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CLARK R. CHAPMAN
Senior Scientist
Department of Space Studies
Space Science and Engineering Division
A.B. in Astronomy, Harvard College, 1967
M.S. in Meteorology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1968
Ph.D. in Planetary Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1972
Dr. Clark R. Chapman is the Senior Scientist at the Boulder, Colorado, office of Southwest Research Institute (Dept. of Space
Studies, Division 15). Until 1996, he had been Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, a division
of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). He was the first Editor of Journal of Geophysical Research--Planets.
He was a member of the Imaging Team of the Galileo mission to Jupiter and of the Imaging/Spectrometer Team of the Near
Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) mission to Eros. He is currently on the Science Team of the MESSENGER mission to
Mercury, launched in 2004. Dr. Chapman is a past Chairman of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American
Astronomical Society and past President of Commission 15 (Physical Properties of Asteroids and Comets) of the International
Astronomical Union (IAU).
Dr. Chapman received an undergraduate degree in Astronomy from Harvard, Master's Degree in Meteorology from M.I.T., and
PhD in Planetary Science from M.I.T. (1972). He is a leading researcher in planetary cratering and in the physical properties of
the smaller bodies of the solar system (asteroids, comets, planetary satellites, the planet Mercury). He led the Galileo imaging
investigations of Ida (which resulted in discovery of Dactyl, the first known satellite of an asteroid) and of the impact of Comet
Shoemaker-Levy 9 into Jupiter. Dr. Chapman is Principal Investigator of numerous NASA grants on topics such as cratering of
asteroids and of the icy satellites of Jupiter, secondary cratering of Mars, telescopic studies of very young asteroids,
investigations of the Late Heavy Bombardment, searches for satellites of asteroids, and so on. He has frequently been an
advisory consultant for NASA and he chaired NASA's Planetary Astronomy Management Operations Working Group. He was a
member of the prestigious COMPLEX committee of the National Research Council. Asteroid 2409 Chapman bears his name.
Dr. Chapman is author or co-author of innumerable technical papers dealing with practically every planet in the solar system. He
was Co-Editor of "Mercury," the definitive book on the planet Mercury published by the University of Arizona Press (1988). He
is author or co-author of several popular-level books, including "Planets of Rock and Ice" (Scribner's 1983) and "Cosmic
Catastrophes" (Plenum Press, 1989). He has written many articles for such widely read science magazines as Scientific
American, American Scientist, Astronomy, Mew Scientist, Discover, and Sky & Telescope. He is often invited to contribute
technical commentaries to the News & Views columns of Nature.
In the last few years, Dr. Chapman has been prominent in the newly popular subject of the hazard of comets and asteroids in
striking our own planet. He was a member of the original Spacewatch Workshop held in 1981 (Snowmass, Colorado, chaired by
Gene Shoemaker) and his book "Cosmic Catastrophes" (co-authored with David Morrison) was instrumental in calling attention
to the potential hazard. Dr. Chapman chaired the International Conference on Near-Earth Asteroids, held in San Juan Capistrano
in June/July 1991. More recently, he has been working through the B612 Foundation with Apollo 9 astronaut Russell
Schweickart, current scientist-astronaut Edward Lu, Institute for Advanced Studies astrophysicist Piet Hut, and fellow SwRI
colleague Daniel Durda to promote novel ways of planning to deal with an asteroid threat, including use of an "asteroid tugboat"
(see their article in the Nov. 2003 issue of Scientific American) and the "gravity tractor."
Dr. Chapman has frequently been in the public eye, engaged in Education and Public Outreach concerning planetary science. He
has given public lectures and teacher workshops, written for popular magazines, appeared on radio and on-line programs, been
interviewed on national network newscasts in several countries, been featured in a March 2006 interview in Discover magazine,
and appeared in numerous TV documentaries treating the asteroid impact hazard and other topics. In 1999, Dr. Chapman was
awarded the Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication of Planetary Science by the American Astronomical
Society's Division for Planetary Sciences.
PROFESSIONAL CHRONOLOGY: Research Assistant, University of Arizona, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, summers 1962
and 1964, autumn 1963; Research Assistant, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 1965-1966; Staff Member, M.I.T.
Department of Geology and Geophysics, summers 1966 and 1967, 1st semester of 1967-1968; Staff Member, M.I.T. Department
of Meteorology, 1968-1970; Graduate Research Assistant, Haystack Radar Facility, M.I.T. Lincoln Laboratory, summer 1969;
Graduate Research Assistant, M.I.T. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Planetary Astronomy laboratory, 1969-1971;
Research Scientist, IIT Research Institute, 1971-1972; Division Scientist, Science Applications International Corporation,
Planetary Science Institute, 1972-1979; Senior Scientist, Science Applications International Corporation, Planetary Science
Institute, 1979-1995; Senior Scientist, San Juan Capistrano Institute, Planetary Science Institute, 1995-1996; Institute Scientist
(now Senior Scientist), Southwest Research Institute, Department of Space Studies, 1996-Present.
MEMBERSHIPS: American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences (AAS/DPS); American Geophysical Union
(AGU); American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS; Fellow); International Astronomical Union (IAU
Commission 15); Meteoritical Society.
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