1952.
He was a member of the M.I.T. Physics faculty for 44 years, from his appointment as Instructor in 1952, Assistant Professor in 1954, Professor in 1965, and in 1985 Breene M. Kerr Professor of Physics, until he retired in 1996. From then until 1998, he held a term appointment as Professor. He is currently continuing his research at the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research.
In the 1950s Clark worked with Bruno Rossi and other collaborators on several large cosmic ray air shower experiments that used the novel methods of density sampling and fast timing to measure the energy spectrum of the primary cosmic rays to 1 billion billion (10^18) electron volts and to determine the distribution of their celestial arrival directions.
In 1962 he was awarded
Fulbright and
Guggenheim Fellowships.
In 1991, he received the M.I.T. School of Science Teaching Prize for his work over many years as the faculty member in charge of Physics 8.13-14 (Experimental Physics).
He received the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Award for his work with
Claude R. Canizares on the Focal Plane Crystal Spectrometer experiment on the
Einstein X-Ray Observatory. He was a principal scientist for satellite experiments that resulted in the discovery of high-energy gamma rays from galactic and extra-galactic sources. His pioneering work in the use of balloon-borne instrumentation for observing celestial X-ray sources discovered high energy X-rays from the Crab Nebula. Clark was the Principal Investigator for the MIT X-Ray Observatory on the Third Small Astronomy Satellite. He continues his work with observations from the
Chandra X-ray Observatory
The Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO), previously known as the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), is a Flagship-class space telescope launched aboard the during STS-93 by NASA on July 23, 1999. Chandra is sensitive to X-ray sources 1 ...
.
Clark was a member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
and the
National Academy of Sciences.
Clark died from pancreatic cancer on April 6, 2023 in Boston. He was 94.
References
External links
Oral History interview transcript with George W. Clark on 15 July 1976, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, George W.
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
American astronomers
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Harvard University alumni
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science faculty
Fulbright alumni