Thomas Neil Davis (February 1, 1932 – December 10, 2016) was a professor of

geophysics 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'' so ...

from the

University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-grant research university in College, Alaska, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was established in 1917 and opened for c ...

and the author of several books. Born in

Greeley, Colorado Greeley is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, Weld County, Colorado, ...

, Davis received his B.S in geophysics from

in 1955, an M.S. in geophysics from

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

in 1957, and a Ph.D. in geophysics from University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1961. Davis spent most of his working career at the Geophysical Institute, pioneering the use of all-sky and low-level light

camera A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with a ...

s for the study of the

aurora borealis An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

and conducting rocket studies of the aurora. With Masahisa Sugiura (while both were at

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

Goddard Space Flight Center) he introduced the AE (auroral electrojet) index now commonly used as a measure of solar-terrestrial interaction. A student of

Beno Gutenberg Beno Gutenberg (; June 4, 1889 – January 25, 1960) was a German-American seismologist who made several important contributions to the science. He was a colleague and mentor of Charles Francis Richter at the California Institute of Technolog ...

and

Charles Richter Charles Francis Richter (; April 26, 1900 – September 30, 1985) was an American seismologist and physicist. Richter is most famous as the creator of the Richter magnitude scale, which, until the development of the moment magnitude scale in 19 ...

at Caltech, he also has done work in observational

seismology Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...

Books and publications

Fiction

* 2004. The Great Alaska Zingwater Caper. McRoy & Blackburn, Publishers. * 1997. Battling Against Success. McRoy & Blackburn, Publishers. * 1994. Caught in the Sluice. McRoy & Blackburn, Publishers.

Nonfiction

* 2011. The Painting on the Window Blind: the story of an unknown artist and a daring Civil War spy. IUniverse. * 2008. Mired in the Health Care Morass: An Alaskan Takes on America's Dysfunctional Medical System for his Uninsured Daughter. Alaska-Yukon Press and Ester Republic Press. * 2006. Rockets Over Alaska: The Genesis of Poker Flat. Alaska-Yukon Press. * 2001. Permafrost. A guide to frozen ground in transition.

University of Alaska Press The University Press of Colorado is a nonprofit publisher supported partly by Adams State College, Adams State University, Colorado State University, Fort Lewis College, Metropolitan State University of Denver, the University of Colorado at Boulde ...

. * 1993. The College Hill Chronicles. How the University of Alaska Came of Age. University of Alaska Foundation. * 1992. The Aurora Watcher's Handbook. University of Alaska Press. * 1984. ENERGY/ALASKA. University of Alaska Press. * 1982. Alaska Science Nuggets. University of Alaska Press.

Columns

* 2007–2011. "Dose of Reality": monthly column appearing in '' The Ester Republic''. * 1976–1982. "Alaska Science Nuggets": weekly science column appearing in the ''

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner The '' Fairbanks Daily News-Miner'' is a morning daily newspaper serving the city of Fairbanks, Alaska, the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the Denali Borough, and the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the farthest north ...

''.

References

Sources

Neil Davis' webpage

health issues blog

University of Alaska Stories Behind the Names

Neil Davis helped propel UAF with unlikely homemade rocket range
1932 births 2016 deaths American geophysicists California Institute of Technology alumni Writers from Fairbanks, Alaska People from Greeley, Colorado People from North Pole, Alaska University of Alaska Fairbanks alumni University of Alaska Fairbanks faculty Writers from Colorado {{US-scientist-stub