Frederick L. Scarf

Frederick Leonard Scarf (July 25, 1930 – July 17, 1988) was an American physicist known for his work in plasma wave physics and his leadership in developing space-based instruments to study the solar wind and planetary magnetospheres. After earning a PhD in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he switched to space science in the early 1960s, working for TRW. Scarf played a central role in advocating for and designing plasma wave instruments aboard numerous NASA and international missions, including OGO-5, Pioneer Venus Orbiter, Giotto, ISEE-3, and the Voyager program spacecraft, where he served as the principal investigator for the Plasma Wave Subsystem (PWS).

His innovative conversion of plasma wave data from the Voyager's PWS into audio recordings, called the "sounds of space" by journalists, gained public and scientific attention. A strong proponent of international collaboration, Scarf worked on joint projects with European, Japanese, and Soviet space programs, even during periods of official US policy restrictions. He died suddenly while visiting the Soviet Space Research Institute in Moscow. In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded with two NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medals, and the American Geophysical Union established the Fred L. Scarf Award in his honor.

Biography Frederick Leonard Scarf was born on July 25, 1930, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Jewish emigrants from Ukraine and Russia, Lene (Elkman) and Louis Scarf. He had a twin brother, mathematical economist Herbert Eli Scarf. He studied physics at Temple University (BSc 1951) and then in Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD 1955); he used the Bethe–Salpeter equation to study the deuteron for his thesis. and then on Pioneer 8, 9, and the Pioneer Venus Orbiter.

The "sounds of space" were released on cassettes and CDs. After Scarf's death in 1988, Donald Gurnett became the PI of the PWS.

When NASA rejected a space probe mission to Halley's Comet, Scarf, with the help of NASA's Robert W. Farquhar, ISEE-3 became the first space probe that studied a comet. When NASA was prohibited to participate in joint Soviet-American space programs, Scarf was one of a few scientists who continued to work with Soviets despite this ruling. To do it, Scarf became a part-time employee of UCLA, that allowed him "to get a grant from NASA to continue his work with the Soviets". One time he attempted to make NASA donate a spare Voyager instrument to the Soviets to continue research, but NASA refused. Similar instrument was then transferred by ESA, which asked Scarf to be a co-investigator.

Scarf was married and had four children.

Discography Sounds of Saturn, 1982 Uranus Sounds From Space, 1986

Selected publications