People Briefs

Bradford H. Hager, professor of geophysics in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's department of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences, has been named the school's Cecil and Ida Green Professor in Earth Sciences. Hager is best known for his research on the physics of geologic processes. He has focused his work on applying geophysical observations and numerical modeling to the study of mantle convection, the coupling of mantle convection to crustal deformation, and precision geodesy. From 1980 until he came to MIT, he was a professor of geophysics at the California Institute of Technology. Hager earned his B.A. in physics from Amherst College (1972) and his A.M. in geology (1976) and his Ph.D. in geophysics, both from Harvard University. The chair was established by MIT alumnus Cecil Green, a founder of Texas Instruments Inc. and a member of MIT's class of 1923, and his wife, Ida. Lew Allen, vice president of the California Institute of Technology and director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, has announced his retirement, to be effective September 30. Allen has held his positions since October 1982. Last month, Allen was presented the 1990 Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy by Vice President Dan Quayle at a ceremony at the White House. The trophy, named after the U.S. physicist who invented the rocket engine, recognized Allen's contributions to the nation's advancement in space. While at JPL, Allen has overseen the successful completion of both the Infrared Astronomical Satellite mission in 1982-83 and the Voyager 2 encounters with Uranus in 1986 and Neptune last summer. Two successful launches in this past year include the Magellan to Venus and the Galileo to Jupiter. Before coming to JPL, Allen held the rank of general and Air Force chief of staff. He graduated from the U.S. military academy at West Point in 1946. From there he went to the University of Illinois, where he earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in physics after completing an experimental thesis on high-energy photonuclear reactions. A JPL director search committee has been established. The committee will be chaired by Caltech trustee Robert Anderson, chairman of Rockwell International. Robert S. Langer, professor of chemical engineering at MIT, has been named to the institute's Germeshausen Professorship. The chair was established by Kenneth J. Germeshausen, a member of the MIT class of 1931. Langer, also a member of the Whitaker College of Health Sciences and Technology and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, is noted for developing controlled drug-release systems using both nondegradable and biodegradable polymers. Most recently, he has conducted research involving a biodegradable polymer carrier for the treatment of brain cancer. The system, currently undergoing clinical trials at hospitals in the U.S. and Canada, permits surgeons to implant a capsule carrying an anticancer drug in the skull of a brain-cancer victim. Langer has received many awards, including the American Chemical Society's Creative Polymer Chemistry Award and the Clemson Award for Basic Research from the Society for Biomaterials. Langer earned his B.S. from Cornell University in 1970 and his Sc.D. in chemical engineering from MIT in 1974. Marino Martinez-Carrion, professor of biochemistry and dean of the University of Missouri, Kansas City, School of Basic Life Sciences, has been elected vice chairman of the Pan American Association of Biochemical Societies (PAABS). Martinez-Carrion previously was secretary general and treasurer of the association. The 20-year-old association coordinates programs of scientific collaboration among biochemical societies in the Western Hemisphere, including 15,000 members from two biochemical societies in the U.S. - the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the American Chemical Society's Division of Biological Chemistry. In addition, PAABS has member organizations from Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. PAABS promotes communication among its members about advanced education and research in biochemistry and molecular biology. Martinez-Carrion earned his B.A. (1959), M.A. (1961), and his Ph.D. in biochemistry (1964) from Caltech. Bruce Partridge, professor of astronomy at Haverford College, Haverford, Pa., has been appointed provost of the private liberal arts college. Partridge's research has focused on studies of light from the early years of the universe, galaxy formation, and cosmology. Partridge has won numerous awards, including a Fulbright Scholarship to Norway in 1979 and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1988. He will assume the provost's post on July 1. He earned his A.B. in 1962 from Princeton University and his Ph.D. from Oxford University in England in 1965. He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford from 1962-65.

People Briefs

The Scientist Staff

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