James Burleigh Thompson Jr. (November 20, 1921 – November 15, 2011) was an American mineralogist and geologist. He was known for his research into the thermodynamics of minerals and the relationship to structure. He introduced the term '' polysomatic series'' for describing layered structures with chemically distinct layers.

Education and career

Thompson studied geology at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

, graduating with an AB in 1942. From 1942 to 1946, he worked in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

as a weather forecaster. He started graduate school afterwards, studying in geology at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

and graduated with a PhD in 1950. Thompson was hired at

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 ...

as an instructor in

petrology Petrology () is the branch of geology that studies rocks, their mineralogy, composition, texture, structure and the conditions under which they form. Petrology has three subdivisions: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary petrology. Igneous ...

in 1949 as a successor of Esper Signius Larsen. He was promoted to assistant professor in the following year to full professorship in 1960. Thompson was named Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology at Harvard in 1977.

Honors and awards

Thompson was elected a member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1958, and a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

in 1967. He was awarded the Arthur L. Day Medal of the

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hi ...

in 1964, the

Roebling Medal The Roebling Medal is the highest award of the Mineralogical Society of America for scientific eminence as represented primarily by scientific publication of outstanding original research in mineralogy. The award is named for Colonel Washington A. ...

from the

Mineralogical Society of America The Mineralogical Society of America (MSA) is a scientific membership organization. MSA was founded in 1919 for the advancement of mineralogy, crystallography, geochemistry, and petrology, and promotion of their uses in other sciences, industry, ...

in 1978, and the

V. M. Goldschmidt Award The V. M. Goldschmidt Award is an award given by the Geochemical Society at the V. M. Goldschmidt Conference for achievements in the fields of geochemistry and cosmochemistry. The award in honor of Victor Moritz Goldschmidt, a pioneer in both thos ...

of the

Geochemical Society The Geochemical Society is a nonprofit scientific organization founded to encourage the application of chemistry to solve problems involving geology and cosmology. The society promotes understanding of geochemistry through the annual Goldschmidt Co ...

in 1985.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, James B. Jr. 1921 births 2011 deaths Dartmouth College alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Harvard University faculty American mineralogists Presidents of the Geochemical Society Recipients of the V. M. Goldschmidt Award