Thomas J. Ahrens

Thomas Julian Ahrens (April 25, 1936 – November 24, 2010) was an American geophysicist and professor at the Caltech. His research focused on the study of terrestrial planets and the impact processes on their surfaces. Through his contributions to research on topics including dynamic loading, structural changes to molten silicates, and shock wave temperature measurement methods, his work contributed to understanding of the origin and evolution of Mars, the Moon, Jupiter, Venus, and Earth. He credits MIT's Patrick Hurley for his emerging interest in the questions of the evolution of the Earth and planets.

Accolades Ahrens received several honors throughout his career, including the AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize in 1984 and election to the National Academy of Sciences in 1992. On December 17, 1996, he was awarded the Harry H. Hess Award at the AGU Fall Meeting Honor Ceremony. The iron-rich endmember of the γ-olivine solid solution series, γ-Fe2SiO4, was named "ahrensite" in his honor in 2013.