<html xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=windows-1250"> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)"> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"/> <o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"/>  <style>  </style> </head> <body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple> <div class=Section1> I just heard today that Irving Friedman, a retired member of the USGS who frequently worked in <st1:place w:st="on">Yellowstone</st1:place>, died recently.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Details are available at <a href="http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=728">http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=728</a><o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> From the USGS site:<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Irving Friedman, a longtime U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientist and a pioneer in geochemistry, died on June 28, at the age of 85. <o:p></o:p> Friedman was born in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York City</st1:place></st1:City> on January 12, 1920. He obtained a B.S. degree in chemistry from <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Montana</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType>, a M.S. degree in chemistry from <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Washington</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType>, and a Ph.D. in geochemistry at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Chicago</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>. Friedman was a member of the famed group of post doctoral researchers in Nobel laureate Harold Urey’s laboratory at the Institute for Nuclear Studies at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Chicago</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>. There, Friedman built the first mass spectrometer for routine measurement of the hydrogen isotope composition of water. Hydrogen has two stable isotopes and much can be deduced about the history of water from their proportions. Friedman is called the "father of isotope hydrology." <o:p></o:p> Friedman joined the Navy in 1944 and was assigned to the Naval Electronics Laboratory in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Washington</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">D.C.</st1:State></st1:place> In 1952, he joined the USGS in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Washington</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">D.C.</st1:State></st1:place>, and worked for the USGS for more than 43 years. In 1962, he moved to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Lakewood</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Colo.</st1:State></st1:place>, when the Isotope Geology Branch of the USGS was created. Friedman retired from the USGS in 1995, and remained active as an emeritus scientist.<o:p></o:p> His scientific career was a pursuit of the understanding of every aspect of the water cycle. Throughout his career, he studied water in oceans, rivers, lakes, glaciers, the atmosphere, magmas, minerals, rocks, meteorites, plants, animals and the moon. He made major contributions to a number of fields through application of stable isotope geochemistry. Friedman also made significant contributions to the development of instruments to detect helium in exploring uranium, thorium, petroleum and natural gas and in predicting earthquakes. In the 1940s, he made major contributions to the science of hydrothermal growth of quartz which made possible the development of the synthetic quartz industry.<o:p></o:p> His scientific work was featured in more than 200 publications. His first was published in 1945 and his last will be published this year in a USGS Professional Paper on <st1:place w:st="on">Yellowstone</st1:place>. He was long associated with study of geothermal features and water issues of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Yellowstone</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">National Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p> Friedman received several awards and honors during his lifetime. He received the Department of Interior Meritorious Service Award and the Congressional Antarctic Medal. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the Geochemical Society in 2002. And he was recently honored by the Society for California Archaeology for his role in the development of obsidian hydration dating, a technique that revolutionized the dating of obsidian artifacts in western <st1:place w:st="on">North America</st1:place>. <o:p></o:p> He married Rita Vicary in 1946, and she survives him. His interests included skiing, flying his own plane, and traveling with Rita.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Ralph Taylor<o:p></o:p> </div> </body> </html> -- No virus found in this outgoing message. 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