Paul D. Lowman (September 21, 1931 – September 29, 2011) was a

geophysicist Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

in the Geodynamics Branch of the Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics at the

Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC empl ...

(GSFC) in

Greenbelt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which h ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Throughout his long career, he had worked in the fields of

comparative planetology Comparative planetary science or comparative planetology is a branch of space science and planetary science in which different natural processes and systems are studied by their effects and phenomena on and between multiple bodies. The planetary ...

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 ...

neotectonics Neotectonics, a subdiscipline of tectonics, is the study of the motions and deformations of Earth's crust (geological and geomorphological processes) that are current or recent in geologic time. The term may also refer to the motions/deformations i ...

, and

remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth ...

Education

Lowman earned his B.S. degree 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

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sys ...

in 1963.

Career

Lowman was one of the original scientists at the Goddard Space Flight Center. He spent several years with the

United States Army Ordnance Corps The United States Army Ordnance Corps, formerly the United States Army Ordnance Department, is a sustainment branch of the United States Army, headquartered at Fort Lee, Virginia. The broad mission of the Ordnance Corps is to supply Army comb ...

, and then became a field assistant with the

United States 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, ...

. In 1959, he became “the first geologist hired by NASA.” At Goddard, he worked with John A. O'Keefe on the origin of

tektite Tektites (from grc, τηκτός , meaning 'molten') are gravel-sized bodies composed of black, green, brown or grey natural glass formed from terrestrial debris ejected during meteorite impacts. The term was coined by Austrian geologist Franz ...

s and pre-Apollo lunar geology. Lowman helped plan the early

Apollo missions The Apollo program was a United States human spaceflight program carried out from 1961 to 1972 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which landed the first astronauts on the Moon. The program used the Saturn IB and Saturn ...

and later became involved in analyzing lunar samples and interpreting data from the

Apollo 15 Apollo 15 (July 26August 7, 1971) was the ninth crewed mission in the United States' Apollo program and the fourth to Moon landing, land on the Moon. It was the first List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types, J mission, with a ...

and

Apollo 16 Apollo 16 (April 1627, 1972) was the tenth crewed mission in the United States Apollo space program, administered by NASA, and the fifth and penultimate to land on the Moon. It was the second of Apollo's " J missions", with an extended sta ...

missions. He did early “comparative planetology,” researching what new information from the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

and

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

could tell us about

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

. He is considered to be the father of Earth orbital photography which led to multispectral imaging of Earth and

Landsat The Landsat program is the longest-running enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery of Earth. It is a joint NASA / USGS program. On 23 July 1972, the Earth Resources Technology Satellite was launched. This was eventually renamed to Lan ...

satellite imagery. Lowman's field work included research on ancient exposed rocks in Scotland and the Sudbury Crater in Ontario, Canada. In addition to his scientific achievements, he served in an educational capacity as a faculty member and mentor at a number of universities and programs throughout his long career.

Awards and honors

Lowman received a number of awards and honors during his career, including NASA's Silver Snoopy Award in 1978, 40 Years of Federal Service Award in 1997, GSFC's Exceptional Achievement Award in 2003, and a

NASA Exceptional Service Medal The NASA Exceptional Service Medal is an award granted to U.S. government employees for significant sustained performance characterized by unusual initiative or creative ability that clearly demonstrates substantial improvement in engineering, ae ...

in 2003.

Publications

Lowman wrote a number of books and NASA documents including the following titles: *''Lunar Panorama: A Photographic Guide to the Geology of the Moon'' *''Geologic Applications of Orbital Photography'' *''The Geologic Evolution of the Moon'' *''Exploring Space, Exploring Earth: New Understanding of the Earth from Space Research'' *''Space Panorama'', 1.1.1968 - Earth Photographs taken by Astronauts of Mercury and Gemini missions

References

External links

Paul Lowman: NASA’s 76-Year-Old Maverick
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowman, Paul D. 1931 births 2011 deaths Planetary scientists American geologists Rutgers University alumni University of Colorado Boulder alumni