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Gordon E. Brown Jr. An Oral History

Gordon Brown, Dorrell William Kirby Professor Emeritus in the Department of Geological Sciences, School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Photon Science, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, shares recollections of his childhood, education in chemistry and geology, and his research and teaching career at Stanford. He describes the origins of his interests in x-ray crystallography, synchrotron light methods, syncrotron-based x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and the atomic-level structures of minerals, amorphous materials, and liquids, working with NASA on the Apollo lunar samples, pioneering new high temperature x-ray crystallographic techniques that reveal the effect of high temperatures (up to 1200°C) on the structure of minerals and silicate melts, and the birth of the field of molecular environmental science. Brown recounts his early experiments at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL), award-winning research on selenium using x-ray spectroscopic methods, and his efforts to build a new scientific community and fund additional synchrotron radiation beamlines for molecular environmental science research. He reflects on major changes over time in the Department of Geology (1898 to present), the School of Mineral Sciences (1947-1962), the School of Earth Sciences (1962-2015), the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences (2015-2022) and its transformation into the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability (September 2022 to present). He also shares memories of teaching physical geology, environmental geochemistry, and mineralogy; the Loma Prieto earthquake (1989); and his long curatorship of the Stanford Research Mineral Collection. Brown concludes with predictions of what the future holds for the field of Earth Sciences at Stanford.Part 1 [00:00:00 – 00:30:42] Family history and growing up in Mississippi • Mississippi geology • Early schooling and influences; educational expectations • Grade school and high school experience • Undergraduate years at Millsaps College; majoring in chemistry and geology • Meeting and marrying first wife, Nancy • Jobs at Sun Oil during college • Memories of attending a southern college during the civil rights movement and the family’s tenant farmers • Recruitment by Richard Jahns to Department of Geochemistry at Penn State as a graduate student • Using x-rays in research at Penn State [00:30.43 – 01:00.38] Advisor Jerry Gibbs; moving with Gibbs from Penn State to Virginia Tech • Early x-ray crystallography and interest in atomic-level structures • Working with early computing equipment • Master’s and PhD research • Post doc with Charlie Prewitt at Stony Brook University; working with NASA on Apollo lunar samples • Accepting faculty position and move to Princeton • Starting a family • Developing new high temperature techniques for x-ray crystallography • Influences on developing a teaching style [01:00:39 – 01:33:04] Memories of teaching Geology I at Stanford as an assistant professor • Guest lecturing at Stanford and recruitment efforts • Decision to accept a faculty position at Stanford • Appeal of Stanford’s interdisciplinary focus in Earth and Materials Science • Building a lab; acquiring and operating x-ray equipment • Impressions of the Earth Sciences at Stanford in the 1980s • Stanford now vs then • Department names changes explained • Renaming the School of Earth Sciences; anticipating the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability • Center for Materials Research; Ted Geballe Part 2 [00:00:00 – 00:34:13] Innovative approaches to teaching undergraduate geology • Teaching with colleagues Junh Liou, Gail Mahood, Wendy Mao • Course fieldtrips to New Indria mercury mine in San Benito County, California • Approach to working with graduate students • Teaching awards and honorary degrees received • Importance of understanding Earth materials at the molecular level • Research on minerals at high temperatures as well as silicate melts and glasses • Research on elements in aqueous solutions • Research on heavy metals • Working with postdoc Ingrid Pickering [00:34:14 – 01:01:17] Collaboration with George Calas • Sabbatical in Paris in 1984 • Beginning to use the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) in his research • SLAC Director Burton Richter’s decision to grant dedicated beamtime to non-physics experiments • Changes at SLAC under Department of Energy’s Patricia Dehmer, including Department of Photo Science, Linac Coherent Lightsource, and name change • Building beam lines devoted to molecular environmental science, including radioactive materials • Analyzing plutonium contaminated soil samples • Research on selenium using x-ray spectroscopy and article “The In Situ X-Ray Absorption Study of Surface Complexes” [01:01:18 – 01:30:09] Building scientific community; role of the Geo-Soil-Enviro Consortium for Advanced Radiation Sources (GSECARS) in securing beamlines at the Advanced Photon Source • Chinese advances in molecular environmental science • Role as chair of the Department of Photo Science • Electron microscopy facility at SLAC • The h-Index measure of impact of publications • Development of the scanning transmission x-ray microscope (STXM) • STMX research on the formation of arterial plaque co-published with Mayo Clinic Cardiac Surgeons in Journal of Investigative Medicine • Carbon sequestration research • Hydraulic fracking research • Thoughts on changes in funding sources over time • Stanford culture of interdisciplinary collaboration [01:30:10 – 01:54:45] Thoughts on the role of department chair • Death of a Stanford dean • Memories of the Loma Prieta earthquake at Stanford • Indirect cost and budget crisis at Stanford • Role as curator of the Stanford Research Mineral Collection; story of the donation of a memorable Rhodochrosite • Professional service outside of Stanford • Predictions for what the future holds for the field of Earth Sciences at Stanford

Gordon E. Brown Jr. An Oral History

Gordon Brown, Dorrell William Kirby Professor Emeritus in the Department of Geological Sciences, School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Photon Science, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, shares recollections of his childhood, education in chemistry and geology, and his research and teaching career at Stanford. He describes the origins of his interests in x-ray crystallography, synchrotron light methods, syncrotron-based x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and the atomic-level structures of minerals, amorphous materials, and liquids, working with NASA on the Apollo lunar samples, pioneering new high temperature x-ray crystallographic techniques that reveal the effect of high temperatures (up to 1200°C) on the structure of minerals and silicate melts, and the birth of the field of molecular environmental science. Brown recounts his early experiments at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL), award-winning research on selenium using x-ray spectroscopic methods, and his efforts to build a new scientific community and fund additional synchrotron radiation beamlines for molecular environmental science research. He reflects on major changes over time in the Department of Geology (1898 to present), the School of Mineral Sciences (1947-1962), the School of Earth Sciences (1962-2015), the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences (2015-2022) and its transformation into the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability (September 2022 to present). He also shares memories of teaching physical geology, environmental geochemistry, and mineralogy; the Loma Prieto earthquake (1989); and his long curatorship of the Stanford Research Mineral Collection. Brown concludes with predictions of what the future holds for the field of Earth Sciences at Stanford.Part 1 [00:00:00 – 00:30:42] Family history and growing up in Mississippi • Mississippi geology • Early schooling and influences; educational expectations • Grade school and high school experience • Undergraduate years at Millsaps College; majoring in chemistry and geology • Meeting and marrying first wife, Nancy • Jobs at Sun Oil during college • Memories of attending a southern college during the civil rights movement and the family’s tenant farmers • Recruitment by Richard Jahns to Department of Geochemistry at Penn State as a graduate student • Using x-rays in research at Penn State [00:30.43 – 01:00.38] Advisor Jerry Gibbs; moving with Gibbs from Penn State to Virginia Tech • Early x-ray crystallography and interest in atomic-level structures • Working with early computing equipment • Master’s and PhD research • Post doc with Charlie Prewitt at Stony Brook University; working with NASA on Apollo lunar samples • Accepting faculty position and move to Princeton • Starting a family • Developing new high temperature techniques for x-ray crystallography • Influences on developing a teaching style [01:00:39 – 01:33:04] Memories of teaching Geology I at Stanford as an assistant professor • Guest lecturing at Stanford and recruitment efforts • Decision to accept a faculty position at Stanford • Appeal of Stanford’s interdisciplinary focus in Earth and Materials Science • Building a lab; acquiring and operating x-ray equipment • Impressions of the Earth Sciences at Stanford in the 1980s • Stanford now vs then • Department names changes explained • Renaming the School of Earth Sciences; anticipating the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability • Center for Materials Research; Ted Geballe Part 2 [00:00:00 – 00:34:13] Innovative approaches to teaching undergraduate geology • Teaching with colleagues Junh Liou, Gail Mahood, Wendy Mao • Course fieldtrips to New Indria mercury mine in San Benito County, California • Approach to working with graduate students • Teaching awards and honorary degrees received • Importance of understanding Earth materials at the molecular level • Research on minerals at high temperatures as well as silicate melts and glasses • Research on elements in aqueous solutions • Research on heavy metals • Working with postdoc Ingrid Pickering [00:34:14 – 01:01:17] Collaboration with George Calas • Sabbatical in Paris in 1984 • Beginning to use the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) in his research • SLAC Director Burton Richter’s decision to grant dedicated beamtime to non-physics experiments • Changes at SLAC under Department of Energy’s Patricia Dehmer, including Department of Photo Science, Linac Coherent Lightsource, and name change • Building beam lines devoted to molecular environmental science, including radioactive materials • Analyzing plutonium contaminated soil samples • Research on selenium using x-ray spectroscopy and article “The In Situ X-Ray Absorption Study of Surface Complexes” [01:01:18 – 01:30:09] Building scientific community; role of the Geo-Soil-Enviro Consortium for Advanced Radiation Sources (GSECARS) in securing beamlines at the Advanced Photon Source • Chinese advances in molecular environmental science • Role as chair of the Department of Photo Science • Electron microscopy facility at SLAC • The h-Index measure of impact of publications • Development of the scanning transmission x-ray microscope (STXM) • STMX research on the formation of arterial plaque co-published with Mayo Clinic Cardiac Surgeons in Journal of Investigative Medicine • Carbon sequestration research • Hydraulic fracking research • Thoughts on changes in funding sources over time • Stanford culture of interdisciplinary collaboration [01:30:10 – 01:54:45] Thoughts on the role of department chair • Death of a Stanford dean • Memories of the Loma Prieta earthquake at Stanford • Indirect cost and budget crisis at Stanford • Role as curator of the Stanford Research Mineral Collection; story of the donation of a memorable Rhodochrosite • Professional service outside of Stanford • Predictions for what the future holds for the field of Earth Sciences at Stanford

INOGO Mapas 2012: a high resolution map of land cover in the Osa Peninsula and Golfito region of Costa Rica [electronic resource]

Online View this collection in EarthWorks

Guiding Principles on Ethics in Digital Health Produced During a Seminar at Stanford Libraries

A new Stanford Libraries exhibit and virtual talk explore the works of Mark Ruwedel and his position ‘between’ competing and complementary influences

INOGO Mapas 2012: a high resolution map of land cover in the Osa Peninsula and Golfito region of Costa Rica

As a part of the INOGO Phase 1 Terrestrial Ecosystems Component, an in-depth analysis of land use and land cover in the region was undertaken using...

INOGO Mapas 2012: a High Resolution Map of Land Cover in the Osa Peninsula and Golfito Region of Costa Rica

This polygon shapefile contains land use and land cover classifications for the Osa and Golfito region of Costa Rica. As a part of the Osa and Golf...