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In Memoriam: Paul Witherspoon1 min read

by ESD News and Events on February 13, 2012

Announcements

Gallery_2-Full-Witherspoon-Class

ESD mourns the passing of Paul Witherspoon (1919–2012), the division’s first leader, this past Friday, February 10, after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease. As ESD Director Don DePaolo noted, upon hearing of Paul’s death, “Paul was the founding Director of the Earth Sciences Division from 1977 to 1982, and was instrumental in defining the initial roles of Earth Sciences in DOE and at LBNL.  He remained closely involved with the Division for many years until very recently, and was always a strong supporter of our activities and an invaluable resource for many of us.”

Paul was an energetic participant in ESD affairs well into his 80’s, and his good cheer, active intelligence, and wealth of experience were always appreciated by his friends and colleagues. For more on Paul's research, life, and the history of ESD, we’ve provided a few links from the ESD website, which includes an engaging narrative provided by Paul himself, on his own many-faceted life, written for the ESD 30-year anniversary celebration in 2007.

“I encourage you to visit it, to enrich your appreciation of our history and as a reminder of the debt we all owe to Paul.” – Don DePaolo

  • Paul A. Witherspoon’s Berkeley Lab Profile
  • Earth Sciences Division 30th Anniversary
  • About the Earth Sciences Division – 30th Anniversary (Witherspoon transcript)

Paul's Memorial Service will be held May 3, 2012. More details »

We’ve opened up the commenting feature below so that those people whose lives Paul’s has touched throughout the world can express their condolences.

Source:  Dan Hawkes

News & Events

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As the most biologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems on Earth, tropical rainforests are just as critical to sustaining environmental and human systems as they are beautiful. Their unique climate with high temperatures, humidity, and precipitation promotes high primary productivity, which offsets high respiration, resulting in these ecosystems being one of the largest carbon sinks on Earth,…

Doubling Protected Lands for Biodiversity Could Require Tradeoffs With Other Land Uses, Study Finds4 min read

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This article first appeared on lbl.gov. Scientists show how 30% protected land targets may not safeguard biodiversity hotspots and may negatively affect other sectors – and how data and analysis can support effective conservation and land use planning Although more than half the world’s countries have committed to protecting at least 30% of land and oceans…

Six Berkeley Lab Scientists Named AAAS Fellows6 min read

This article first appeared at lbl.gov Six researchers have been elected into the 2022 class of the American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has announced their 2022 Fellows, including six scientists from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). This lifetime honor, which follows…

Kenichi Soga named to National Academy of Engineers1 min read

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Faculty scientist Kenichi Soga was named to the National Academy of Engineering (NA), one of the highest honors that can be achieved as an American engineer. Soga is the Donald H. McLaughlin Chair in Mineral Engineering and a Chancellor’s Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and has conducted groundbreaking research from infrastructure sensing to…

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