Jeffrey M. Moore
NASA Ames Research Center
2018 G.K. Gilbert Award
Presented to Jeffrey M. Moore
Citation by Alan Howard
Dr. Moore is a consummate planetary geologist. His strong background in geology provided the tools to interpret planetary landscapes and the physical processes that create them through fieldwork, interpretation of remotely-sensed images and data, theory, and laboratory experimentation. He was a pioneer in recognizing and characterizing deltaic and alluvial fan landforms on Mars and determining the fluvial discharges and formation time necessary to create them. Jeff and colleagues have demonstrated that a terminal epoch of intense, integrated valley network formation occurred at the close of the Noachian. This was followed by a long period of episodic fluvial activities forming shallow valleys, fans, and deltas, and an ice-covered lake in the Hellas basin. He has made equally important contributions to our understanding the role of ice sublimation, condensation, and flow processes in landform evolution in outer solar system, including the Jovian and Saturnian satellites and Pluto. Jeff has questioned the role of cryovolcanism on Titan, suggesting rather that exogenic processes dominated surface evolution. He was imaging and geology team leader for the New Horizons mission to Pluto, assuring that Pluto and Charon would be well covered with high resolution stereo imaging. As team leader, Jeff knows how to get things done and provided a productive and amiable environment, contributing greatly to the scientific impact of the encounter. Additionally, he has made continuing contributions to mission planning on both Mars and for the outer Solar System. In summary, Dr. Moore’s contributions to planetary geology have been immense and crucially important to understanding the geologic environment of solid bodies beyond the orbit of Earth. He is well known and well-respected in the planetary community for both his scientific contributions and his service to the community. He richly deserves being recognized with the G. K. Gilbert Award from the Geological Society of America.
2018 G.K. Gilbert Award — Response by Jeffrey M. Moore
I thank Alan for his magnanimous citation. It reminds me of the aphorism about extraordinary claims, especially in light of the heretofore august list of recipients of the Gilbert Award. What’s absolutely certain is my deep gratitude to my dear friends in this profession, whose friendship, vibrant conversation, and creative collaboration have been essential to my endeavors (not to mention my well being), in particular: Alan Howard, Bill McKinnon, Bob Pappalardo, Paul Schenk, Kevin Zahnle, Erik Asphaug, Charlie Barnhart, Ross Beyer, Sam Birch, Don Blankenship, Mark Bullock, Devon Burr, David Catling, Andy Chaikin, Phil Christensen, Roger Clark, Geoff Collins, Bob Craddock, Dale Cruikshank, Brad Dalton, Bill Dietrich, Don Davis, Ken Edgett, Carter Emmart, Paul Geissler, John Grant, David Grinspoon, Alex Hayes, Dan Hobley, Ross Irwin, Jerry Johnson, Edwin Kite, Don Korycansky, Erin Kraal, Yo Matsubara, Alfred McEwen, Mike Mellon, Alex Morgan, Francis Nimmo, Eldar Noe Dobrea, Reid Parsons, Louise Prockter, Kelsi Singer, John Spencer, Rob Sullivan, Luis Teodoro, Peter Thomas, Orkan Umurhan, Steve Vance, Janet Vertesi, Oliver White, Don Wilhelms, Becky Williams, Sharon Wilson-Purdy, Leslie Young, Aaron Zent, and many others. It would also not be possible to have gotten this far without the loving support of my family; my wife Pam, who among many things has illustrated most my talks and papers, and most certainly my patiently ever-sustaining parents, who put up with me in college off and on until I was 37. Also Carrie Chavez, whose hard labor generates the illusion that I have my act together at work. My career would have taken a very different, probably less successful, path had it not been for Judson Ahern, Mike Belton, Mike Carr, Ron Greeley, Mike Malin, David Morrison, Carl Sagan, Steve Squyres, Alan Stern, and Carol Stoker, who provided inspiration, opportunity, friendship, and mentorship through my days at university, my early career, and then the chance to participate in the most exciting and scientifically rewarding exploration of our era. The prescribed shortness of this response prohibits me from even beginning to sing the praises you all richly deserve.
But really, I’ve simply been extremely lucky. Way too many things have had to go right to have had the chance to participate in the exploration of Mars, and the icy worlds of the Solar System. Not the least is to have lived in a special historical time. When I was in grade school I got these amazing books about what the planets might be like, often illustrated by Chesley Bonestell, that antedated the first missions. I remember running home to catch the evening news the day the first images of Mars from Mariner 4 were shown, and watching TV transmissions being broadcast nationwide in real time from Ranger 9 as it crashed into the Moon, then, of course, the Apollo moon landings. But what has been really amazing is how different all the worlds of the outer Solar System turned out to be. I first got interested in astronomy as a kid, we hadn’t seen any of these places. They were just little dots in my backyard telescope (or in any telescope for that matter). So we had no real idea how radically different they could be. I think the most shocking thing was how much weirdness and variety there is in the Solar System. That blew me, and everybody else, away.