Bill Phinney Retires

Dr. William C. Phinney, our Associate Curator of Lunar Samples and an internationally respected geologist, retired from NASA service on May 3, 1994. Bill joined NASA in 1970 as Chief of the newly established Geology Branch, which had as its mission, the geological training of Apollo astronauts and preliminary examination of the samples that the astronauts returned from the Moon. He led both field training and laboratory sample research and became widely recognized as a leader in comparative studies of rocks from the ancient crusts of the Earth and Moon.

After the Apollo program ended, Bill served in numerous leadership roles, including Chief of the Experimental Planetology Branch. Bill later moved into a nonsupervisory position in order to concentrate on his research. But when the lunar sample curatorial effort needed to fill a key vacancy in late 1992, Bill graciously answered the call as Associate Curator. In addition to his role as senior science observer for lunar sample processing, he successfully completed a thorough review and upgrade of our reference thin-section library.

Bill's scientific accomplishments have been acknowledged by his peers through commendations too numerous to list here. His exceptional achievements have been formally recognized by NASA, the Geological Society of America, and the Minnesota Academy of Sciences.

Even with his remarkable scientific distinctions, Bill was just as appreciated, if not as well known, for his service as chairman of the NASA scholarship committee which annually awarded privately endowed college scholarships to high-achieving children of NASA employees across the agency. We trust that his stewardship of higher education is not finished and we expect that some lucky college or university faculty and student body may benefit more directly from Bill's knowledge in the future.