Paul Werner Gast (September 11, 1930 – May 16, 1973) was an American

geochemist Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the e ...

and

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

. He was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to German immigrants and attended

Wheaton College, Illinois Wheaton College is a Private college, private Evangelical, Evangelical Christian Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois. It was founded by evangelical abolitionists in 1860. Wheaton College was a ...

, whence he graduated in 1952. He earned a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1957. After graduation, he taught at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

until 1965 when he became professor of geology at Columbia. In 1969 Paul Gast assumed leadership of the geo-science management of the Manned Spacecraft Center in preparation for Apollo mission sample return 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 ...

. He served as chief scientist of the Apollo Lunar Science Staff. He was one of the science consultant group known unofficially as the "

Four Horsemen The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Christian scriptures, first appearing in the Book of Revelation, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos. Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God's right hand tha ...

," along with Jim Arnold, Bob Walker and Gerry Wasserburg. He died at the age of 43, being survived by his wife, Joyce Rinehart, and two sons and a daughter. During his career he pioneered the study of rare earth elements in examining the crust, mantle, and interior of the planet. He led the development of the use of rubidium-strontium and uranium-lead

radiometric dating Radiometric dating, radioactive dating or radioisotope dating is a technique which is used to date materials such as rocks or carbon, in which trace radioactive impurities were selectively incorporated when they were formed. The method compares ...

methods for rocks, particularly for samples returned from the Moon. His examinations of trace elements resulted in new understanding of how volcanic fluids originate.

Awards and honors

* Geochemistry Fellow of the Geochemical Society. * V. M. Goldschmidt Award of the Geochemical Society, 1972. * James Furman Kemp medal, 1973. * Space Science Award, 1973. * Geochemical society named their Paul W. Gast Lecture Series after him. * The publication "Trace Elements in Igneous Petrology" was published in his memory. * Dorsum Gast, a wrinkle ridge on the

, is named after him.

Works

* * * * Gast, P. W., "Isotopic Geochemistry", Columbia University. He was also co-author of multiple papers on Geology.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gast, Paul Werner 1930 births 1991 deaths American geochemists Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Rare earth scientists Columbia University faculty Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Recipients of the V. M. Goldschmidt Award