Luna Bergere Leopold (October 8, 1915 – February 23, 2006) was a leading

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

geomorphologist Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or n ...

and hydrologist, and son of

Aldo Leopold Aldo Leopold (January 11, 1887 – April 21, 1948) was an American writer, philosopher, naturalist, scientist, ecologist, forester, conservationist, and environmentalist. He was a professor at the University of Wisconsin and is best known for his ...

. He received a B.S. in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

from the

University of Wisconsin 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 States, t ...

in 1936; an M.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 ...

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

in 1944; and a Ph.D. in

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1950. Leopold is widely known in his primary field for his work in

fluvial In geography and geology, fluvial processes are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them. When the stream or rivers are associated with glaciers, ice sheets, or ice caps, the term glaciofluvial or fluviog ...

geomorphology and for the classic book, ''Fluvial Processes in Geomorphology'', that he wrote with Gordon Wolman and John Miller. Leopold suggested that a new philosophy of

water management Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slightl ...

is needed, one based on geologic, geographic, and climatic factors as well as traditional economic, social, and political factors. He argued that the management of water resources cannot be successful as long as it is naïvely perceived from an economic and political standpoint, as it is in the

status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

Career

From 1937 to 1940, Leopold worked as an engineer for the U.S. Soil Conservation Service in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. In 1940, he enlisted and was a part of the U.S. Army Weather Service and the

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. He was in the Army until 1946 and he rose from the rank of Private to Captain. From 1946 to 1950, Leopold served as the Chief Meteorologist of the

Pineapple Research Institute The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centurie ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. In 1950, he joined the

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

. He worked for the

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

until 1972 serving as Hydraulic Engineer (1950–56), Chief Hydrologist (1956–66), and Senior Research Hydrologist (1966–72). In 1972, Leopold joined the faculty of the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

as a professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics and Department of Landscape Architecture. He retired in 1986 and continued as a Professor Emeritus until his death in 2006.

Awards and honors

*1958 - Recipient of the first

Kirk Bryan Award The Kirk Bryan Award is the annual award of the Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology Division of the Geological Society of America. It is named after Kirk Bryan (geologist), Kirk Bryan a pioneer in geomorphology of arid regions. The award was esta ...

of the

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitchco ...

(with Thomas J. Maddock, Jr.) *1967 - Elected to the United States

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

*1968 - Recipient of the Cullum Geographical Medal of the American Geographical Society *1971 - Elected to 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, and ...

*1972 - President of The Geological Society of America *1972 - Elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

*1973 - Recipient of the

G. K. Warren Prize The G. K. Warren Prize is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for noteworthy and distinguished accomplishment in fluviatile geology and closely related aspects of the geological sciences." Named in honor of Gouverneur Kemble Warren, ...

from the

. *1980 - Honorary Doctorate from the

*1981 - Honorary Doctorate from the University of St. Andrews,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

*1991 - Awarded the National Medal of Science. *1992 - Awarded the Robert E. Horton Medal *1994 - Awarded the Penrose Medal *1994 - Awarded the Joan Hodges Queneau Palladium Medal *2006 - Awarded The Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth Science

Books by Luna Leopold

*Leopold, Luna B. (1966). ''Water'' (Series: LIFE Science Library), Time Incorp, ISBN B000GQO9SM. *Leopold, Aldo and Leopold, Luna B. (editor) (1972, reprint). ''Round River''. Oxford University Press, USA. . *Leopold, Luna B. (1974). ''Water: A Primer''. W H Freeman & Co. . * Dunne, Thomas and Luna B. Leopold (1978). ''Water in Environmental Planning''. W. H. Freeman & Co. . *Leopold, Luna B. (1966, reprinted 1981). ''Water'', Life Science Library, Time Life Education. . *Leopold, Luna B.; Wolman, M. Gordon; and Miller, John P. (1995). ''Fluvial Processes in Geomorphology''. Dover Publications. . *Leopold, Luna B. (1997). ''Water, Rivers and Creeks''. University Science Books. . *Leopold, Luna B. (2006, reprint). ''A View of the River''. Harvard University Press; New Ed edition. .

References

Other sources

The San Francisco Chronicle, 3/3/2006The Virtual Luna Leopold ProjectAssociation of Engineering Societies website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leopold, Luna Bergere 1915 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American geologists American hydrologists American people of German descent American geomorphologists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences National Medal of Science laureates Penrose Medal winners People from Albuquerque, New Mexico Process geomorphologists Recipients of the Cullum Geographical Medal Sedimentologists United States Geological Survey personnel University of California, Berkeley faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Engineering alumni Harvard University alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni Presidents of the Geological Society of America Members of the American Philosophical Society