David John Stevenson | |
|---|---|
 David J. Stevenson, 2015 | |
| Born | (1948-09-02)2 September 1948 (age 77) New Zealand |
| Alma mater | Victoria University(B.S., 1971) (M.S., 1972) (D.Sc) Cornell University(PhD, 1976) |
| Awards | H. C. Urey Prize(1984) Whipple Award(1994) Harry H. Hess Medal(1998) Richard P. Feynman Prize(2001) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Planetary Science Earth Science Astrophysics Geophysics |
| Institutions | Caltech |
| Doctoral advisor | Edwin Salpeter |
David John Stevenson (born 2 September 1948) is a professor ofplanetary science atCaltech. Originally fromNew Zealand, he received his Ph.D. fromCornell University inphysics, where he proposed a model for the interior ofJupiter. He is well known for applyingfluid mechanics andmagnetohydrodynamics to understand the internal structure and evolution ofplanets andmoons.
Stevenson's tongue-in-cheek idea about sending a probe into the earth includes the use ofnuclear weapons to crack theEarth's crust, simultaneously melting and filling the crack with molten iron containing a probe. The iron, by the action of its weight, will propagate a crack into the mantle and would subsequently sink and reach the Earth's core in weeks. Communication with the probe would be achieved with modulated acoustic waves.[1][2] This idea was used in the bookArtemis Fowl: The Opal Deception.
In 1984, he received theH. C. Urey Prize awarded by the Division for Planetary Sciences of theAmerican Astronomical Society.
Stevenson is a fellow of theRoyal Society and a member of theUnited States National Academy of Sciences.[3]
Minor planet5211 Stevenson is named in his honor.[4]
