In Memoriam: Eugene Jarosewich
1926–2007
May 3, 2007
Source: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
It is with great sadness that the Department of Mineral Sciences, Smithsonian Institution, reports the death of Eugene Jarosewich at his home on April 30, 2007. Gene joined the Smithsonian in 1964, where he soon became Head Chemist. He retired several years ago, but remained active as Chemist Emeritus. He was an expert in the instrumental analysis of rocks and minerals, and in pursuing these interests he developed the Department's analytical laboratories into a world-class facility for the analysis of geological materials. Gene is known in the meteoritics community for having accomplished superb wet chemical analyses of meteorites and for developing the only meteorite whole-rock standard through his work on specimens of Allende. Working with specimens from the National Mineral Collection, in the 1970s Gene and his co-workers developed a set of standards for electron microprobe analysis, which to this day are distributed and used worldwide. These accomplishments are lasting legacies of a distinguished career. Gene was particularly well known to members of the Meteoritical Society and the Microbeam Analysis Society, but he also cooperated broadly both within the Smithsonian Institution and the international scientific community.
Information on services, to be held on May 4–5, 2007, can be found at Department of Mineral Sciences.
Last updated
January 30, 2008