Gerald Soffen

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Dr. Gerald A. Soffen, (February 7, 1926 - November 22, 2000), known as Jerry or Gerry, served in a wide variety of roles for NASA, primarily dealing with either education or with life sciences--especially the search for life on Mars. Among other positions, Dr. Soffen served as:

  • Director of University Programs at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, MD. While in this position, Dr. Soffen helped create the NASA Academy, NASA's premiere leadership training internship.
  • Director of Life Sciences, NASA HQ. In this position, Dr. Soffen was responsible for the program to monitor and maintain the physical well being of the astronauts, the Biomedical Program, the Space Biology Program, and the Exobiology (also sometimes called the Astrobiology) program.
  • Chief Environmental Scientist at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
  • Project Scientist for the Viking program to Mars, the first successful missions to perform unmanned experiments on the surface of the planet.[1]

He earned his A.B.S. from the University of California, Los Angeles, his M.S. from University of Southern California, and his Ph.D. in Biology from Princeton University.

Dr. Soffen has been memorialized in several ways by his peers and former students. The "Dr. Gerald A. Soffen Memorial Fund for the Advancement of Space Science Education" was established by the NASA Academy Alumni Association "to continue Jerry's commitment to the future of space by supporting motivated students in the fields of space science and engineering".[2] Additionally, a crater on Mars was recently named "Soffen"[3]. The crater is centered at 23.5 degrees S, 140.8 degrees E on Mars. The Viking 2 lander was also posthumously named after Dr. Soffen.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "HQ Press RELEASE: H00-186, NASA ASTROBIOLOGY ARCHITECT, DR. GERALD SOFFEN, DIES", NASA, November 24, 2000.
  2. ^ "Dr. Gerald A. Soffen Memorial Fund for the Advancement of Space Science Education", NASA Academy Alumni Association, viewed Nov 28, 2006.
  3. ^ "on Mars Named After Astrobiologist Gerald Soffen", SpaceRef.com, November 23, 2006.
  4. ^ "Viking 2 Lander Renamed After Gerald Soffen", Space.com, July 20, 2001.
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