Citation by Allan Treiman
Dr. Charles K. (Chip) Shearer is eminently deserving of the G.K. Gilbert award (Planetary Geology Division, Geological Society of America) for his significant contributions in the science and outreach of planetary petrology, especially of the Earth’s Moon. Dr. Shearer has been one of the prime movers of lunar and planetary science for the past five decades. However, a mere recounting of Dr. Shearer’s CV misses the Chip’s encouraging character. He is always cheerful and caring, a willing collaborator on many topics, and boundlessly enthusiastic. I cannot think of a candidate more worthy of the recognition and thanks that the G.K. Gilbert award represents.
Dr. Shearer’s research has focused on the igneous evolution of the Moon, from its mare basalts to its ancient anorthositic crust and plutonic rocks. He was an early advocate for the value of trace element analyses, and applied them to the origins of mare basalts and basaltic pyroclastics. He then advanced to obtaining such analyses at high spatial resolution, an approach since adopted across the planetary sciences. He has published benchmark papers on lunar magmatism, the lunar highlands Mg-suite plutonics, magmatic volatiles in the Moon and its chlorine isotopic reservoirs, and on lunar chronology. Dr. Shearer is most prominent now as the Principal Investigator of NASA’s Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA) program. Dr. Shearer conceived the program—studying some of the unopened drill cores from the Apollo program—both for their significant science and to transfer knowledge, experience, and excitement about lunar samples to the ‘Next Generation’ of planetary scientists. Because of ANGSA, an Apollo 17 core has been dissected at Johnson Space Center, and its samples are being studied by new (and old) investigators in laboratories across the world. Most recently, Dr. Shearer was selected as Principal Investigator for a NASA SSERVI team, the Center for Advanced Sample Analysis of Astromaterials from the Moon and Beyond (CASA Moon). Through this team, Dr. Shearer will continue his sample studies, and continue to inspire and mentor the next generations of planetary scientist.
Beyond his lunar studies, Dr. Shearer’s has made significant contributions across planetary sample science, emphasizing geochemistry and crystal chemistry. He has worked on martian meteorites, notably on the unique breccia NWA 7034, where he used trace elements, crystal chemistry, and stable isotopes to peer into Mars’ ancient mantle and crustal processes. Dr. Shearer has contributed to studies of asteroidal basalts, including the HEDs from Vesta, and the unique GRA06218/9. His long collaborations with the late Dr. Jim Papike led to many contributions in mineralogy and crystal chemistry of terrestrial samples, notably from pegmatites in the Black Hills (South Dakota) and fumaroles in Alaska.
Dr. Shearer has been instrumental in attracting new participants to lunar and planetary science, and is an unswerving advocate for sample science. The early lunar literature is nearly impossible to navigate; Dr. Shearer’s New Views of the Moon book (2006)—a comprehensive, critical, and readable summary of lunar science—provided a path through that prior morass. The book (and especially his chapters) have been springboards that allowed many scientists (myself included) to dive into lunar studies and make their own contributions. Dr. Shearer has continued this outreach via leadership positions in the NASA advocacy committees Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) and Extraterrestrial Materials Analysis group (ExMAG, formerly CAPTEM), organizing numerous workshops and conferences, writing review papers and white-papers on lunar and sample science, and serving on the steering committee for the upcoming New Views of the Moon 2 book (and again writing a crucial chapter therein).
In summary, Dr. Shearer has been a prime mover of planetary and sample science, and has built a bridge to carry that science forward for upcoming generations of planetary scientists. He is certainly worthy and deserving of this G.K. Gilbert award.
Response by Charles “Chip” Shearer
I am very honored to have been selected for the Grove Karl Gilbert Award by the Planetary Geology Division of GSA. I would like to thank my colleagues for generously nominating me and especially Allan Treiman for his kind and thoughtful citation. I feel overwhelmed to be mentioned with other Gilbert award winners, many that I know and appreciate their incredible contributions to planetary science. I am beholding to my family, Joyce who is my foundation and counsel; Renee who insists on grandpa time over the whispers of the science sirens; my son Justin, my sister Laura and my parents Lola and Charlie who kept my feet on the ground but gave me wings to fly. I cannot thank my colleagues enough for their scientific enthusiasm, knowledge, and friendship. They also put up with my spells of ignorance. Hopefully, I made a small impact on their careers and lives. It is difficult to escape tragedy in your life and during that time you don’t think you will ever recover, but my colleagues were always there for me and my family. My sisters and brothers from other families, your support during these times is deeply appreciated.
Any such honor is seldom the result of work solely by the recipient. In addition to all my colleagues, my career has benefited from numerous mentors such as Jim Papike, Peter Robinson, John Creasy, Jack Schmitt, Gordon McKay, Wally Bothner, Pat Hurley. They showed me that you need to select the right tool to do the job correctly and that it is good to have many tools in your belt. They also gave me a deep appreciation for our responsibility to future generations of scientists. At the other end of the spectrum, I owe a great debt to past and present students and post-docs. You made me a better person and scientist.
I am most proud of my work that reached out to a broad community to accomplish multi-generational science, integrated perspectives from the atomic-scale to the planetary-scale or utilized new analytical technologies to advance our understanding of the Solar System. For example, my participation in the NASA-ANGSA initiative involved defining a “new lunar sample return mission” using samples collected during the Apollo Program but had remained sealed and unstudied since their return. Lessons learned from ANGSA are key for preparing for our return to the Moon. The initiative involved over 100 scientists and engineers and provided a link between the first planetary explorers of the Apollo generation and future generations of Solar System explorers. My earlier work using the first-generation of SIMS provided insights into trace element crystal chemistry, the nature and evolution of sources for lunar basalts, and life on Mars. My petrology-chronology collaborations with Lars Borg is providing a better understanding of how to interpret ages of planetary events.
From my colleagues, mentors, former students I have learned many life lessons: Have fun and do what you enjoy; Be flexible in your scientific pursuits. Don’t link yourself to a single approach or planet. Earth is a good foundation for exploring the Solar System; Art and science are both creative endeavors. Integrating them allows you to engage a broader community; Everyone has something to contribute to solving a science problem or mission goals. Be inclusive. Diversity and multiple perspectives will lead to success; From Mike Drake and Jim Papike who always stressed the importance of planetary sample return: Samples are the gift that keep giving across generations; Involve yourself in numerous community activities. The community will benefit from your participation, and you will grow in so many ways; There are so many underrepresented communities in the planetary sciences. Many of these communities have a substantial space heritage. Understand this heritage and engage these communities; Finally, to paraphrasing Ken Kesey, “Man, when you lose your laugh, you lose your footing." Keep your footing as it is critical to the study of any planetary surface.