History

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. Click here to view the complete IGPP timeline from the 1960's to present.

The Evolution of IGPP "The Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP)" Oceanography: v. 16, n. 3/2003. From the Special Issue - Scripps Centennial edition of Oceanography: The evolution of IGPP from its inception in 1959, as recalled by directors: Munk, Gilbert, Orcutt, Zumberge and Parker.