1999 Fredericton Encaenia - Ceremony C
Schmitt, Harrison Hagan
Doctor of Science (D.Sc.)
Orator: Patterson, Stephen E.
Citation:
ENCAENIA, MAY, 1999
HARRISON HAGAN SCHMITT
to be Doctor of Science
We are honored today by the presence of Jack Schmitt, noted American scientist, astronaut, and former member of the United States Senate. In 1972, he was a member of the last manned expedition to the moon, Apollo 17, and he is one of the twelve men who walked on the lunar surface.
He was always interested in science, but there were no real hints in his early life of his historic destiny. Born and reared in New Mexico, he received his Bachelor of Science degree from the California Institute of Technology, or Caltech. With a Fulbright Fellowship, he studied for a year at the University of Oslow in Norway before returning to the United States to complete his Ph.D. in geology at Harvard. His early interest was in Norwegian mineral deposits, and he spent his summers in typical student work for geological surveys in Norway, the American southwest, and Alaska. But after Harvard, he worked for the U.S. Geological Survey's Astrogeology Branch in Flagstaff Arizona where he participated in photographic and telescopic mapping of the moon and the development of lunar field geological methods. This is when he came to NASA's attention. In June 1965, he was selected as a scientist-astronaut, and he began the training that eventually would place him on Apollo 17 as its lunar module pilot and lunar geologist. He was the first and last civilian scientist-astronaut to do so.
The sight of blast-offs from Cape Canaveral is an image burned in the consciousness of everyone who has lived in the late twentieth century. Those who were alive at the time of the Apollo missions remember the thrill of seeing tiny lunar modules descend to the moon's surface, and futuristically clad earthlings bounce clumsily over its bleak landscape. We saw the American space program as a monument to human ingenuity and a demonstration of the awesome potential of scientific knowledge. Yet at the same time, there was always the thrill of fear knowing that, whatever the miraculous achievements of science, these were flesh and blood men risking their lives, taking a chance that everything would work as the technical scientists said they would. Travelling to the moon was an act of courage almost beyond human comprehension.
They landed at what they called the Taurus-Littrow landing site, chosen for the variety of its geological features. Jack Schmitt and his colleague Eugene Cernan, commander of the mission, explored the surface in three seven-hour outings, collecting surface samples and erecting a data relay station, while their third colleague, Ron Evans, circled the moon in the command module taking high-resolution photographs. After more than 72 hours on the moon, they headed back for splashdown in the Pacific, carrying 741 rock and soil samples, the biggest collection of lunar materials retrieved by any of the Apollo missions. The material still absorbs geologists fascinated with the task of reconstructing the moon's geological history.
Life after such an adventure could be anti-climax. But Jack Schmitt has gone on to serve his state and his country in the United States Senate where he served with distinction on several committees, notably as chairman of the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space. He has since been an advisor to presidents, a consultant in geology and engineering, an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin, and a corporate board member of several leading technology companies. He has been much honored, and frequently courted as a speaker.
It is our great honor that he has come to the University of New Brunswick to share his knowledge, his unprecedented experiences, and his insights. We salute Harrison Hagan Schmitt for his role in one of the great scientific achievements of the century, for his contribution to expanding our understanding of space and especially the moon's history, and for his service to his country. But above all, we salute him for his courage in flying above the eagles, with the curiosity of the young Icarus and the confidence of the new Adam.
From: Honoris Causa - UA Case 70, Box 3
HARRISON HAGAN SCHMITT
to be Doctor of Science
We are honored today by the presence of Jack Schmitt, noted American scientist, astronaut, and former member of the United States Senate. In 1972, he was a member of the last manned expedition to the moon, Apollo 17, and he is one of the twelve men who walked on the lunar surface.
He was always interested in science, but there were no real hints in his early life of his historic destiny. Born and reared in New Mexico, he received his Bachelor of Science degree from the California Institute of Technology, or Caltech. With a Fulbright Fellowship, he studied for a year at the University of Oslow in Norway before returning to the United States to complete his Ph.D. in geology at Harvard. His early interest was in Norwegian mineral deposits, and he spent his summers in typical student work for geological surveys in Norway, the American southwest, and Alaska. But after Harvard, he worked for the U.S. Geological Survey's Astrogeology Branch in Flagstaff Arizona where he participated in photographic and telescopic mapping of the moon and the development of lunar field geological methods. This is when he came to NASA's attention. In June 1965, he was selected as a scientist-astronaut, and he began the training that eventually would place him on Apollo 17 as its lunar module pilot and lunar geologist. He was the first and last civilian scientist-astronaut to do so.
The sight of blast-offs from Cape Canaveral is an image burned in the consciousness of everyone who has lived in the late twentieth century. Those who were alive at the time of the Apollo missions remember the thrill of seeing tiny lunar modules descend to the moon's surface, and futuristically clad earthlings bounce clumsily over its bleak landscape. We saw the American space program as a monument to human ingenuity and a demonstration of the awesome potential of scientific knowledge. Yet at the same time, there was always the thrill of fear knowing that, whatever the miraculous achievements of science, these were flesh and blood men risking their lives, taking a chance that everything would work as the technical scientists said they would. Travelling to the moon was an act of courage almost beyond human comprehension.
They landed at what they called the Taurus-Littrow landing site, chosen for the variety of its geological features. Jack Schmitt and his colleague Eugene Cernan, commander of the mission, explored the surface in three seven-hour outings, collecting surface samples and erecting a data relay station, while their third colleague, Ron Evans, circled the moon in the command module taking high-resolution photographs. After more than 72 hours on the moon, they headed back for splashdown in the Pacific, carrying 741 rock and soil samples, the biggest collection of lunar materials retrieved by any of the Apollo missions. The material still absorbs geologists fascinated with the task of reconstructing the moon's geological history.
Life after such an adventure could be anti-climax. But Jack Schmitt has gone on to serve his state and his country in the United States Senate where he served with distinction on several committees, notably as chairman of the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space. He has since been an advisor to presidents, a consultant in geology and engineering, an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin, and a corporate board member of several leading technology companies. He has been much honored, and frequently courted as a speaker.
It is our great honor that he has come to the University of New Brunswick to share his knowledge, his unprecedented experiences, and his insights. We salute Harrison Hagan Schmitt for his role in one of the great scientific achievements of the century, for his contribution to expanding our understanding of space and especially the moon's history, and for his service to his country. But above all, we salute him for his courage in flying above the eagles, with the curiosity of the young Icarus and the confidence of the new Adam.
From: Honoris Causa - UA Case 70, Box 3
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