IGPP is very sad to report the loss J. Freeman Gilbert, former Director and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of geophysics who died on Aug.15th.
During his 53 years with IGPP, Freeman was beloved by a long list of colleagues and former students who he has mentored throughout his long and illustrious career. He was the first faculty member hired at IGPP and its second Director. His seminal work on observing and interpreting the frequencies of the normal modes of oscillation of Earth led him to create the IDA (International Deployment of Accelerometers) project, and he was instrumental in creating the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) in 1984 at a workshop held at Scripps. His awards and honors included AGU’s William Bowie Medal, the organization’s highest honor, which recognizes outstanding contributions to fundamental geophysics and for unselfish cooperation in research; membership in the National Academy of Sciences; membership in the Italian Accademia dei Lincei; and the Balzan Prize.