Andrew Chaikin writes: “In June I returned to campus for ‘Brown in Orbit,’ a reunion symposium of the Brown planetary geology group organized by professor Jack Mustard. More than 100 former grad students and undergrads, including my freshman year Olney House dormmate Jim Garvin ’81 ScM, ’84 PhD, now chief scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, filled MacMillan 115, along with professors Jim Head ’69 PhD, Carle Pieters, and Marc Parmentier. Almost half a century after taking Jim Head’s course on the geology of Mars as a sophomore, I had the pleasure of leading him through a reminiscence about the planetary group’s remarkable history and accomplishments. Especially poignant were his memories of my concentration advisor and the group’s visionary founder Tim Mutch, a pioneering planetary geology researcher and inspirational professor who lost his life climbing in the Himalayas in 1980. Then came a day-long series of presentations about fascinating new discoveries from across the solar system, mixed with passionate and often humorous personal recollections. Again and again, the presenters voiced gratitude for the mentoring and life-changing wisdom they received at Brown, and for the profound impact on our life trajectories (in my case, leading to a career as a science journalist and space historian). ‘Brown in Orbit’ turned out to be one of the most heartwarming and inspiring celebrations I’ve ever experienced.”
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Class of 1978