James Pollack | |
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| Born | July 9, 1938 New York City, US |
| Died | June 13, 1994(1994-06-13) (aged 55) |
| Known for | nuclear winter,dinosaur extinction,terraforming |
| Awards | Gerard P. Kuiper Prize, 1989 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | planetology,atmospheric science |
| Thesis | Theoretical studies of Venus: an application of planetary astrophysics (1965) |
| Doctoral advisor | Carl Sagan (Harvard University, 1962 – 1965) |
James Barney Pollack (July 9, 1938 – June 13, 1994) was an Americanastrophysicist who worked forNASA'sAmes Research Center.
Pollack was born on July 9, 1938, inNew York City,[1] and was brought up inWoodmere, Long Island by aJewish family that was in the women's garment business. He was avaledictorian of his class atLawrence High School[2] and graduated fromPrinceton University in 1960. He then received his master's in nuclear physics atUniversity of California, Berkeley in 1962 and his Ph.D from Harvard in 1965, where he was a student ofCarl Sagan.[3] He was openly gay.[4]Dorion Sagan told how his father came to the defense of Pollack's partner in a problem with obtaining treatment at the university health serviceemergency department.[5]
Pollack specialized inatmospheric science,[6] especially the atmospheres ofMars andVenus. He investigated the possibility ofterraforming Mars, the extinction of thedinosaurs and the possibility ofnuclear winter since the 1980s withChristopher McKay and Sagan.[7] The work of Pollack et al. (1996) on the formation of giant planets ("core accretion paradigm") is seen today as the standard model.[8]
He explored theweather on Mars using data from theMariner 9 spacecraft and theViking mission. On this he based ground-breaking computer simulations of winds, storms, and the general climate on that planet. An overview of Pollack's scientific vita is given in the memorial talk "James B. Pollack: A Pioneer in Stardust to Planetesimals Research"[9] held at anAstronomical Society of the Pacific 1996 symposium.
He was a recipient of theGerard P. Kuiper Prize in 1989 for outstanding lifetime achievement in the field of planetary science. Pollack died at his home inCalifornia in 1994 from a rare form of spinal cancer, at age 55.[10]
Acrater on Marswas named in his honor.
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