Ernst Zinner, lithic astronomer

Meteoritics & Planetary Science 42, Nr 7/8, 1045–1054 (2007) Abstract available online at http://meteoritics.org Ernst Zinner, lithic astronomer Kevin D. M C KEEGAN Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095–1567, USA E-mail: kdm@ess.ucla.edu It is a rare privilege to be one of the founders of an entirely new field of science, and it is especially remarkable when that new field belongs to the oldest branch of “natural philosophy.” The nature of the stars has perplexed and fascinated humanity for millennia. While the sources of their luminosity and their structures and evolution were revealed over the last century, it is thanks to the pioneering efforts of a rare and remarkable man, Ernst Zinner, as well as his colleagues and students (mostly at the University of Chicago and at Washington University in Saint Louis), that in the last two decades it has become possible to literally hold a piece of a star in one’s hand. Armed with sophisticated microscopes and mass spectrometers of various sorts, these “lithic astronomers” are able to reveal stellar processes in exquisite detail by examining the chemical, mineralogical, and especially the nuclear properties of these microscopic grains of stardust. With this special issue of Meteoritics & Planetary Science, we honor Ernst Zinner (Fig. 1) and his stellar career achievements on the occasion of his completion of 70 orbits. We cannot here do proper justice to also honoring his admirable personal qualities that have inspired a generation of scientists to follow his lead in studying the death of stars and the birth of our own star. Fortunately, many of us had an opportunity to celebrate Ernst the scientist—and Ernst the man—at the SIMS in the Space Sciences: The Zinner Impact Symposium held at Washington University February 3–4, 2007. This wonderful event, organized by Christine Floss along with Sachiko Amari, Randy Korotev, Frank Stadermann, and Brigitte Wopenka, was attended by about 120 scientists, some of whom have also contributed papers to this volume. This article presents a partial scientific biography and a personal view of the “Zinner impact” by one who was fortunate enough to be involved in a small way in some of the early adventures. Ernst Zinner was born January 30, 1937, and grew up in a beautiful stone house that was built in 1615 (and still stands) in Saint Peter in der Au, a small town in the Austrian countryside about 100 miles west of Vienna. He is the oldest of five siblings and his father Kunibert was quite a famous sculptor. The history of this setting, their house filled with music, and the mountain hillsides filled with butterflies (which required catching and cataloguing) would all play Fig. 1. Ernst K. Zinner, research professor of physics and earth and planetary sciences at Washington University in Saint Louis (2006). their role in shaping the boy. A deep appreciation of the beauty of the natural world coupled with a lifelong love of classical music, as well as the occasional frustration at the impermanence of things in the U.S. (particularly the eating establishments in the Houston area), would be a few of the characteristics that would find expression in the man. It was natural that Ernst should study physics, which he did at the Technische Hochschule in Vienna, obtaining his Diplom- Ingenieur in 1960. Following a year of instructing veterinary students in physics, Ernst took a programming job in Switzerland, primarily to avoid mandatory service in the Austrian army. However, he soon decided to resume his graduate studies and applied to various American universities, apparently unaware of that country’s interest in a place called Vietnam. He was accepted at Washington University in Saint Louis in 1965 and, ironically, along with © The Meteoritical Society, 2007. Printed in USA.