Lyman Spitzer, Jr. (1914–1997)

Abstract

ABSTRACTLyman Spitzer, Jr., the Bruce Medalist of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for 1973, died on 1997 March 31. An intrepid leader, he founded the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and was Principal Investigator on NASA's Copernicus Orbiting Astronomical Observatory. He established the theoretical foundations for the modern study of the interstellar medium and contributed to the theory of evolution of stellar clusters. His 1955 monograph, The Physics of Fully Ionized Gases (2d ed., 1962), his Diffuse Matter in Space (1968), and his Physical Processes in the Interstellar Medium (1978) all became the standard references in their fields. The success of the Hubble Space Telescope is due in large part to his foresight and leadership in pursuing this project. An avid rock climber, Spitzer ascended many peaks around the world. His scientific achievements enriched astronomy for decades to come.