Historical Timeline 1960 – 1970: The Early Years
The Munk Laboratory circa 1970, looking north
The Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary
Physics was dedicated in 1964, after a formal decision to develop
the Institute in 1960. The original idea for the Institute was hatched
in 1959 to "attract able minds away from traditional forms
of physics," particularly because new geophysics departments
had started to appear in other parts of the United States. At this
time there was no UC San Diego, and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography
was known as the University of California, La Jolla.
The Institute was initially to be focused on planetary physics,
with an emphasis on the Earth-Moon system. In the initial proposal
for IGPP on April 15, 1959, Vic Vacquier wrote:
"We thus
envision an institute located near the Scripps Institution on the
UCLJ campus, which by 1964 might consist of a dozen senior investigators,
25 junior staff, 25 pre-Ph.D. students and 5 post-doctoral fellows."
On April 23, 1959, Walter Munk received a letter from UCLA providing
"minor but immediate support for the Institute Program at La
Jolla" to help relieve some of the early monetary shortfalls.
This support was $1000 in petty cash and $2500 for research Asstistants.
On June 2, 1959, a memo was sent to Roger Revelle (then Director
of Scripps) and Louis Slichter (the Director of the State-wide Institute
of Geophysics at UCLA) outlining the formal proposal for a La Jolla
branch of the Institute of Geophysics, and in July 1959, IGPLJ was
established. Initially, all members of IGPP had appointments in
existing UC departments, including Scripps Institution of Oceanography,
Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering, and Physics.
In January 1960 Walter Munk applied for a grant of $486,000 from
the Max C. Fleischmann Foundation of Nevada to build the initial
geophysical laboratory (now the Munk Laboratory)--half the estimated
building cost. The rest of the funds were to be raised from the
NSF and matched by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Despite
repeated efforts by Prof. Munk, the application to the Fleischmann
Foundation was unsuccessful; however, in his application Walter
outlined his vision for the new laboratory:
"The informal intimacy of the early days is now gone; we have
professional administrators and parking problems. I have found these
developments very disturbing, yet have become convinced that a modern
scientific institution must have a broader base than that of the
Scripps Institution during Sverdrup's days. This suggests an experiment:
is it possible to combine the advantages of a small, intimate institute
with the advantages provided by a modern, well-rounded campus? Could
one establish an institute on this campus sufficiently small so
that its director can devote most of his time to teaching and research,
sufficiently remote to provide peaceful intimacy among its members,
yet close enough to a general campus so that students can participate
in the research, and staff members have convienient access to shops,
library, modern computing facilities, and similar tools of the trade?"
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| Early seismometer |
On January 19, 1961, a site to the north of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography was recommended by the Campus Planning Committee as the site for the new laboratory, and on March 28, 1961
Prof. Munk outlined the role of IGPP on the San Diego campus:
"Above all the Institute is to remain relatively small. It is to be housed in an intimate and somewhat separate laboratory so that
people with various backgrounds remain in very close contact."
On April 5, 1961, the Committee on Educational Policy approved
Prof. Munk's plans for the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary
Physics at La Jolla, the estimated cost of which was $972, 000,
or $20.90 per assignable square foot. The redwood building north
of Scripps Pier was constructed (which went on to win several design
awards), and in 1961 IGPP published its first annual report. A field
testing station at Camp Elliot provided space for testing seismic
instruments, and negotiations started for the development of a permanent
geophysical observatory at Pinyon Flat, two and a half hours from
the Institute.
On December 9, 1961, Prof. Munk wrote to his friend, Cecil Green,
requesting the establishment of a "Cecil Green Professorship"
in Geophysics, and by December 15 Prof. Munk had received notification
from the University of California that IGPP be decentralized, effective
immediately.
On August 14, 1964, Prof. Munk advised the Systemwide Institute
of Geophysics Director and the University of California Chancellor
that he had been director of IGPP for five years, and that the initial
phase of the formation of the La Jolla Laboratory of IGPP was coming
towards an end.
"We are about 80% staffed and adequately housed. Government support towards our research is at a satisfactory and fairly steady level,
$750,000".
W.F Libby (the Director of IGPP UCLA and Systemwide IGPP) recommended
to Chancellor York (UC Chancellor) that Prof. Munk remain as Associate
Director.
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| The "Barnyard" in 1970 |
Early academic and research specializations ranged the whole geophysics
curriculum, and included Geophysical Inverse Theory, Earthquake
Mechanisms, Seismic Geophysics, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Plate
Tectonics, Time Series Analysis, Theoretical Seismology, and Abyssal
Oceanography.
Founding faculty members were:
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| The study room |
George E. Backus (Professor of Geophysics)
Barry Block (Assoc. Professor of Geophysics)
Hugh Bradner (Res. Physicist, Professor of Engineering Physics and Geophysics)
Barry Block (Assoc. Professor of Geophysics)
James Brune (Professor of Geophysics)
Edward Bullard (Professor of Geophysics)
Douglas Caldwell (Asst. Res. Geophysicist, Asst. Professor)
Florence Dormer (Programmer)
Carl Eckart (Professor of Geophysics)
Christopher Garrett (Asst. Res. Geophysicist)
J. Freeman Gilbert (Professor of Geophysics)
Richard Haubrich (Professor of Geophysics)
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| Early OBS deployment |
Ralph Lovberg (Professor of Physics & Res. Physicist)
Jonathan
Berger (Asst. Res. Geophysicist)
John Miles (Professor of Applied Mechanics & Geophysics)
Robert Moore (Asst. Professor of Applied Electrophysics, Asst. Res.
Geophysicist)
Walter Munk (Director, La Jolla Laboratories, Professor of Geophysics)
Robert Parker (Asst. Professor of Geophysics)
Paul Richards (Asst. Res. Geophysicist)
Frank Snodgrass (Research Engineer)
Mark Wimbush (Asst. Res. Geophysicist)
Max Wyss (Asst. Res. Geophysicist)
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| Read
about the next period in IGPP's history; 1970-1980. Click
here |
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Interview
with Walter Munk, Professor Emeritus at IGPP.
Click here |
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