Joseph Victor Smith

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Professor

Joseph Victor Smith

FRS
Born(1928-07-30)July 30, 1928
DiedApril 7, 2007(2007-04-07) (aged 78)
Alma mater University of Cambridge (B.A., physics, 1948)
University of Cambridge (PhD, crystallography, 1951)
SpouseBrenda Wallis
Awards Murchison Medal
Roebling Medal (1982)
Scientific career
Institutions Carnegie Institution of Washington
Pennsylvania State University
University of Chicago

Joseph Victor Smith FRS was a British mineralogist and crystallographer, best known for his work on feldspars and zeolites, [1] and on lunar samples returned during the Apollo missions. [2]

Contents

Life and career

Smith was born and brought up on a farm near Crich, Derbyshire, and attended school in Fritchley. He won a scholarship to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge in 1945, where he studied natural sciences, specialising in physics and graduating in 1948. He remained in Cambridge to study for a PhD in crystallography, which he completed in 1951. In 1951 he married Brenda Wallis, and then sailed on the Queen Mary to take up a fellowship at the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institute of Washington. From 1954 to 1956, Smith held the post of demonstrator at the University of Cambridge, and he later held posts at Pennsylvania State University and the University of Chicago, where he was appointed professor in 1960; a post he held until he retired in 2005. [2]

At Chicago, Smith played a leading role in establishing instruments and capacity for the micro-analysis of materials. After setting up an early electron microprobe, Smith later led the way for X-ray synchrotron analysis of a wide range of materials by establishing the Centre for Advanced Radiation Sources (CARS), using beamlines at the Advanced Photon Source and the Argonne National Laboratory. [3] [4]

Books

Smith wrote several research monographs, on the structure, properties and compositions of the feldspar minerals.

Awards

In recognition of his contributions to mineralogy, Smith was awarded the Murchison Medal of the Geological Society of London in 1980, and the Roebling Medal of the Mineralogical Society of America in 1982. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1978 [7] and was elected to the United States' National Academy of Sciences in 1986. [8]

Smith's archives are held at the University of Chicago. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amazonite</span> Green silicate mineral

Amazonite, also known as amazonstone, is a green tectosilicate mineral, a variety of the potassium feldspar called microcline. Its chemical formula is KAlSi3O8, which is polymorphic to orthoclase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mineral</span> Crystalline chemical element or compound formed by geologic processes

In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mineralogy</span> Scientific study of minerals and mineralised artifacts

Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mafic</span> Silicate mineral or igneous rock that is rich in magnesium and iron

A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich in magnesium and iron. Most mafic minerals are dark in color, and common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Common mafic rocks include basalt, diabase and gabbro. Mafic rocks often also contain calcium-rich varieties of plagioclase feldspar. Mafic materials can also be described as ferromagnesian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandstone</span> Type of sedimentary rock

Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feldspar</span> Group of rock-forming minerals

Feldspar is a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the plagioclase (sodium-calcium) feldspars and the alkali (potassium-sodium) feldspars. Feldspars make up about 60% of the Earth's crust, and 41% of the Earth's continental crust by weight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Labradorite</span> Mineral: intermediate member of a solid solution series (50 to 70 % anorthite and albite)

Labradorite ((Ca, Na)(Al, Si)4O8) is a calcium-enriched feldspar mineral first identified in Labrador, Canada, which can display an iridescent effect (schiller).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petuntse</span> Type of rock used in manufacture of ceramics

Petuntse, also spelled petunse and bai dunzi, baidunzi, is a historic term for a wide range of micaceous or feldspathic rocks. However, all will have been subject to geological alteration of igneous rocks that result in materials which, after processing, are suitable as an ingredient in some ceramic formulations. The name means "little white bricks", referring to the form in which it was transported to the potteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Des Cloizeaux</span> French mineralogist

Alfred Louis Olivier Legrand Des Cloizeaux was a French mineralogist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coesite</span> Silica mineral, rare polymorph of quartz

Coesite is a form (polymorph) of silicon dioxide (SiO2) that is formed when very high pressure (2–3 gigapascals), and moderately high temperature (700 °C, 1,300 °F), are applied to quartz. Coesite was first synthesized by Loring Coes, Jr., a chemist at the Norton Company, in 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lamprophyre</span> Ultrapotassic igneous rocks

Lamprophyres are uncommon, small-volume ultrapotassic igneous rocks primarily occurring as dikes, lopoliths, laccoliths, stocks, and small intrusions. They are alkaline silica-undersaturated mafic or ultramafic rocks with high magnesium oxide, >3% potassium oxide, high sodium oxide, and high nickel and chromium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">QAPF diagram</span> Classification system for igneous rocks

A QAPF diagram is a doubled-triangle plot diagram used to classify intrusive igneous rocks based on their mineralogy. The acronym QAPF stands for "Quartz, Alkali feldspar, Plagioclase, Feldspathoid (Foid)", which are the four mineral groups used for classification in a QAPF diagram. The percentages (ratios) of the Q, A, P and F groups are normalized, i.e., recalculated so that their sum is 100%.

Founded in 1958, the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) is an international group of 40 national societies. The goal is to promote the science of mineralogy and to standardize the nomenclature of the 5000 plus known mineral species. The IMA is affiliated with the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Meurig Thomas</span> Welsh scientist and educator (1932–2020)

Sir John Meurig Thomas, also known as JMT, was a Welsh scientist, educator, university administrator, and historian of science primarily known for his work on heterogeneous catalysis, solid-state chemistry, and surface and materials science.

Hatten Schuyler Yoder, Jr., was a geophysicist and experimental petrologist who conducted pioneering work on minerals under high pressure and temperature. He was noted for his study of silicates and igneous rocks.

Ekhard Karl Hermann Salje, FRS is an Emeritus Professor, and formerly Professor of Mineralogy and Petrology and Head of the Department of Earth Sciences, Cambridge University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ho-Kwang Mao</span> Chinese-American geologist

Ho-Kwang (Dave) Mao is a Chinese-American geologist. He is the director of the Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research in Shanghai, China. He was a staff scientist at Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution for Science for more than 30 years. Mao is a recognized leading scientist in high pressure geosciences and physical science. There are two minerals named after him, Davemaoite and Maohokite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gustav Rose</span> German mineralogist (1798–1873)

Prof Gustavus ("Gustav") Rose FRSFor HFRSE was a German mineralogist who was a native of Berlin. He was President of the German Geological Society from 1863 to 1873.

Joseph (Joe) Anthony Mandarino OC, FRSC was an American-Canadian mineralogist and crystallographer.

Herbert Eugene Merwin was an American mineralogist and petrologist.

References

  1. Dawson, Barry (2007). "Obituary for Joseph V. Smith" (PDF). Elements. 1: 161.
  2. 1 2 Wyllie, P.J. (2007). "Joseph V. Smith 1928-2007 (Obituary)" (PDF). Mineralogical Magazine. 71: 113–119.
  3. "In Memoriam Joe Smith" . Retrieved 14 Jan 2024.
  4. "Current NSF-Supported Earth Science Synchrotron Research Organizations" . Retrieved 14 Jan 2024./
  5. Smith, Joseph V. (January 14, 1974). "Feldspar Minerals". SpringerLink. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-96173-1.
  6. Smith, Joseph V. (January 14, 1974). "Feldspar Minerals". SpringerLink. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-65743-6.
  7. "Royal Society Catalogue EC/1978/33".
  8. "Joseph V. Smith". www.nasonline.org.
  9. "Guide to the Joseph V. Smith Papers 1949-2007". www.lib.uchicago.edu.