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George Edward Backus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

George Edward Backus (born May 24, 1930) is an American geophysicist,[1] best known for his work with J. Freeman Gilbert on inverse methods for geophysical data.[2] He is also notably credited with advancing the dynamo theory on the origin of the Earth's magnetic field.[3]

Born in Chicago, Backus did his undergraduate and graduate training at the University of Chicago, receiving a M.S. in mathematics in 1950 and a Ph.D. in physics in 1956.[4] During 1957–1958 he worked as a physicist in Project Matterhorn in Princeton, then moving to MIT for two years as assistant professor of mathematics. In 1960 he moved to Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the associated University of California, San Diego where he has spent the rest of his career. Backus was professor of geophysics until 1994, and subsequently a research professor of geophysics.[1]

Backus is the winner of many awards, including the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1986)[5] and the John Adam Fleming Medal of the American Geophysical Union (1986),[6] and he was elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union (1967)[7] and of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (1963 and 1970).[8][9] He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences,[10] the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,[11] and of the Académie des Sciences of France.[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Backus, George Edward" (in French). Institut de France. Retrieved 10 September 2011.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "J. Freeman Gilbert Receives 1999 William Bowie Medal". American Geophysical Union. Retrieved 10 September 2011.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Ashley P. Willis; Art R.T. Jonkers (2007). David Gubbins; Emilio Herrero-Bervera (eds.). Encyclopedia of geomagnetism and paleomagnetism. Springer. pp. 164 and 360.
  4. ^ "George E. Backus, Professor Emeritus". Archived from the original on July 24, 2008.
  5. ^ "Winners of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society". Royal Astronomical Society. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  6. ^ "Awards & Honors". American Geophysical Union. Archived from the original on 29 January 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  7. ^ "AGU Fellows". American Geophysical Union. Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  8. ^ "Seven win Guggenheim Fellows". University of California, San Diego. Archived from the original on 13 September 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  9. ^ "George Edward Backus". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  10. ^ Annual Report – Fiscal Year 1968–1969 (Report). National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering (National Research Council).
  11. ^ "Chapter B" (PDF). Members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences: 1780–2011. p. 23.
  12. ^ "History – 1990–2000: New Premises". Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics. Archived from the original on 2011-08-23.
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