Dallas Lynn Peck (March 28, 1929 – August 21, 2005) was an American

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

and

volcanologist A volcanologist, or volcano scientist, is a geologist who focuses on understanding the formation and eruptive activity of volcanoes. Volcanologists frequently visit volcanoes, sometimes active ones, to observe and monitor volcanic eruptions, col ...

. Peck was a native of

Cheney, Washington Cheney ( ) is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States. The full-time resident population was 13,255 as of the 2020 census. Eastern Washington University is located in Cheney. When classes are in session at EWU, the city's populati ...

. He received his bachelor's (1951) and master's (1953) degrees in geology from the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

. He received a doctorate in geology from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1960.Continuation of Dallas Lynn Peck as Director of the United States Geological Survey
July 27, 1989

Life

Dr. Peck graduated from the California Institute of Technology and Harvard University (Ph.D., 1960). He was born March 28, 1929, in Cheney, WA. Dr. Peck had resided in Virginia. He spent his early career studying the

volcanoes A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

and volcanic rocks of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

and the western United States. In the mid-1960s, he helped train U.S.

astronauts An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

on what to expect on the lunar landscape. He also was among the first U.S. scientists to work with the Soviet Union and China in cooperative earthquake research in the 1970s. Throughout his career, he was an adviser to the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

, a member of the National Research Council, and representative to the Third General Meeting of the U.S.-Japan Cooperative Sciences Program. His memberships included the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

, the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, Atmospheric science, atmospheric, Oceanography, ocean, Hydrology, hydrologic, Astronomy, space, and Planetary science, planetary scientists and enthusiasts that ...

and the

Cosmos Club The Cosmos Club is a 501(c)(7) private social club in Washington, D.C., that was founded by John Wesley Powell in 1878 as a gentlemen's club for those interested in science. Among its stated goals is, "The advancement of its members in science, ...

. Peck died on August 21, 2005, at Inova Fairfax Hospital in

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

, of complications from open-heart surgery in June 2005.

USGS career

Dallas Peck was an authority on volcanoes who served as director of the

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on March ...

from 1981 to 1993. He spent his entire career at the

, starting in 1951. Peck worked in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

before moving to the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, area in 1966. He was chief of the geologic division from 1977 until he was appointed director of the survey. During his tenure, he expanded the scope of the survey's work on mineral resources, global change, water quality and mapping. Following his term as Director, he returned to the Geologic Division of USGS in 1993 to conduct research on the granites of

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...

and the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

and to serve as adviser in the Office of the Chief Geologist. In 1995 he retired from the USGS, but continued his research as an

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

scientist until his death. USGS Press Release, October 20, 2005
accessed February 11, 2009

Awards and honors

* The
Dallas Peck Outstanding Scientist Emeritus Award
' is names in his honor. * He received the Interior Department's awards for meritorious (1970) and distinguished service (1979) as well as the Presidential Meritorious Executive Award (1980). * He received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the

in 1985. * A mountain range in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

was named after him in 1989.

Publications

* Geologic Map of the Yosemite Quadrangle, Central Sierra Nevada, California (2002) USGS IMAP No. 2751 * Yosemite Quadrangle, Central Sierra Nevada, California—Analytic Data (2001) USGS Open File Report No. 2001-252
Karst hydrogeology in the United States
, with Joseph W. Troester; John E. Moore. (1988) USGS Open File Report No. 88-476
Merced Peak Quadrangle, central Sierra Nevada, California; analytic data
with G.K. Van Kooten (1983) USGS Professional Paper No. 1170-D * Geologic map of the Merced Peak quadrangle, central Sierra Nevada, California (1980) USGS Geologic Quadrangle No. 1531 * Cooling and vesiculation of Alae lava lake, Hawaii (1978) USGS Professional Paper No. 935-B * The eruption of August 1963 and the formation of Alae lava lake, Hawaii (1976) USGS Professional Paper No. 935-A * Geology of the central and northern parts of the Western Cascade Range in Oregon, with A.B. Griggs, H.G. Schlicker, F. G. Wells, and H.M. Dole (1964) USGS Professional Paper No. 449 * Geologic reconnaissance of the Antelope-Ashwood area, north-central Oregon, with emphasis on the John Day Formation of late Oligocene and early Miocene age (1964) USGS Bulletin No. 1161-D * Preliminary geologic map of the Merced Peak quadrangle, California (1964) USGS Miscellaneous Field Studies Map No. 281 * Preliminary geologic map of the Strawberry Mine area, Madera County, California (1962) USGS Open File Report No. 62-102 * Geologic map of Oregon west of the 121st meridian, prepared under the direction of F.G. Wells; compiled by D.L. Peck (1961) USGS IMAP No. 325 * Geologic reconnaissance of the Western Cascades in Oregon north of latitude 43 degrees (1960) USGS Open File Report No. 60-110

References

Other sources

* Marshall, Eliot. ''Dallas Peck to Head USGS.'' Science. Vol. 212, no. 4502 (June 26, 1981) pp. 1484–1485 * Drew, Lawrence J. ''Directions.'' Natural Resources Research. Volume 4, Number 2 (June, 1995) pp. 125–128

External links

Photograph of Dallas Peck
from

Museum Collection
Photograph of Dallas Peck
from U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library

Photograph of Dallas Lynn Peck
from U.S. Geological Survey History

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peck, Dallas Lynn 20th-century American geologists 1929 births 2005 deaths United States Geological Survey personnel American volcanologists People from Cheney, Washington California Institute of Technology alumni Harvard University alumni