- H. Jay Melosh
Dr. H. Jay Melosh (born
June 23 , 1947) is an Americangeophysicist , renowned as an expert onimpact crater ing. He earned a degree in physics fromPrinceton University and a doctoral degree in physics and geology fromCaltech in 1972. Dr. Melosh's research interests includeimpact craters ,planetary tectonics , and the physics ofearthquakes andlandslides . His recent research includes studies of the giant impact origin of the moon, the K/T impact that extinguished thedinosaur s and the ejection of rocks from their parent bodies. He is also active in astrobiological studies that relate chiefly to the exchange ofmicroorganisms between the terrestrial planets (a process known aspanspermia , or in his terms transpermia [http://www1.tpgi.com.au/users/tps-seti/swaprock.html] ). In 1989,Oxford University Press published his book "Impact Cratering: A Geologic Process" (ISBN 0-19-510463-3)Dr. Melosh is a member of the
American Geophysical Union ,Geological Society of America ,Meteoritical Society ,American Astronomical Society (Division of Planetary Sciences) and theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science . He is the recipient of theBarringer Medal of theMeteoritical Society for his work on the physics of impact and theG. K. Gilbert Award of theGeological Society of America . He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2003. [http://uanews.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/UANews.woa/wa/MainStoryDetails?ArticleID=7267]External links
* [http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/faculty/melosh.html Homepage of Dr. H. Jay Melosh]
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