Harold C. Helgeson (November 13, 1931 – May 28, 2007) was an American scientist and educator. A pioneering theoretical

geochemist Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the ...

, he was a professor at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

Early life

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he grew up in

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. He received a B.S. in geology at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in 1953. Helgeson went to

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

for graduate school, supervised by

Robert M. Garrels Robert Minard Garrels (August 24, 1916 – March 8, 1988) was an American geochemist. Garrels applied experimental physical chemistry data and techniques to geology and geochemistry problems. The book ''Solutions, Minerals, and Equilibria'' co-a ...

. Helgeson received his Ph.D. in 1962.

References

* Schulte, Mitch, 2000. A conversation with Harold Helgeson. The Geochemical News, January. * Shock, Everett L. and Jan P. Amend, 2001. A tribute to Hal Helgeson on his 70th birthday. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 65, page 3613. * Sverjensky, Dimitri A. 2007
Obituary
Elements, August. American geochemists 1931 births 2007 deaths University of California, Berkeley faculty People from Saint Paul, Minnesota Harvard University alumni Michigan State University alumni Recipients of the V. M. Goldschmidt Award {{US-chemist-stub