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Erik Harold Hauri (April 25, 1966 – September 5, 2018) was an American geochemist at the Carnegie Institution for Science. He researched the movement of matter inside planets and how volatile compounds such as water originated on Earth and other planetary bodies, and their effects on volcanic systems.

Early life and education

Hauri was born on April 25, 1966, in Waukegan, Illinois, and was raised in Richmond, Illinois. His mother, Karen, was a homemaker and his father, Lawrence, was an automotive mechanic. Lawrence was an enthusiastic fisherman who took Hauri on fishing trips, sparking a lifelong interest in the outdoors. Hauri had one brother and one sister.

Hauri attended Richmond-Burton Community High School. As the first in his family to attend college, he graduated with his B.S. from the University of Miami in 1988 with a double major in geology and marine science. He completed his Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography in 1992.

Career

Hauri worked as a postdoctoral investigator at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and then assumed the position of staff scientist in the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution for Science in 1994. He also directed the Ion Microprobe Facility, where scientists can make micron-scale measurements of the isotopic and elemental composition of minerals.

In 1999, Hauri received the Houtermans Award from the European Association of Geochemistry. The following year he was awarded the James B. Macelwane Medal by the American Geophysical Union for significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding ability.

Since 2011, he served on the Executive Committee of the Deep Carbon Observatory and as co-chair of its Reservoirs and Fluxes Community. He was a member of the Geological Society of America, American Astronomical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was named a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the Geochemical Society.

Research

In his research, Hauri analyzed isotopes of different elements and uses modeling and seismic imaging techniques to understand the processes occurring inside the rocky planets and how these processes contributed to planetary evolution. One of these processes is volcanism. He studied how melting magma and eruptions impact the distribution of certain elements and volatile compounds inside of planets. In 2011, Hauri reported in Science that Moon sediments brought back on the Apollo 17 mission contained 100 times more water than previously reported, suggesting that the Moon likely holds larger quantities of water than previously expected. Further studies of the isotopes in lunar water suggest that the water originated on Earth.

Personal life and death

Hauri was married and had three children. He died of cancer on September 5, 2018, at his home in North Potomac, Maryland, aged 52.

References

1. Staff writer(s) (March 1993). "Recenlly Published Technical Reports and Theses" (PDF). Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Newsletter. p. 5.
2. "Erik H. Hauri | DTM". dtm.carnegiescience.edu. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
3. Hauri Vita dtm.ciw.edu
4. ^ Smith, Harrison (September 9, 2018). "Erik Hauri, scientist who found water on the moon, dies at 52". The Washington Post.
5. Erik Hauri, who found water on the Moon, dies at 52 carnegiescience.edu
6. Richmond-Burton grad Erik Hauri, scientist who found water on the moon, died at 52 Archived 2018-09-14 at the Wayback Machine Northwest Herald
7. ^ DTM Staff Scientist Erik Hauri Passes Away Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution for Science
8. ^ "Erik H. Hauri CV" (PDF). Carnegie Institution for Science.
9. Erik Hauri Biography Archived 2018-08-07 at the Wayback Machine dtm.ciw.edu
10. "Houtermans Award " European Association of Geochemistry". www.eag.eu.com. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
11. "Erik Hauri – Honors Program". Honors Program. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
12. "DCO Scientific Steering Committees | Deep Carbon Observatory Portal". deepcarbon.net. Archived from the original on 2018-08-07. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
13. Science, Carnegie. "Erik Hauri | Carnegie Institution for Science". carnegiescience.edu. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
14. Palmer, Jason (2011-05-26). "Moon soil hints at water bonanza". BBC News. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
15. "Moon and Earth May Share a Watery Past". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
16. Dr. Erik Hauri (1966-2018) Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute
17. Erik Hauri, who found water on the Moon, dies at 52 Carnegie Institution for Science

Further reading

• Moon's interior water casts doubt on formation theory
• Apollo 17 Moon rocks are surprisingly wet

• 1966 births
• 2018 deaths
• American geochemists
• Deaths from cancer in Maryland
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
• People from Waukegan, Illinois
• Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science alumni