Jay Melosh

H. Jay Melosh was a trusted scientist known around the world as well as a kind and caring colleague, friend, and family man. He had a phenomenal number of publications that have changed the field for the better.  He has had an asteroid named after him (8216 Melosh).  He was a University Distinguished Professor of Purdue University and a Regents Professor at the University of Arizona.  He was awarded the American Geophysical Union 2008 Harry H. Hess Medal - for “outstanding achievements in research in the constitution and evolution of Earth and sister planets.”

In addition to his scientific life, Jay was an avid woodworker. Over the years he made furniture, a wonderful clock and was a consignment artist at Artist’s Own, and Art Co-op in Lafayette, IN. He often commented that his most popular item he sold at Artist’s Own was seam rippers, a tool used by sewing enthusiasts.  Jay and his wife Ellen built a cabin in New Mexico together.  She says, "I mean literally we pounded every nail and designed it ourselves. Jay used a text from high school on building as our guide.  Jay loved our little lake here on Cape Cod and spent lots of time in his small boat out on the lake."  Jay also enjoyed travel, which he did extensively. He had visited every continent except Antarctica and had wonderful stories about every visit. 

Below is a section of his wikipedia page in order to know the scope of his amazing works:

He was an American geophysicist specializing in impact cratering. He earned a degree in physics from Princeton University and a doctoral degree in physics and geology from Caltech in 1972. His PhD thesis concerned quarks. Melosh's research interests include impact craters, planetary tectonics, and the physics of earthquakes and landslides. His recent research includes studies of the giant impact origin of the moon, the Chicxulub impact that is thought to have extinguished most dinosaurs, and studies of ejection of rocks from their parent bodies. He was active in astrobiological studies that relate chiefly to the exchange of microorganisms between the terrestrial planets (a process known as panspermia or transpermia).

Melosh was a member of the American Geophysical Union, Geological Society of America, Meteoritical Society, American Astronomical Society (Division of Planetary Sciences,) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was the recipient of the Barringer Medal of the Meteoritical Society for his work on the physics of impact, and of the G. K. Gilbert Award from the Geological Society of America. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2003.