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June 2007Volume 3, Number 3ISSN 1811-5209

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Elements is published jointly by the MineralogicalSociety of America, the Mineralogical Societyof Great Britain and Ireland, the MineralogicalAssociation of Canada, the Geochemical Society,The Clay Minerals Society, the EuropeanAssociation for Geochemistry, the InternationalAssociation of GeoChemistry, the SociétéFrançaise de Minéralogie et de Cristallographie,the Association of Applied Geochemists,the Deutsche Mineralogische Gesellschaft,the Società Italiana di Mineralogia e Petrologia,the International Association of Geoanalysts,and the Polskie Towarzystwo Mineralogiczne(Mineralogical Society of Poland). It is providedas a benefit to members of these societies.Elements is published six times a year. Individualsare encouraged to join any one of the participatingsocieties to receive Elements. Institutionalsubscribers to any of the following journals—American Mineralogist, Clay Minerals, Claysand Clay Minerals, MINABS Online, MineralogicalMagazine, and The Canadian Mineralogist—willalso receive Elements as part of their 2007subscription. Institutional subscriptions areavailable for US$125 a year in 2007. Contactthe managing editor (tremblpi@ete.inrs.ca) forinformation.Copyright 2007 by the Mineralogical Societyof AmericaAll rights reserved. Reproduction in any form,including translation to other languages, or byany means—graphic, electronic or mechanical,including photocopying or information storageand retrieval systems—without written permissionfrom the copyright holder is strictly prohibited.Publications mail agreement no. 40037944Return undeliverableCanadian addresses to:PO Box 503RPO West Beaver CreekRichmond Hill, ON L4B 4R6Printed in CanadaISSN 1811-5209 (print)ISSN 1811-5217 (online)www.elementsmagazine.orgEnergy:A Geoscience PerspectiveAllison M. Macfarlane, Guest Editor165171179185193Volume 3, Number 3 • June 2007Energy: The Issue of the 21 st CenturyAllison M. MacfarlaneConfronting theClimate–Energy ChallengeDaniel P. SchragGeological CarbonDioxide SequestrationS. Julio FriedmannNuclear Energy and Uranium ResourcesAllison M. Macfarlane and Marvin MillerTapping Methane Hydratesfor Unconventional Natural GasCarolyn RuppelABOUT THE COVER:A growing need forelectricity in the developedand developing world willhave a large impact onclimate change, energysecurity, and energy supplyin the 21 st century.This photo was taken nearGolden, Colorado, USA.PHOTO COURTESY DOE/NRELDepartmentsEditorial – Science and the Policymakers . . . . . . . . . 155From the Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156Letters to the Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156Introducing the Advisory Board . . . . . . . . . . . . 157Triple Point – Looking Glass Worlds . . . . . . . . . . . . 160Obituary – Joseph V. Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161People in the News – Lomonosov Medalists . . . . . . . 162Meet the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163Society NewsMineralogical Society of America . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200European Association for Geochemistry . . . . . . . . . . 202Geochemical Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland . . . . 206The Clay Minerals Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208Mineralogical Association of Canada . . . . . . . . . . . 210Société Française de Minéralogie et de Cristallographie . . 212Association of Applied Geochemists . . . . . . . . . . . . 213Deutsche Mineralogische Gesellschaft . . . . . . . . . . 214Società Italiana di Mineralogia e Petrologia . . . . . . . . 215International Association of Geoanalysts . . . . . . . . . . 216International Association of GeoChemistry . . . . . . . . 217Mineralogical Society of Poland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221Advertisers in this Issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222Parting Shot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223153

PARTICIPATING SOCIETIESThe MineralogicalSociety of Americais composed of individualsinterested inmineralogy, crystallography,petrology, andgeochemistry. Foundedin 1919, the Society promotes, througheducation and research, the understandingand application of mineralogy byindustry, universities, government, andthe public. Membership benefits includespecial subscription rates for AmericanMineralogist as well as other journals,25% discount on Reviews in Mineralogy& Geochemistry series and Monographs,Elements, reduced registration fees forMSA meetings and short courses, andparticipation in a society that supportsthe many facets of mineralogy. Foradditional information, contact the MSAbusiness office.SOCIETY NEWS EDITOR: Andrea Koziol(Andrea.Koziol@notes.udayton.edu)Mineralogical Society of America3635 Concorde Pkwy Ste 500Chantilly, VA 20151-1125, USATel.: 703-652-9950; Fax: 703-652-9951business@minsocam.orgwww.minsocam.orgThe MineralogicalSociety of GreatBritain and Ireland,also known as theMinSoc, is the internationalsociety for allthose working in themineral sciences. The Society aims toadvance the knowledge of the science ofmineralogy and its application to othersubjects, including crystallography,geochemistry, petrology, environmentalscience and economic geology. TheSociety furthers its objects throughscientific meetings and the publicationof scientific journals, books and monographs.The Society publishes threejournals, Mineralogical Magazine (printand online), Clay Minerals (print andonline) and the e-journal MINABS Online(launched in January 2004).SOCIETY NEWS EDITOR: Adrian H. Lloyd-Lawrence (adrian@minersoc.org)The Mineralogical Society12 Baylis Mews, Amyand Park RoadTwickenham, Middlesex TW1 3HQ, UKTel.: +44 (0)20 8891 6600Fax: +44 (0)8891 6599info@minersoc.orgwww.minersoc.orgThe MineralogicalAssociation ofCanada was incorporatedin 1955 to promoteand advance theknowledge of mineralogyand the relateddisciplines of crystallography, petrology,geochemistry, and economic geology. Anyperson engaged or interested in the fieldsof mineralogy, crystallography, petrology,geochemistry, and economic geology maybecome a member of the Association.Membership benefits include a subscriptionto Elements, reduced cost for subscribingto The Canadian Mineralogist, a20% discount on short course volumesand special publications, and a discounton the registration fee at the annualmeeting.SOCIETY NEWS EDITOR: Pierrette Tremblay(ptremblay@mineralogicalassociation.ca)Mineralogical Association of Canada490, de la CouronneQuébec, QC G1K 9A9, CanadaTel.: 418-653-0333; Fax: 418-653-0777office@mineralogicalassociation.cawww.mineralogicalassociation.caThe Clay MineralsSociety (CMS) beganas the Clay MineralsCommittee of the USNational Academy ofSciences – NationalResearch Council in1952. By 1962, the CMS was incorporatedwith the primary purpose of stimulatingresearch and disseminating informationrelating to all aspects of clay science andtechnology. The CMS holds an annualmeeting, workshop, and field trips, andpublishes Clays and Clay Minerals and theCMS Workshop Lectures series. Membershipbenefits include reduced registrationfees to the annual meeting, discounts onthe CMS Workshop Lectures, and Elements.SOCIETY NEWS EDITOR: Steve Hillier(s.hillier@macaulay.ac.uk)The Clay Minerals Society3635 Concorde Pkwy Ste 500Chantilly, VA 20151-1125, USATel.: 703-652-9960; Fax: 703-652-9951cms@clays.orgwww.clays.orgThe GeochemicalSociety is an internationalnon-profitorganization forscientists involved in thepractice, study, andteaching of geochemistry.Membership includes a subscriptionto Elements, access to the online quarterlynewsletter Geochemical News, as well as anoptional subscription to Geochimica etCosmochimica Acta (24 issues per year).Members receive discounts on publications(GS Special Publications, MSA,Elsevier and Wiley/Jossey-Bass), and onconference registrations, including theV.M. Goldschmidt Conference, the fallAGU meeting, and the annual GSA meeting.Geochemical SocietyWashington UniversityEarth & Planetary SciencesOne Brookings Drive,Campus Box #1169St. Louis, MO 63130-4899, USATel.: 314-935-4131; Fax: 314-935-4121gsoffice@gs.wustl.eduhttp://gs.wustl.eduThe EuropeanAssociation forGeochemistry wasfounded in 1985 topromote geochemicalresearch and study inEurope. It is nowrecognized as the premiere geochemicalorganization in Europe encouraginginteraction between geochemists andresearchers in associated fields, andpromoting research and teaching inthe public and private sectors.SOCIETY NEWS EDITOR: Michael J. Walter(m.j.walter@bris.ac.uk)Membership information:www.eag.eu.com/membershipThe InternationalAssociationof GeoChemistry(IAGC) has been a preeminentinternationalgeochemical organizationfor over 40 years.Its principal objectives are to fostercooperation in, and advancement of,applied geochemistry, by sponsoringspecialist scientific symposia and theactivities organized by its workinggroups, and by supporting its journalApplied Geochemistry. The administrationand activities of IAGC are conducted byits Council, comprising an Executiveand ten ordinary members. Day-to-dayadministration is performed throughthe IAGC business office.SOCIETY NEWS EDITOR: Mel Gascoyne(gascoyne@granite.mb.ca)IAGC Business OfficeBox 501Pinawa, Manitoba R0E 1L0, Canadaiagc@granite.mb.cawww.iagc.caThe Société Françaisede Minéralogie et deCristallographie,the French mineralogyand crystallographysociety, was foundedon March 21, 1878.The purpose of the Society is to promotemineralogy and crystallography. Membershipbenefits include the “bulletin deliaison” (in French), the European Journalof Mineralogy and now Elements, andreduced registration fees for SFMC meetings.SOCIETY NEWS EDITOR: Anne Marie Karpoff(amk@illite.u-strasbg.fr)SFMCCampus Boucicaut, Bâtiment 7140 rue de Lourmel75015 Paris, Francewww.sfmc-fr.orgThe Associationof Applied Geochemistsis aninternational organisationfounded in 1970that specializes in thefield of appliedgeochemistry. Its aims are to advance thescience of geochemistry as it relates toexploration and the environment, furtherthe common interests of explorationgeochemists, facilitate the acquisition anddistribution of scientific knowledge,promote the exchange of information,encourage research and development,advance the status of the profession,and sponsor symposia, seminars andtechnical meetings.SOCIETY NEWS EDITOR: David Lentz(dlentz@unb.ca)Association of Applied GeochemistsP.O. Box 26099Nepean, ON K2H 9R0, CanadaTel.: 613-828-0199; fax: 613-828-9288office@appliedgeochemists.orgThe DeutscheMineralogischeGesellschaft (GermanMineralogical Society)was founded in 1908 to“promote mineralogyand all its subdisciplinesin teaching and research as well as thepersonal relationships among allmembers.” Its great tradition is reflectedin the list of honorary fellows, whichinclude M. v. Laue, G. v. Tschermak,P. Eskola, C.W. Correns, P. Ramdohr, andH. Strunz, to name a few. Today, theSociety especially tries to support youngresearchers, e.g. to attend conferencesand short courses. Membership benefitsinclude the European Journal of Mineralogy,the DMG Forum, GMit, and now Elements.SOCIETY NEWS EDITOR: Michael Burchard(burchard@min.uni-heidelberg.de)Deutsche Mineralogische Gesellschaftdmg@dmg-home.dewww.dmg-home.deAffiliated SocietiesThe Società Italianadi Mineralogia ePetrologia (ItalianSociety of Mineralogyand Petrology),established in 1940,is the national bodyrepresenting all researchers dealing withmineralogy, petrology, and relateddisciplines. Membership benefits includereceiving the European Journal ofMineralogy, Plinius, and Elements, anda reduced registration fee at theannual meeting.SOCIETY NEWS EDITOR: Marco Pasero(pasero@dst.unipi.it)Società Italiana di Mineralogiae PetrologiaDip. di Scienze della TerraUniversità di Pisa, Via S. Maria 53I-56126 Pisa, ItalyTel.: +39 050 2215704Fax: +39 050 2215830simp@dst.unipi.ithttp://simp.dst.unipi.itThe InternationalAssociation ofGeoanalysts is aworldwide organizationsupporting the professionalinterests of thoseinvolved in the analysisof geological and environmentalmaterials. Major activities include themanagement of proficiency testingprogrammes for bulk rock and microanalyticalmethods, the production andcertification of reference materials andthe publication of the Association’sofficial journal Geostandards andGeoanalytical Research.SOCIETY NEWS EDITOR: Michael Wiedenbeck(michawi@gfz-potsdam.de)International Associationof Geoanalysts13 Belvedere CloseKeyworth, Nottingham NG12 5JFUnited Kingdomhttp://geoanalyst.orgThe MineralogicalSociety of Poland,founded in 1969, drawstogether professionalsand amateurs interestedin mineralogy, crystallography,petrology,geochemistry, and economic geology.The Society promotes links betweenmineralogical science and education andtechnology through annual conferences,field trips, invited lectures, and publishing.There are two active groups: the ClayMinerals Group, which is affiliated withthe European Clay Groups Association,and the Petrology Group. Membershipbenefits include subscriptions toMineralogia Polonica and Elements.SOCIETY NEWS EDITOR: Zbigniew Sawĺowcz(zbyszek@geos.ing.uj.edu.pl)Mineralogical Society of PolandAl. Mickiewicza 30,30-059 Kraków, PolandTel./fax: +48 12 6334330ptmin@agh.edu.plwww.ptmin.agh.edu.plThe International Mineralogical Association, theEuropean Mineralogical Union, and the InternationalAssociation for the Study of Clays are affiliated societiesof Elements. The affiliated status is reserved forthose organizations that serve as an “umbrella” forother groups in the fields of mineralogy, geochemistry,and petrology, but that do not themselves havea membership base.E LEMENTS154JUNE 2007

EDITORIALSCIENTIFIC EDITORSIAN PARSONS, University of Edinburgh, UK(ian.parsons@ed.ac.uk)E. BRUCE WATSON, Rensselaer PolytechnicInstitute, USA (watsoe@rpi.edu)SUSAN L.S. STIPP, Københavns Universitet(stipp@geol.ku.dk)ADVISORY BOARDRANDALL T. CYGAN, Sandia NationalLaboratories, USAROBERTO COMPAGNONI, Università degli Studidi Torino, ItalyJAMES I. DREVER, University of Wyoming, USAADRIAN FINCH, University of St Andrews, UKJOHN E. GRAY, U.S. Geological SurveyJANUSZ JANECZEK, University of Silesia, PolandHANS KEPPLER, Bayerisches Geoinstitut,GermanyDAVID R. LENTZ, University of New Brunswick,CanadaMAGGI LOUBSER, University of Pretoria,South AfricaDOUGLAS K. MCCARTY, Chevron Texaco, USAKLAUS MEZGER, Universität Münster, GermanyJAMES E. MUNGALL, University of Toronto,CanadaTAKASHI MURAKAMI, University of Tokyo, JapanERIC H. OELKERS, LMTG/CNRS, FranceHUGH O’NEILL, Australian National University,AustraliaNANCY L. ROSS, Virginia Tech, USAEVERETT SHOCK, Arizona State University, USADAVID J. VAUGHAN, The University ofManchester, UKOLIVIER VIDAL, Université J. Fourier, FranceEXECUTIVE COMMITTEEFRIEDHELM VON BLANCKENBURG,Deutsche Mineralogische GesellschaftROBERT BOWELL, Association of AppliedGeochemistsGIUSEPPE CRUCIANI, Società Italiana diMineralogia e PetrologiaJEREMY B. FEIN, Geochemical SocietyRUSSELL S. HARMON, InternationalAssociation of GeoChemistryJOHN M. HUGHES, Mineralogical Societyof AmericaCLIFF JOHNSTON, The Clay Minerals SocietyDANIEL J. KONTAK, Mineralogical Associationof CanadaCATHERINE MEVEL, Société Françaisede Minéralogie et de CristallographieMAREK MICHALIK, Mineralogical Societyof PolandMICHAEL J. WALTER, European Associationfor GeochemistryPETER TRELOAR, Mineralogical Societyof Great Britain and IrelandMICHAEL WIEDENBECK, InternationalAssociation of GeoanalystsMANAGING EDITORPIERRETTE TREMBLAYtremblpi@ete.inrs.caEDITORIAL OFFICE490, rue de la CouronneQuébec (Québec) G1K 9A9 CanadaTel.: 418-654-2606Fax: 418-654-2525Layout: POULIOT GUAY GRAPHISTESTechnical editor: THOMAS CLARKCopy editors: THOMAS CLARK,DOLORES DURANTPrinter: CARACTÉRAThe opinions expressed in this magazine arethose of the authors and do not necessarilyreflect the views of the publishers.www.elementsmagazine.orgRichard Feynman’s‘Minority Report tothe Space ShuttleChallenger Inquiry’has become a modernscientific legend. Hisbrilliant, independentmind scythed througha mass of engineeringIan Parsonsdetail, half-truth andwishful thinking andmade the key observation that explained thedestruction of the most complex machine evermade. He brought his conclusion home to publicand politicians by a simple piece of showmanshipinvolving a glass of iced water and a fragment ofO-ring. NASA management estimated the probabilityof a shuttle failure at 1 in 100,000 or onefailure if a shuttle lifted off every day for 300years. Engineers close to the project estimated therisk of failure at 1 in 100. ‘What is the cause’,Feynman asked, ‘of management’s fantastic faithin the machinery?’ The report should be compulsoryreading for all science students and can befound in several anthologies of Feynman’s wonderful,often funny but always profound essays 1 .Disquietingly, however, it requires more than alittle effort to find his report through ‘official’channels. It is not reproduced in the report of theCommittee on Science and Technology, ‘Investigationof the Challenger Accident’,that went to the House of Representativesin October 1986, althoughthere are several references to Feynmanand some short extracts. It canbe found in its entirety in the reportof the Presidential Commission onthe Space Shuttle Challenger (the‘Rogers Report’), but you have tolocate it in the contents list of VolumeII, where it appears as AppendixF, ‘Personal observations on reliability’,with no attribution. One senseshidden establishment discomfiturehere, where politicians and policy makers are confrontedwith the independence and detachmentof an outstanding scientific mind, ranged againstthe technological and administrative might ofNASA. Feynman’s report ends with a famous line– pin it up near your desk: ‘For a successful technology,reality must take precedence over publicrelations, for nature cannot be fooled’.The intersection of governmental policy and howwe present science is particularly topical as I write,with the publication of the much trumpeted 4thAssessment Report of the IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change (IPCC). Press reportsthat I’ve seen include the assertion that it is thework of ‘2500 of the world’s leading scientists’.1 Richard P. Feynman, The Pleasure of Finding Things Out.First published in the U.S.A. by Perseus Books, 1999,and in the UK by The Penguin Press, 2000Science andthe PolicymakersLike NASA, the IPCC seems to believe that sheerweight of numbers will impress politicians andthe public alike. If you go to their website, underthe headline ‘IPCC 4th Assessment Report – Acomprehensive and rigorous picture of the globalstate of knowledge of climate change’, you areinvited to click on a button and are rewarded bya little movie in which the following lines appearone by one:• 2500+ scientific expert reviewers• 800+ contributing authors• 450+ lead authors from• 130+ countries• 6 years work• 4 volumes• 1 report‘In a science-basedsociety our leadersshould be exposedto science as it is,not an oversimplified,strippeddownversion’.Now I don’t deny for one moment the importanceof taking care of the environment, and Iagree entirely that allowing levels of atmosphericCO 2 to increase much beyond present levels is athoroughly bad thing. As Dan Schrag discusses inthis issue, we could encounter tipping points inclimate change that would have appalling consequencesnot for me but for my grandchildren, aprospect I truly find deeply worrisome. The politicalimperatives to get the burgeoning economiesof China and India to adopt low-CO 2 ways ofmaking power, and the United States and manyother developed countries to makeenormous cut-backs, are unquestionableand the most importantsocial initiatives in the world today.But we have to be very careful howwe present the science. The IPCCapproach implies that science reachesits powerful conclusions by a sort ofinternational democratic consensus.Science is not democratic. Its lifebloodis not certainty, it is doubt.Because we reach our conclusionsthrough experiment and developmentof mathematical theories, bothof which may be repeated and improved, scientificconcepts that survive do so because theyhave withstood repeated attempts to disprovethem. It takes only one Feynman, one simple,crucial, robust experiment, to change the fabric ofscience for ever. I think the IPCC has strayed,although with the best of intentions, into therealm of what Feynman called, in his commencementaddress at Caltech in 1974, ‘Cargo Cult Science’1 . Cargo cults developed on islands in theSouth Seas after the second world war. During thewar great aeroplanes landed with lots of goodthings, and the islanders wanted this to continue.So they built runways, lit fires alongside them,erected a wooden hut for a man to sit in withwooden headphones and bamboo antennae, andwaited for the planes to come. They had doneCont’d on page 156E LEMENTS 155JUNE 2007

FROM THE EDITORSEDITORIAL(cont’d from page 155)everything right, but the planes never came.Something essential was missing. In cargo cultscience, what is missing is, using Feynman’swords: ‘… a kind of scientific integrity, a principleof scientific thought that corresponds toa kind of utter honesty – a kind of leaning overbackwards. For example, if you’re doing anexperiment, you should report everything thatyou think might make it invalid, not onlywhat you think is right about it; other causesthat could possibly explain your results; andthings you thought of that you’ve eliminatedby some other experiment and how theyworked – to make sure the reader can tell theyhave been eliminated’.Most Elements readers will have this requirementin their minds when they write theirpapers or reports, but when I go to the IPCCwebsite and look at the ‘Summary for Policymakers’and ‘Technical Summary’ of WorkingGroup 1, ‘The Physical Science Basis’, in the4th Assessment Report, I find something verydifferent. The IPCC have adopted a system of‘Confidence Terminology’, on a five-step slidingscale in which ‘very high confidence’equates with ‘at least 9 out of 10 chance [ofbeing correct], ‘very low confidence’ with ‘lessthan 1 out of ten chance’. Some of the uncertaintiesare ‘value uncertainties’ which arecomparable with the analytical uncertaintieswith which we are all familiar. Others are‘structural uncertainties’ which ‘arise from anincomplete understanding of the processesthat control particular values or results, forexample, when the conceptual framework ormodel used for analysis does not include allthe relevant processes… Structural uncertaintiesare generally described by giving theauthors’ collective judgement of their confidencein the correctness of a result’.This, I fear, was exactly the mind-set that ledto NASA’s ‘fantastic faith’ in the space shuttle.Structural uncertainties cannot be quantifiedby resolutions of committees, and the IPCCsummary documents (probably the only partspolicymakers and news reporters will read)should lean over backwards to make clear theproblems and mysteries of the climate changefield. By doing so their presentation would bestrengthened, not weakened, and the IPCCwould be protected from still common assertionsthat it is glossing over difficulties. In ascience-based society our leaders should beexposed to science as it is, not an over-simplified,stripped-down version. As scientists wemust never lose sight of the powerful groundrulesunder which we operate. Policy should bemade by people who understand those rules.Nature cannot be fooled.Ian Parsonsian.parsons@ed.ac.ukABOUT THE ENERGY ISSUESo much could be written on the topic ofenergy, and several approaches could have beentaken for an issue of Elements on this theme.We liked Guest Editor Allison Macfarlane’sproposal to focus on some emergent technologiesand to put this century’s energy requirementsin the context of climate change.NEXT EDITORIAL MEETINGThe editors are planning to meet at the Frontiersin Mineral Sciences conference in Cambridge.We will be firming up our line-up for theremainder of 2008 and the beginning of 2009.We continue to solicit proposals, but many ofour thematic issues have resulted from potentialguest editors contacting us and expressing interestin leading an issue. Please do not hesitateto contact any of us with an idea or a proposal.ABOUT THE ZIRCON ISSUEWe received several positive comments aboutthe zircon issue. You liked the internationaldiversity of the contributors. It was hard toput down. It had an “Excellent set of articles,with outstanding photos and images.” OurIN PRAISE OF THE OPTICALMICROSCOPEAs Ian Parsons points out (Elements, 2007,volume 3, issue 1), cutting-edge instrumentationand techniques, like the atomicforce microscope and the ion probe, areproducing exciting new results that are leadingto a more complete understanding of Earthprocesses. In order to devote more time tointroducing such advanced techniques toundergraduates, he suggests they spend lesstime learning crystal optics. Of course, futureadvances in the geosciences will, of necessity,depend on these techniques. But it is also truethat the majority of students leaving universitywith a bachelor’s degree in geology willnever come near high-performance instrumentslike the atomic force microscope during theircareers. In my own business of Cu-Ni depositresearch in a government geological survey,my everyday, bread-and-butter tools are (still)the optical microscope (transmitted andreflected light) and whole-rock chemicalanalyses. If I need exact mineral compositions,the local university has a microprobe. Theseare the tools that help me evaluate, on a firstorderbasis, the characteristics and potentialof Cu-Ni showings I study in the field. For theprice of a polished thin section, you can’t beatthe amount of basic information that you canobtain with an optical microscope. For example,an exploration geologist looking for Cu-Niwould be very interested to know the texturefavourite comment was sent by a colleague,who related that he missed his bus stop becausehe was so immersed in his reading.EARTH CITIZENIn the energy debate, let’s not forget the threeRs: reduce, reuse and recycle. And as Earth scientists,shouldn’t we lead by example? Havinga smaller car and a smaller home, and usingpublic transportation, for example, do notchange one’s lifestyle much, but taken togethersuch gestures, no matter how small, make a difference.We therefore plan to introduce a newfeature called Earth Citizen in which we turnthe writing over to you. We are seeking inspiringopinion pieces from scientists who not onlystudy the Earth but also have made changes totheir lifestyles as they have recognized thestress the human population puts on ourplanet. Give us facts and relate your experience.Perhaps you have helped your campus becomegreener for example. For our part, we will investigatehow we can make Elements greener.LETTERS TO THE EDITORSIan Parsons, Susan Stipp, Bruce Watson,and Pierrette Tremblayof pentlandite, the composition of plagioclase,and if olivine is absent or present in his or herrock samples. An optical microscope givesthese answers routinely. But it took me a longtime to really understand how to determinethe composition of plagioclase with an opticalmicroscope—a lot of practice and theoreticalunderstanding was necessary. I wonder if it isin the best interest of a student to use an opticalmicroscope like a “black box,” not really understandingwhat he or she is doing. Ian Parsonsis not suggesting dropping crystal optics completely.But I think it would not be an advantageto make changes in the geology curriculumthat would limit the average field geologist’sability to get as much practical information aspossible out of his or her field work.Thomas ClarkQuebec City, CanadaFROM A NEW MEMBERIam a member of AAG and have just receivedmy first Elements magazine. What a superbpublication! I love the thematic nature of theissues and the review nature of the articles tocatch up on aspects outside my own speciality!Congratulations to all involved with thispublication—I look forward to many moreissues! And I have already started browsingat back issues online also. Excellent stuff!Kingsley BurlinsonDarwin, AustraliaE LEMENTS 156JUNE 2007

INTRODUCING Society THE ADVISORY News BOARDWe are pleased to present the members ofthe advisory board for 2007. RANDALL T. CYGANreceived his PhD degreein geochemistry andmineralogy in 1983 fromthe Pennsylvania StateUniversity. In late 1983,he joined the GeochemistryDepartment of SandiaNational Laboratories inAlbuquerque, New Mexico, where he is now aDistinguished Member of the Technical Staff.He also spent two years as an assistant professorin the Geology Department at theUniversity of Illinois. His research interestsinclude kinetics, chemical diffusion, mineraldissolution, adsorption, shock metamorphism,and molecular simulation. He is a CentennialFellow of the College of Earth and MineralScience at Pennsylvania State University and aFellow of the Mineralogical Society of America. ROBERTO COMPAGNONIis a professor of petrologyin the Department ofMineralogical andPetrological Sciences atthe University of Turin.Since 2001 he is viceheadof the InterdepartmentalCenter "G.Scansetti" for Studies on Asbestos and otherToxic Particulates at the University of Turin.He was president (2004–2005) of the ItalianSociety of Mineralogy and Petrology . Hisresearch activity covers mainly the P–T pathreconstruction and fluid–rock interaction ofhigh-pressure and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphicrocks, the evolution of serpentinizedultramafics, the development of fibrousminerals, and the origin of jadeitites in theWestern Alps. JAMES I. (TIM)DREVER is a native ofScotland. He received anundergraduate degree inchemistry from CambridgeUniversity and a PhD ingeochemistry fromPrinceton University. Heis currently a DistinguishedEmeritus Professor at the University ofWyoming. He has carried out research onthe effects of acid deposition on surface waterchemistry, the role of weathering processesin controlling the long-term average carbondioxide concentration of the atmosphere, theeffects of mining activities on surface waterand groundwater quality, and the long-termcontrols on the composition of the oceans.He was president of the Geochemical Societyfrom 2004 to 2005.E LEMENTS ADRIAN FINCH is areader in geography andgeosciences at theUniversity of St Andrews,Scotland, UK. Hegraduated from DurhamUniversity in 1987 ingeology and went on tocomplete a PhD at theUniversity of Edinburgh on the petrology andmineralogy of Greenland syenites. After aspell in industry, he became a research fellowin chemistry at Aberdeen University, workingon novel superconductor materials. Afterlectureships at Luton and Hertfordshireuniversities, he took up a Royal Society ofEdinburgh/BP personal fellowship at theUniversity of St Andrews (2000). His researchinterests include the mineralogy of environmentalproxies and mineral luminescence. JOHN E. GRAY hasbeen a research geologistwith the U.S. GeologicalSurvey since 1982. Hereceived his PhD from theUniversity of Colorado.His research has primarilyfocused on formationprocesses of gold andmercury mineral deposits in Colorado andAlaska and, more recently, on mercurycontamination of the environment. He hasstudied transport, speciation, and translocationof mercury related to mining in Alaska,Nevada, Texas, the Philippines, Suriname, andSpain. He has also been involved in studieson the sources and historical deposition ofmercury in lakes and reservoirs in the westernU.S. He has been a councilor of the InternationalAssociation of GeoChemistry since 2004. JANUSZ JANECZEK is aprofessor of mineralogyat the University of Silesiain Katowice, Poland. Hecurrently serves as rectorof that university. He is apast president of the PolishMineralogical Society(1998–2002). He graduatedand received his PhD from the University ofWroclaw. His research interests include thecrystal chemistry of uraninite as an analogfor spent nuclear fuel, the mineralogy andgeochemistry of natural fission reactors inGabon and other analogs for radwasterepositories, environmental mineralogyincluding the phase composition of troposphericdust particles, and the mineralogy ofpegmatites. He was Fulbright Fellow at theUniversity of New Mexico and a visitingprofessor at the University of Hiroshima.157 HANS KEPPLER startedcollecting minerals andfossils at the age of 12.He studied mineralogyand chemistry in Karlsruhe(Germany). After hisPhD, he spent two yearsas a postdoc at Caltech.He then moved back toGermany and joined the staff of BayerischesGeoinstitut (Bayreuth). In 2000, he wasappointed professor of mineralogy at the universityin Tübingen, and in 2004 he returnedas a professor to Bayerisches Geoinstitut. He hasa broad range of research interests, with a focuson fluids and volatiles in the Earth’s interiorand on in situ spectroscopic techniques athigh P and T. In 2001, he received the LeibnizPrize, the highest award in German science. DAVID R. LENTZreceived his BSc (1983)and MSc (1986) degreesin geology from the Universityof New Brunswick(UNB) in Fredericton,New Brunswick (Canada).He then completed a PhD(1992) at the Universityof Ottawa on U–REE–Y-mineralized pegmatiterelatedskarn systems, before working withthe Geological Survey of Canada for threeyears on VHMS deposits in New Brunswick.In 1994 Dave joined the New BrunswickGeological Survey as mineral deposits geologist.Since 2000, he has held the Economic GeologyChair at UNB (ORE Group), with a researchfocus on the petrogenesis of ore deposits. MAGGI LOUBSER iswith the University ofPretoria, South Africa,where she is responsiblefor the XRF facility andthe training and supportof postgraduate students.She presents an annualshort course entitled Introductionto XRF Spectroscopy. Since 2005 shehas been one of the presenters at the annual XRFSchool at the University of Western Ontario.Ms Loubser has been a member of the IAGsince 1998 and has been on the executive since2006. She has been a member of the SouthAfrican Chemical Institute since 1998 and theSouth African Spectroscopic Society since 1997,in the capacity of honorary secretary. She chairsthe Geoanalysis 2009 organizing committee.JUNE 2007 DOUGLAS K.MCCARTY received hisPhD in geology fromDartmouth College in1993, his MS in 1990,and his BA in 1986 fromthe University of Montana.He has broad experiencein geology, mineralogy,

INTRODUCING THE ADVISORY BOARDclay science, diffraction, and computermodeling. He is an associate editor of Claysand Clay Minerals and heads Chevron’s MineralAnalysis Laboratory in Houston where he hasworked for ten years. This laboratory foundedthe first biannual Reynolds Cup contest inquantitative mineral analysis in 2002. Thelaboratory took second place in the secondReynolds Cup in 2004 and first place in the2006 contest KLAUS MEZGER is aprofessor of geochemistryat the University ofMünster. He received aDiplom in mineralogyfrom the University ofWürzburg and a PhD ingeochemistry from StonyBrook University. He wasa postdoctoral fellow at the University ofMichigan in Ann Arbor before working as astaff scientist at the Max Planck Institut forChemistry in Mainz from 1991 to 1997. Hisresearch interests are mainly in the areas ofgeochronology, metamorphic petrology, earlysolar system processes, and the evolution ofthe crust–mantle system using radiogenicisotopes and high-precision trace elementdeterminations. He does both analytical workand field-based research. In the past, he hasserved on several editorial boards includingthat of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. JAMES E. MUNGALLreceived his MSc and PhDin igneous petrology atMcGill University. Aftertwo years of experimentalinvestigations of thetransport properties ofsilicate melts at theBayerisches Geoinstitut inGermany, Jim found himself back in Canadain the summer of 1996, looking for nickeldeposits and communing with the affectionatemosquitoes of northern Quebec. In 1999, Jimfound a place where he could combine apassion for field work with the possibility ofdoing experimental petrology and teachingat the University of Toronto, where he hasremained ever since. TAKASHI MURAKAMI isa professor in the Departmentof Earth and PlanetaryScience, Universityof Tokyo. His currentstudies focus on atmosphericevolution in thePrecambrian, mineral–water–atmosphereinteractions, and uranium geochemistry andmineralogy. Murakami received BS (1975), MS(l977), and PhD (l980) degrees in mineralogyfrom the University of Tokyo. He worked forthe Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute,the University of New Mexico, the AustralianNuclear Science and Technology Organisation,and Ehime University (Japan). He has servedas an editor of the Journal of Mineralogical andPetrological Sciences and as a councilor andmember of several committees of the MineralogicalSociety of Japan. ERIC H. OELKERS is aCNRS Research Directorand the ExperimentalGeochemistry and BiogeochemistryResponsabled’équipe in Toulouse,France. Eric currentlyserves as vice-president/president elect of theEuropean Association for Geochemistry andas the coordinator of the MIR and MIN-GROEurope-wide training and research networks.He has also served as a director of the GeochemicalSociety, co–editor in chief of ChemicalGeology, and associate editor of Geochimica etCosmochimica Acta. Eric has also co-editedfour special journal issues, including the 2005Chemical Geology issue “Geochemical Aspectsof CO 2 Sequestration”. His research is focusedon quantifying natural geochemical processes. HUGH O’NEILL is anexperimental petrologistat the Research Schoolof Earth Sciences, theAustralian NationalUniversity. His researchinterests center on theapplication of physicalchemicalmeasurementsto the understanding of the origin andevolution of the Earth and the terrestrialplanets. He is especially concerned withstudying the accretion and early differentiationof the Earth, how these processes influenceEarth’s composition, and the subsequentmantle processes that lead to partial meltingand production of basaltic magmas. He hasspent much of his career measuring thethermodynamic properties of minerals andmelts at high temperatures and pressures. NANCY L. ROSS is aprofessor of mineralogyand an associate dean atVirginia Tech. She receivedher BSc from VirginiaTech, MSc from theUniversity of BritishColumbia, and PhD fromArizona State University.Her recent research includes studies offramework minerals at high pressure, neutronscattering studies of oxide nanoparticles, andelectron density studies of sulfides. She hasserved as a member of council of the MineralogicalSociety of America, as chair of theinfrastructure development committee ofCOMPRES, and as a member of the boardof reviewing editors of Science. EVERETT SHOCK grewup in southern California,earned his bachelor’sdegree from UC SantaCruz and his PhD fromUC Berkeley, and workedin between for the USGS.He taught at WashingtonUniversity for 15 yearsbefore moving to Arizona State Universitywhere he teaches geochemistry and environmentalchemistry. Shock’s research interestsinclude the transition from equilibrium todisequilibrium in hydrothermal systems andthe implications for life, the intersection ofgeochemistry with genomics, the abiotic originsand transformations of organic compounds,the evolution of icy satellites and meteoriteparent bodies, and the anthropogenicchemistry of urban systems. DAVID J. VAUGHAN isprofessor of mineralogyand director of theWilliamson ResearchCentre for Molecular EnvironmentalScience at theUniversity of Manchester.He has DPhil and DScdegrees from OxfordUniversity and worked in Canada (atCANMET) and the USA (at MIT) before returningto Britain. His research centers on mineralchemistry, particularly of sulfides and oxides,mineral surface science, and ore and environmentalmineralogy, areas in which he has alsowritten or edited textbooks. He has beenpresident of the (UK) Mineralogical Societyand the European Mineralogical Union, wasMSA Distinguished Lecturer in 2004, SchlumbergerMedallist and RSC Geochemistry Awardwinner in 2006, and was elected a Fellow ofthe Geochemical Society/EAG in 2007. OLIVIER VIDAL is aCNRS researcher at theLaboratoire de Géodynamique(Universitéde Grenoble, France).He received a PhD inmineralogy from theUniversité Pierre et MarieCurie (Paris) in 1991 forwork conducted mainly at the MineralogischesInstitut of the Rhur Universität Bochum(Germany). He worked for eight years at theLaboratoire de Géologie of the École NormaleSupérieure (Paris). His research focuses onexperimental mineralogy and the use ofthermodynamics in metamorphic petrology.During two postdoctoral positions at theFrench agency for nuclear energy (CEA) andthe South West Research Institute in SanAntonio (Texas), he worked on gaseous andmineral evolution in the vicinity of nuclearwaste disposal sites.E LEMENTS JUNE 2007158

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LOOKING GLASS WORLDSTRIPLE POINTOrdinary science proceeds in thefollowing way: once we haveour ground rules, assumptions,protocols, and data, we are readyto make incremental advancesin our chosen field. But how dowe decide whether our paradigmis better than another? We knowhow to compare hypotheses,but how do we compare paradigmsthat involve the wholeDon L. Andersoninfrastructure of our researchprogram, including the language we use? Statistical and logical testsoften are of no help. Formal logic tells us that failed predictions andcounter examples are not enough to falsify a proposition. As failed predictionsand conflicting evidence accumulate, one might make continualadjustments to the theory. But it seldom occurs to a practitioner tojettison everything and start afresh with a blank slate; there is too muchbaby in the bathwater.When Alice in Wonderland went through the lookingglass, she entered a world with different rules. Few of ushave had the experience of discovering that the rules thathad been guiding our research for the past years or decadeswere all wrong, that the predictions of our theories werewrong, that the assumptions were wrong, that our professorswere wrong, that our textbooks were wrong. This hashappened famously in astronomy, cosmology, physics,and chemistry. Scientists abandoned Ptolemy, Aristotle,alchemy, astrology, and static universes. In a more recentparadigm shift, Earth became a dynamic planet with driftingcontinents and young oceans, exposed to giantimpacts that created the Moon and extinguisheddinosaurs. Uniformitarianism and fixed continents bit thedust; catastrophes became acceptable. The new ideas arenow all part of conventional wisdom, and few of us recallthe mindsets that were in place when a different conventional wisdomprevailed.Young scientists are taught the scientific method and the rules of deductivelogic, but are not taught how to deal with the trauma of having allthe rules change in midstream, or even that they might.What follows are two paradigms—looking glass images of each other.The motivating question for your research program is “Why don’t volcanoesexist everywhere?” You know that plates drive themselves; theyare deformable, breakable, and ephemeral, constantly reorganizing; newplate boundaries form and old ones close up, forming volcanic chainsthat tap a hot mantle of variable fertility. You view volcanic chains asabandoned or incipient plate boundaries and fracture zones—consequencesof plate tectonics. Fertile blobs entrained in the shallow mantlewill appear to be slowly moving with respect to quickly movingplates and stationary with respect to slowly moving plates. You knowthat there can be no absolute reference system, or absolute fixity, in aconvecting, rotating, deforming planet.Paradigm shiftsin science seldominvolve logic,rational discourse,higher-resolutiondata, or moreaccuratecalculations.A group of young theoreticians comes along and challenges the statusquo. They ignore your assumptions and make new ones; they ask differentquestions and do different experiments and calculations. Theyhave decided that the deep mantle is rigid and the upper mantle wellstirred. They presume an absolute fixity of volcanic islands, absoluterigidity of plates, an absolute reference frame, and absolute temperature.The upper mantle is isothermal and homogeneous, so deep hot stationarytubes are invoked to bring core heat to the asthenosphere to formisland chains. Unfamiliar concepts, such as “absolute motions,” “coreheat,” “box models,” “reservoirs,” and “primordial mantle” are introduced.Volcanic islands are renamed “hotspots” and “plumes.” Volcanicchains are viewed as independent of plate tectonics and relabeled‘”hotspot tracks.”You and your friends are asked to judge the papers of this emerginggroup of talented renegade investigators. The new ideas do not makesense to your peers. In the new theory the mantle is approximated as asolid with bizarre properties. It is fluid but rigid; it is homogenized bychaotic stirring; it is heated from below; it is not near the melting point;most of Earth’s radioactivity is in the undegassed lower mantle. Conflictingevidence is accommodated by changing the properties of thetubes, or by blaming approximations in the theory or lack of resolutionin the data.Needless to say, none of these ideas will pass peer review. This is the wayscience works.But suppose these ideas had come first and had becomeentrenched in the literature. Suppose that they reflectedconventional wisdom. The two paradigms, essentiallyopposite in every respect, would be treated differently inthese Looking Glass Worlds. The defenders of anentrenched paradigm literally do not understand the languageand concepts of the invading paradigm. There is anasymmetry in the way new ideas and conventional wisdomare treated—the standards are very much higher forthe new ideas. There is also an asymmetry in understanding.The Old Guard is not familiar with the new language,while the invaders know the old ideas very well and havefound them wanting. The inability to communicate and tocompare paradigms is called incommensurability by thephilosophers of science; this is probably more importantthan the concept of falsifiability, which is always in the eye of thebeholder.The older readers of this column will remember when our professorsridiculed continental drift, extraterrestrial theories of extinctions, catastrophicfloods, and magma oceans; we believed in uniformitarianism,tectogenes, vertical tectonics, and the static-mantle geosynclinal theory.We laugh at the old ideas of fixed continents, but we readily boughtinto the idea of fixed islands and tubes to the core.When do not question today’s conventional wisdom, we do so ourperil—it too may look crazy to future generations.Don L. AndersonCaltech, PasadenaCA, USAE LEMENTS 160JUNE 2007

OBITUARYOBITUARY FOR JOSEPH V. SMITHJoseph Victor Smith died of pneumonia atthe Beth Israel Medical Centre in Bostonon 6 April 2007, at the age of 78. He wasborn on 30 July 1928 and raised on a hillfarm in the Peak District of Derbyshire inthe north of England. With the encouragementof his mother and uncle, bothteachers at a school not noted for its academicsuccesses, Joe won an open scholarshipto Cambridge where he obtained afirst-class honours degree in physics. Afterpost-graduate work on the crystallographyof calcium silico-carbonate minerals, hespent some time at the GeophysicalLaboratory in Washington where he wasinfluenced by W.S. Mackenzie (who, Joe said, gave him his lifelonginterest in feldspars), Hat Yoder and Felix Chayes. After a brief return toCambridge, Joe went to Penn State where he began work in earnest onfeldspars and also became involved, via his consultancy with the UnionCarbide Corporation, in zeolites – the molecular sieves that have provedso successful in improving the yield of gasoline from oil and producingphosphate-free detergents. He moved to the University of Chicago in1960, becoming a full professor at the early age of 32.One of his early achievements in Chicago was the building of one of thefirst operating electron microprobes. In those early days, there wasconsiderable scepticism as to whether such probes would ever delivermeaningful results, but its routine use these days is a legacy of a fewimaginative pioneers, one of whom was Joe. He was concerned not justwith the numbers obtained but also with what they meant; for example,he noted the low Ca concentrations in mantle olivine, due to high pressures,compared with the higher amounts in its volcanic equivalent. In1965, Joe started the Short Courses in Mineralogy, run in conjunctionwith the annual meetings of the Geological Society of America. These,and the accompanying Reviews in Mineralogy, published by theMineralogical Society of America (the first 40 being edited by PaulRibbe), continue to the present day with the added involvement of theGeochemical Society. In 1969 Joe became a Principal Investigator in theApollo Programme, which led him to another interest: planetary geologyand mineralogy. As if this were not enough, in the early 1970s hebecame involved in research on upper mantle mineralogy. His laterinterests included threats to mankind from meteorite collisions with theEarth and global conflict, but these went hand-in-hand with his fundamentalinterest in new technology and what it could do for mineralogyand crystallography. He became interested in the role of mineral surfacesin the origin of life, a subject on which he wrote an article forElements (Volume 1, issue 3). He was involved with Bob Clayton in settingup the ion probe at the Enrico Fermi Laboratory at the Universityof Chicago. Another major achievement was when he organised a multiinstitutional,multi-disciplinary group of scientists and founded theConsortium for Advanced Radiation Sources to use the AdvancedPhoton Source at the Argonne National Laboratory. His research hasresulted in over 400 publications in most of the major journals andincludes his three encyclopaedic books on feldspars.Among the many honours he received for this work were his election tothe fellowship of the Royal Society of London and the NationalAcademy of Sciences, and the award of the prestigious Roebling Medalof the Mineralogical Society of America and the Murchison Medal of theGeological Society of London.So much for Smith the scientist. What of Smith the man? He was one ofthe most multi-faceted men I have met. Intensely curious, he was interestedin literature, art and music; one of the pleasures of visitingChicago in the autumn was the weekly trips downtown with Joe andBrenda to hear concerts of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He wasJoe and Brenda Smith collecting weathered feldspars at Shap in the northof England in 2000also a prodigious reader, and not only of the scientific literature. Helived life intensely and, being an extremely dedicated and well-organisedman, he was sometimes held by students to be a hard taskmaster. Thosewho knew him better recognised that this was only because he took itfor granted that students and collaborators should be prepared to workas hard as he did himself. I can say personally that his rigorous workingto deadlines was good for our collaboration. Even off duty, Joe’s unbridledenergy meant that he could hardly relax completely and, in theearly days when the Derbyshire farm was still in family hands, hereturned to England each summer, not only to show his daughters therural and architectural heritage of Britain, but also to help his father andhis brother with the hay making. He was very loyal to family andfriends. In later years, he and Brenda spent weekends at their lovelyhome on the shore of Lake Michigan in the Indiana Dunes Park, wherethey took great pleasure in entertaining friends from many parts of theworld – but there were always jobs like installing a new rain-butt andfence-making to be done.With his passing, the mineralogical community has lost one of its mostproductive and influential members. All the same, I like to imagine Joeis up there building another probe, just to find out what the PearlyGates are really made from!Barry DawsonUniversity of EdinburghE LEMENTS 161JUNE 2007

PEOPLE IN THE NEWSEWING AND LAVEROVLOMONOSOV GOLD MEDALISTS FOR 2006The Lomonosov Gold Medal, named after learned Russianscientist Mikhail Lomonosov, is the highest award of theRussian Academy of Sciences. Each year, a Russian and anon-Russian receive the award for outstanding achievementsin the natural sciences and humanities.Previous recipients, of whom more than twenty are Nobel laureates,include Hans Bethe, John Kenneth Galbraith, James Watson, LinusPauling, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. The most recent award to a non-Russian in the geosciences was to Frank Press in 1997. Frank Press is aformer president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.The Lomonosov Gold Medal for 2006 was awarded to Professor NikolayLaverov, vice-president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and ProfessorRod Ewing of the University of Michigan. Both have played a significantrole in fundamental research in the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear wastemanagement. Nikolay Laverov was recognized for his work on the backendof the fuel cycle and his work related to uranium deposits and uraniummineralogy. Professor Ewing’s research has led to an understandingof radiation effects in solids and the discovery of radiation-resistantmaterials that can be used in the safe disposal of actinides, such as plutonium.Professor Ewing is the Donald R. Peacor Collegiate Professor inthe Department of Geological Sciences and is also a professor in theDepartments of Materials Science & Engineering and Nuclear Engineering& Radiological Sciences.The Lomonosov Gold Medal was presented to Professors Laverov andEwing on March 27, 2007, in Moscow at the annual meeting of theRussian Academy of Sciences.FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, Y. Osipov, president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, andrecipients of the Lomonosov Medal, Nikolay Laverov (vice-president of the RussianAcademy of Sciences) and Rodney C. Ewing (University of Michigan)Rod Ewing in the fieldADVERTISINGThe recipients each gave a talk at the meeting hall of the Russian Academy of SciencesE LEMENTS 162JUNE 2007

Meet the AuthorsS. Julio Friedmannreceived his BS and MSdegrees from MIT, followedby a PhD at the Universityof Southern California.After graduation, heworked for five years as asenior research scientist inHouston, first at Exxon and later at Exxon-Mobil. He next worked as a research scientistat the University of Maryland, where he wasaffiliated with the Joint Global ChangeResearch Institute (JGCRI), and at theColorado Energy Research Institute of theColorado School of Mines. In his newappointment as head of the Carbon ManagementProgram for Lawrence LivermoreNational Laboratory, he leads initiatives andresearch into carbon capture, carbon storage,and fossil fuel recovery and utilization. Hisresearch interests include carbon sequestration,underground coal gasification, hydrocarbonsystems, deep-water depositional systems,basin and range tectonics and sedimentation,sequence stratigraphy, and landslide physics.Allison M. Macfarlaneis an associate professorin the Department ofEnvironmental Science andPolicy at George MasonUniversity in Fairfax, VA.She is also an affiliate ofthe Program in Science,Technology, and Society at MIT and the BelferCenter for Science and International Affairs atHarvard University. She received her PhD ingeology from the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology in 1992. Her research focuses oninternational security and environmentalpolicy issues associated with nuclear weaponsand nuclear energy. MIT Press has justpublished her book Uncertainty Underground:Yucca Mountain and the Nation’s High-LevelNuclear Waste, which explores the unresolvedtechnical issues for nuclear waste disposal atYucca Mountain, Nevada.Marvin Miller receiveda PhD in applied physicsfrom the PolytechnicInstitute of New York in1967. He was tenured asan associate professor ofelectrical engineering atPurdue University beforejoining the MIT Nuclear Engineering Department(NED) in 1976. He retired from NED in1996 and is now a research affiliate with NEDand the Program in Science, Technology, andSociety at MIT, where he continues his workon nuclear arms control and the linkagebetween nuclear power and nuclear proliferation.Dr. Miller is currently active as aconsultant to the Nonproliferation Bureauof the State Department.Carolyn Ruppel recentlyjoined the methanehydrates program at theU.S. Geological Survey as aresearch geophysicist aftermore than 12 years as aprofessor in the Schoolof Earth and AtmosphericSciences at Georgia Tech and several years as aprogram manager at the U.S. National ScienceFoundation. She holds a PhD in solid Earthgeophysics from MIT and has focused onnumerical modeling, laboratory, and interdisciplinaryshipboard studies of marinemethane hydrate systems since the mid-1990s. Her current research interests includethe petrophysics of hydrate-bearing sediments,the hydrogeology of marine andpermafrost gas hydrate systems at pore toregional scale, the integration of physical,chemical, and biological data to understandmethane seeps, and the hydrology ofecologically sensitive salt marshes subjectto both natural and anthropogenic forcing.Daniel P. Schrag isProfessor of Earth andPlanetary Sciences atHarvard University and thedirector of the HarvardUniversity Center for theEnvironment. Schragstudies climate and climatechange over the broadest range of Earthhistory. He has examined changes in oceancirculation over the last several decades, withparticular attention to El Niño and thetropical Pacific. He has worked on theories forPleistocene ice-age cycles. He has contributedto the development of the Snowball Earthhypothesis, which proposes that a series ofglobal glaciations occurred between 750 and580 million years ago and that they may haveled to the evolution of multicellular animals.He is also working on technologicalapproaches to mitigating the effects ofhuman-induced climate change. Amongvarious honors, Schrag was awarded aMacArthur Fellowship in 2000. Schrag arrivedat Harvard in 1997 after teaching at Princetonand studying at Berkeley and Yale.ADVERTISINGE LEMENTS 163JUNE 2007

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