Ursula B. Marvin

Ursula Bailey Marvin (August 20, 1921 – February 12, 2018) was an American planetary geologist and author who worked for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

She won the 1997 Women in Science and Engineering Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1986, the Geological Society of America awarded her their History of Geology Award. She also won the 2005 Sue Tyler Friedman Medal, and Antarctica's Marvin Nunatak is named in her honor. In 2012, the Meteoritical Society awarded her the Service Award in part for her work recording the oral history of meteoriticists. Asteroid (4309) Marvin is named in her honour, as is Marvin Crater on the Moon, located near the Lunar south pole.

Early life and education Ursula Bailey was born in Bradford, Vermont, on August 20, 1921, to Harold Leslie Bailey and Alice M. Bailey. Her childhood near the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where, as she recalled in 1997, sunsets "shone with a pink-purple afterglow," inspired her with a love of the outdoors, but did not, at first, spark an interest in geology. She was briefly married to Lloyd Chaisson, a dental student at the University of Chicago. and authored over 160 research papers. Her key contributions in planetary science concentrated on studies of meteorites and lunar samples. Her publications include analysis of oxidation products of Sputnik 4 to determine mineralogical alteration over exposure time with applications to iron meteorites. She was also involved with numerous studies of returned samples from both the American and Russian lunar programs, including from the Apollo 12, Apollo 15, Apollo 16 missions, and from Luna 16 and Luna 20.

She traveled to Antarctica for three of the early ANSMET surveys and analyzed the first lunar meteorite, Allan Hills A81005. She was the first woman on the American team that conducted research there.

Awards and honors 1997, Lifetime Achievement Award from Women in Science and Engineering. 1986, History of Geology Award, Geological Society of America 2005, Sue Tyler Friedman Medal 2012, Service Award, the Meteoritical Society Antarctica's Marvin Nunatak is named in her honor. Asteroid (4309) Marvin is named in her honor. Marvin Crater, located near the south pole of the Moon, is named in her honor.