Frank Press

Biography

Abstract

Frank Press is Director of the Washington Advisory Group (1996-present). Other institutional affiliations include the National Academy of Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and California Institute of Technology. His research interests include geophysics and plate tectonics.

Important Dates

December 4, 1924Birth, New York (N.Y.).

1944Obtained BS, City College of New York, New York (N.Y.).

1946Obtained MA, Columbia University, New York (N.Y.).

1949Obtained PhD in Geophysics, Columbia University, New York (N.Y.).

1949 – 1955Instructor to Associate Professor of Geophysics, Columbia University, New York (N.Y.).

1955 – 1959Member, Glaciology and Seismology Panel, International Geophysical Year.

1955 – 1965Professor of Geophysics (1955-1965) and Director, Seismological Laboratory (1957-1965), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Calif.).

1956 – 1957Consultant, United States Navy.

1957 – 1959Consultant, United States Geological Survey.

1958Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1958 – 1962Consultant, United States Department of State.

1958 – 1962Consultant, United States Department of Defense.

1959Member, Governor's Advisory Council on Atomic Activities, State of California.

1959 – 1960Consultant, Office of Science and Technology, Executive Office of the President.

1959 – 1961United States Delegate (1959-1961) and Chair, United States Delegation (1960), Nuclear Test Ban Conference, Geneva.

1960 – 1962Consultant, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

1961 – 1964Member, International Geophysics Committee, International Council of Scientific Unions.

1961 – 1964Consultant, United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.

1961 – 1964Member, President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

1962 – 1963President, Seismological Society of America.

1963United States Delegate, Nuclear Test Ban Conference, Moscow.

1965 – 1970Consultant (1965) and Member, Lunar and Planetary Mission Board (1965-1970), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

1965 – 1977Professor of Geophysics (1965-1977) and Chair, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (1965-1977), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).

1966 – 1976Consultant, United States Department of the Interior.

1970 – 1974Member, United States Geodynamics Committee, Geophysics Research Board, Division of Physical Sciences, National Research Council.

1970 – 1976Member, National Science Board.

1970 – 1976Participant, Bilateral Science Agreement Negotiations.

1973 – 1978Member, Commission on Natural Resources (1973-1974); Member, Geophysics Study Committee, Geophysics Research Board, Division of Physical Sciences (1974-1977); Member, United States National Committee for Geology, Assembly of Mathematical and Physical Sciences (1974-1978); and Chair, Committee on Scholarly Communication with People's Republic of China, Commission on International Relations (1975-1977), National Research Council.

1974 – 1976President, American Geophysical Union.

1975 – 1978Member, Council Committee on National Science Policy (1975-1977); Member, Council (1975-1978); and Chair, Council Committee on National Science Policy (1976-1977), National Academy of Sciences.

1977 – 1981Director and Science Adviser to the President, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President, Washington (D.C.).

1980 – 1982Chair, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

1981 – 1993President, National Academy of Sciences, Washington (D.C.).

1982 – 1992Member (1982-1992) and Life Member to Life Member Emeritus (1992-present), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Corporation.

1993 – presentCecil and Ida Green Senior Fellow (1993-1997) and Member to Senior Member, Board of Trustees (1995-present), Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington (D.C.).

1994Awarded National Medal of Science.

1995Chair, Committee on Criteria for Federal Support of Research and Development, National Research Council.

1996 – presentDirector, Washington Advisory Group, Washington (D.C.).

Occupation

Geophysicist.

Places

Birth

New York (N.Y.)

Undergraduate Education

New York (N.Y.)

Graduate Education

New York (N.Y.)

Employment

New York (N.Y.)

Pasadena (Calif.)

Cambridge (Mass.)

Washington (D.C.)

Subjects

Geophysics.

Plate tectonics.

Seismology.

Relationships

People

Family

Press, Billie K., 1925-

Wife.

Advisors & Collaborators

Siever, Raymond

Co-author of "Earth."

Colleagues

Balluffi, R. W.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Bardeen, John

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Bitter, Francis, 1902-1967

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Booth, Eugene

Both employed at Columbia University.

Brillouin, Léon, 1889-1969

Both employed at Columbia University.

Bronk, Detlev W. (Detlev Wulf), 1897-1975

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Brooks, Harvey

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Brown, Harold, 1927-2019

Both employed at Columbia University.

Calvin, Melvin, 1911-1997

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Davis, Bergen, 1869-1958

Both employed at Columbia University.

Doty, Paul M., 1920-2011

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

DuBridge, Lee A. (Lee Alvin), 1901-1994

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Dunning, John R. (John Ray), 1907-1975

Both employed at Columbia University.

Foley, Henry Michael, 1917-1982

Both employed at Columbia University.

Frosch, Robert A. (Robert Alan), 1928-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Garwin, Richard L.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Gilliland, Edwin Richard, 1909-1973

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Goldhaber, Gerson

Both employed at Columbia University.

Handler, Philip, 1917-1981

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Henley, Ernest M.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Hornig, Donald F., 1920-2013

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Hughes, Vernon W.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Keyworth, George A., II, 1939-

Both employed at the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Killian, James Rhyne, 1904-1988

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Kinoshita, T. (Toichiro)

Both employed at Columbia University.

Kistiakowsky, George B. (George Bogdan), 1900-1982

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Kraichnan, Robert H., 1928-2008

Both employed at Columbia University.

Kroll, Norman Myles, 1922-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Kusch, Polykarp, 1911-1993

Both employed at Columbia University.

Lamb, Willis E. (Willis Eugene), 1913-2008

Both employed at Columbia University.

Lederman, Leon M.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Lee, T. D., 1926-

Both employed at Columbia University.

Loeb, Robert F. (Robert Frederick), 1895-1973

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Long, Franklin A., 1910-1999

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Low, Francis E. (Francis Eugene), 1921-2007

Both employed at Columbia University.

MacDonald, Gordon J. (Gordon James), 1929-2002

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

MacLeod, Colin M. (Colin Munro), 1909-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

McElroy, William David, 1917-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Novick, Robert

Both employed at Columbia University.

Panofsky, Wolfgang K. H. (Wolfgang Kurt Hermann), 1919-2007

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Pegram, George Braxton, 1876-1958

Both employed at Columbia University.

Pierce, John R. (John Robinson), 1910-2002

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Piore, Emanuel Ruben, 1908-2000

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Purcell, Edward M.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Rabi, I. I. (Isidor Isaac), 1898-1988

Both employed at Columbia University.

Rainwater, L. James (Leo James), 1917-1986

Both employed at Columbia University.

Ruderman, Malvin A.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Sachs, Allan M. (Allan Maxwell), 1921-1989

Both employed at Columbia University.

Schawlow, Arthur L., 1921-1999

Both employed at Columbia University.

Seaborg, Glenn T. (Glenn Theodore), 1912-1999

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Seitz, Frederick, 1911-2008

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Serber, R. (Robert)

Both employed at Columbia University.

Slichter, Charles P.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Stratton, Julius Adams, 1901-1994

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Thomas, Llewellyn Hilleth, 1903-1992

Both employed at Columbia University.

Townes, Charles H.

Both employed at Columbia University.

Tukey, John W. (John Wilder), 1915-2000

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Weinberg, Alvin Martin, 1915-2006

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Wiesner, Jerome B. (Jerome Bert), 1915-1994

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

York, Herbert F. (Herbert Frank)

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Zacharias, Jerrold Reinach, 1905-1986

Both employed by President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Zinn, Walter H. (Walter Henry), 1906-2000

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Additional

Allen, Clarence R. (Clarence Roderic), 1925-

Bentley, Charles R.

Bethe, Hans A. (Hans Albrecht), 1906-2005

Broecker, Wallace S., 1931-

Dorman, Henry James, 1928-

Ewing, J. I. (John I.)

Greene, Harriett

Havens, William W. (William Westerfield), 1920-2004

Katz, Samuel, 1923-

Knopoff, Leon, 1925-

Langseth, Marcus G.

Menard, Henry W. (Henry William), 1920-1986

Munk, Walter H. (Walter Heinrich), 1917-

Nafe, Sally

Nierenberg, William Aaron, 1919-2000

Noyes, Robert W., 1934-

Officer, Charles B.

Oliver, J. E. (Jack Ertle), 1923-2011

Phillips, Melba, 1907-2004

Sutton, George H., 1927-

Sykes, L. R.

Institutions

Major Positions

California Institute of Technology. Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences.

Professor of Geophysics.

California Institute of Technology. Seismological Laboratory.

Director.

Columbia University. Department of Physics

Obtained MA (1946) and Ph.D. in Geophysics (1949). Instructor to Associate Professor of Geophysics

LECG, LLC. Washington Advisory Group (Consulting Firm)

Director.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Geology and Geophysics

Professor of Geophysics.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

President; Member; Member, Council Committee on National Science Policy; Member, Council; and Chair, Council Committee on National Science Policy.

United States. Office of Science and Technology Policy

Director and Science Adviser to the President and Consultant.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Geophysical Union

President.

Carnegie Institution of Washington

Cecil and Ida Green Senior Fellow and Member to Senior Member, Board of Trustees.

College of the City of New York (1926-1961). City College. Physics Department

Obtained BS (1944).

Geological Survey (U.S.)

Consultant.

International Council of Scientific Unions

Member, International Geophysics Committee.

International Geophysical Year, 1957-1958

Member, Glaciology and Seismology Panel.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Corporation

Member; Life Member to Life Member Emeritus.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences

Department Chair.

National Research Council (U.S.)

Member, United States Geodynamics Committee, Geophysics Research Board, Division of Physical Sciences; Member, Commission on Natural Resources; Member, Geophysics Study Committee, Geophysics Research Board, Division of Physical Sciences; Member, United States National Committee for Geology, Assembly of Mathematical and Physical Sciences; Chair, Committee on Scholarly Communication with People's Republic of China, Commission on International Relations; and Chair, Committee on Criteria for Federal Support of Research and Development.

National Science Board (U.S.)

Member.

Seismological Society of America.

President.

United States. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency

Consultant.

United States. Department of Defense

Consultant.

United States. Department of State

Consultant.

United States. Department of the Interior

Consultant.

United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Consultant and Member, Lunar and Planetary Mission Board.

United States. Navy

Consultant.

United States. President's Science Advisory Committee

Member.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Frank Press papers, 1945-1997.

Institute Archives and Special Collections

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

M.I.T. Libraries, Rm. 14N-118, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

Oral history interview with Frank Press, 1997 July 1 and 30.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

William Aaron Nierenberg papers, 1932-2000.

Mandeville Special Collections Library

University of California, San Diego

9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA

Subject

Henry William Menard papers, 1938-1986 (bulk 1960-1986).

Mandeville Special Collections Library

University of California, San Diego

9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory oral history project, 1995-1997.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

MIT Office of the President records, 1972-1990.

Institute Archives and Special Collections

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

M.I.T. Libraries, Rm. 14N-118, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

MIT Office of the Provost records of Walter A. Rosenblith, 1958-1980.

Institute Archives and Special Collections

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

M.I.T. Libraries, Rm. 14N-118, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

Oral history interview with Billie K. Press, 1996 March 15 and 1997 July 30.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Charles Officer and Trixie Officer, 1995 November 29.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Charles R. Bentley, 2008 August 6 and 7.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Clarence R. Allen, 1994 April 1 and 4.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral history interview with George H. Sutton, 1996 December 30 and 3 June 1997.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Harriett Greene, 1996-1997.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Henry James Dorman, 1997.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Jack E. Oliver, 1996 March 8 and 1997 September 27.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with John and Betty Ewing, 1996-1997.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Leon Knopoff, 1990 April 27.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Leon Lederman, 2002 August 12.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Lynn R. Sykes, 1996-1997.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Lynn Sykes, 1994 June 29.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Marcus G. Langseth, 1995 December 13, 21, and 1996 June 3, December 19.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Melba Newell Phillips, 1977 December 5.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral History interview with Robert Alan Frosch, 1981 July 10, 23, August 19, September 15 and October 6.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Robert W. Noyes, 2007 December 5.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Sally Nafe, 1997 July 8.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Samuel Katz, 1997 May 14.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Wallace S. Broecker, 1997 November 14 and December 21.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with William W. Havens, 1991 February 21, July 17, 29, Augut 5, 12 and 14.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Walter Heinrich Munk papers (Collection 87-35), 1944-2002.

Mandeville Special Collections Library

University of California, San Diego

9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA

Published Resources

Author

Earth [by] Frank Press [and] Raymond Siever.

Subject

"A Conversation with Frank Press," Physics in Perspective 6 (2004): 184-196