Bruce C. Murray | |
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| Born | (1931-11-30)November 30, 1931 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | August 29, 2013(2013-08-29) (aged 81) Oceanside, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | MIT –Ph.D.geology (1955) |
| Spouse(s) | Joan O'Brien (divorced; 3 children) Suzanne Moss (2 children) |
| Relatives | Tom Foley (cousin) |
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| Scientific career | |
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| Doctoral students | Larry Soderblom |
Bruce Churchill Murray (November 30, 1931 – August 29, 2013) was an American planetary scientist. He was a director of theJet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and co-founder ofThe Planetary Society.
Murray received hisPh.D. ingeology fromMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1955 and joinedStandard Oil of California as ageologist. He served in theUnited States Air Force as a geophysicist[clarification needed], and theU.S. Civil Service[clarification needed] before joiningCalifornia Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 1960.[2]
At Caltech, Murray became an associate professor in 1963, a full professor in 1969, and a professor emeritus in 2001. He would later become professor emeritus ofplanetary science andgeology.
Murray began working at theJet Propulsion Laboratory (managed by/affiliated with Caltech) in 1960, and served as its director from April 1, 1976, to June 30, 1982.[3][4] He was an important force in promoting the recruitment and hiring of female engineers at the lab, where more women are employed today than any other NASA facility.[5] Murray became JPL's director at a time when space exploration budgets were shrinking; among other achievements, he saved theGalileo mission toJupiter from the budget axe.[5]
Murray worked out the geologic history ofMars usingphotographs taken byMariner 4 in 1965; he worked withBob Leighton to accomplish this task. He applied similar photographic analysis when he served as chief scientist ofMariner 10. As he took over management of JPL, he expressed reservations about theViking lander program, pointing out that the biological experiments included with the spacecraft were not sufficient to accomplish their stated goals.[6]
In 1971, he participated in asymposium on the occasion of the arrival ofMariner 9 toMars, together withRay Bradbury,Arthur C. Clarke,Carl Sagan, andWalter Sullivan. Their discussions were recorded in the bookMars and the Mind of Man.[7][8]
WithCarl Sagan andLouis Friedman, Murray foundedThe Planetary Society in 1980. He also served a term as its chair.
Murray was twice married. With his first wife, Joan O'Brien, he had three children. Murray and O'Brien divorced in 1970. In 1971, Murray married Suzanne Murray, with whom he had two children.[2]
One of Murray's cousins is formerSpeaker of the HouseTom Foley.
Murray died at his home inOceanside, California on August 29, 2013, from complications ofAlzheimer's disease, aged 81.[5]
Murray was the recipient of the 1997Carl Sagan Memorial Award.
In 2004, Murray was awarded theTelluride Tech Festival Award of Technology inTelluride, Colorado.
Asteroid4957 Brucemurray is named after him, and the asteroid2392 Jonathan Murray is named after his son.
On November 13, 2013, NASA announced the names of two features on Mars important to two activeMars exploration rovers in honor of Murray: "Murray Ridge", an uplifted crater that theOpportunity rover was exploring; and "Murray Buttes", an entryway theCuriosity rover had to traverse on its way toMount Sharp.[1]
Media related toBruce Murray at Wikimedia Commons| Academic offices | ||
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| Preceded by | 5thDirector of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory 1976 – 1982 | Succeeded by |
