Highlight Paul Ribbe

“Before and after” the Reviews in Mineralogy! and the On the left, the picture Paul Ribbe submitted to the University of Cambridge as part of his application in 1959. On the right, Paul enjoying well-earned retirement from editing Reviews in the RiMG volumes for 30 years. MSA’s Short Course Notes Before 1984, all 12 volumes had Mineralogy Five years passed before J.V. been typed on an IBM Selectric Smith, President of MSA, (5000 pages by one person— surveyed the members about the Margie Sentelle), pasted up, and desirability of reviving the short submitted as camera-ready course idea. Thus in 1973 the manuscripts to the printer. Ed Roedder’s Fluid Inclusions, our aul Ribbe retired from the Series Editor position of MSA Councilors appointed a first monograph, moved us into the Mineralogical Society of America in 2003, after committee to initiate the project that continues to this day. The the era of word processors, at editing 50 RiMG volumes and five monographs over first of 48 “modern” courses was which time the average number P of pages per volume jumped from the past 30 years. This stunning achievement was recog- held the following year with 430 to 530. By the late 1990s, size nized at the recent meeting of the Geological Society of Charlie Prewitt directing. Sulfide Mineralogy, a 284-page book, with was becoming a problem for America, where a special symposium was held in his six authors and six chapters— paperbound volumes. The honor. We gladly accepted his offer to write a brief Short Course Notes, Volume 1— average cover-to-cover distance was 630 pages, with the apogee at history of the Reviews in Mineralogy. was produced under my editor- ship in time for presentation at 1037 pages (Planetary Materials). Professor Emeritus of Mineralogy at Tech, Paul served as the Miami GSA. (Interestingly, In 1989, the second edition of president of MSA in 1986 and 1987 and was awarded the Distin- Sulfides went through four Volume 2, Feldspar Mineralogy, guished Public Service Medal by MSA in 1993 for his work with the printings and sold 7600 copies, appeared in a Chinese transla- Reviews in Mineralogy. He suspects that he was presented the 1995 more than any other single tion, and in 1992 Roedder’s Fluid Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland Schlumberger Award volume.) Three more volumes Inclusions was published in for the same undertaking. Paul retired from in 1996 appeared in subsequent years, Russian. after 30 years. He and his wife, Elna, live contentedly in Blacksburg, with increasing difficulty of Virginia, where both are heavily involved in Christian ministries. scheduling and quality control. Reviews in Mineralogy Thus, in 1978 Council asked me and to assume the role of Series In the year preceding 2000, MSA, A BRIEF HISTORY OF MSA’S REVIEWS IN MINERALOGY: Editor. led by Executive Director Alex Speer, and the Geochemical Reviews in Mineralogy and Society, led by President Mike FROM MANHATTAN the Science Citation Index Hochella, negotiated a change of TO THE MOON In 1980 two significant events name for the Reviews series: RiM took place: MSA changed the became RiMG—Reviews in Paul H. Ribbe name of Short Course Notes to Mineralogy and Geochemistry. Reviews in Mineralogy and the Jodi Junta Rosso was appointed Alcohol-Soluble his handouts. A surviving Institute for Scientific Informa- Series Editor for the Geochemical Short Course Notes fragrant fragment reads: “A tion asked for permission to Society’s volumes. The new title discussion of what needs to be better reflected what had been In the beginning, short courses of reference RiM papers (chapters) known in comparison with what the case for at least 15 years mineralogical interest were in their Journal of Citation Reports. might be determined will be and expanded our horizons intended to be held in conjunc- Listings in JCR and Current given at the beginning of the significantly. tion with the annual meetings of Contents since 1984 have helped lecture.” Auspicious beginning! the Geological Society of America establish the RiM volumes as In 2000, Volume 39 Transforma- significant players in the scien- and affiliated societies. Sponsored AGI’s Mimeographed Notes tion Processes in Minerals became by the American Geological tific literature, simultaneously the first RiMG book. The accompa- Institute’s Council on Education In subsequent years, courses satisfying promotion-and-tenure nying short course was convened and directed by Joseph V. Smith, entitled Pyroxenes and Amphiboles, “bean counters” who insist on in Cambridge, England—the first the first short course, Feldspars, Sheet Silicates, and Resonance knowing the number of citations outside the continental USA. was held November 1–3, 1965. Spectroscopy were presented. an author’s papers receive in a That year, 1565 pages (3 vol- Notes were produced for the 90 Lecturers expanded their short given year. Furthermore, RiM and umes) were published—not all participants by Joe Smith, David course notes into longer chapters. RiMG have been provided since that remarkable. In 2001—the Stewart, and myself using state- These were mimeographed and 1987 to all libraries that subscribe year the Department of Energy of-the-art Ditto-Master technolo- compiled in ever-thicker binders to American Mineralogist, making began generous support of gy. Tragedy struck when a bottle for circulation by AGI, which them accessible to a worldwide student scholarships for select of Scotch being smuggled in coincidentally (?) ran out of audience. (Then there were 1300+ short courses—there were 2196 Dave’s briefcase into dry funding for the project in 1968. library subscribers, now there are pages (4 volumes), and in 2002, Manhattan, Kansas, broke, 790.) 3775 (6 volumes!). As editor, I smearing or completely dissolv- was beginning to feel like a full- ing the purple ink from most of time employee of the Society,

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the incredible structures built by Looking Forward to the Past: various organisms out of calcite that must reflect some “vital” or A Session in Honor of biological effect. Both she and Jill Pasteris (St. Louis) also empha- Paul Ribbe and the sized the importance of quantify- ing such effects so as to be able to Reviews in Mineralogy use the compositions of biomin- erals as a proxy for the environ- and Geochemistry ment in which the organisms originally lived. Bob Hazen ineralogists young and old from all over the world gathered in (Carnegie Institution of Washing- Denver last November, at the annual meeting of the Geological ton) looked back to the origin of M life and the problem of under- even though Jodi Rosso had Society of America, to contribute to a session in honor of Paul Ribbe. standing how life’s essential assisted with several volumes and The title of the session reflected the fact that, as reviewed by Michael molecules, such as amino acids edited 2.5 of the 13. With my and sugars, became handed or wife’s gentle encouragement, I Hochella (Virginia Tech), Paul Ribbe’s career as a teacher and “chiral.” He suggested that chiral retired, knowing that Jodi would researcher in mineralogy became so intertwined with the development mineral surfaces may have played accept the job of Series Editor for of the Reviews volumes that it is difficult to separate one from the other. a key role in separating left- from both GS and MSA beginning with right-handed molecules or in Volume 54. catalyzing chiral synthesis The session was opened by volume. “Changing Perspectives” RiMG in Cyberspace reactions. And he looked forward Michael Carpenter (Cambridge), was the very apt title chosen by to the exciting new experimental By 2003 MSA had joined GSW with a picture of Paul Ribbe David Vaughan (University of techniques, borrowed from (GeoScience World), an aggregate (reproduced here) that Paul had Manchester) for his presentation biochemistry, that are starting of Earth science societies bonded submitted as part of his applica- that emphasized both the to be used to characterize the together to market their electron- tion to the University of Cam- development of studies of the interactions between mineral interactions of sulfide minerals ic publications, all of which are bridge back in 1959. At Cam- surfaces and biomolecules. Bob and the environment over the designed to exploit the search bridge, Paul determined the Downs (University of Arizona) last 30 years, and the novel capabilities of AGI’s GeoRef. crystal structures of several looked even farther forward with feldspars and was the first to experimental tools that have Although the means of individual his presentation of a recently show that the structure of low been developed to enable those access to RiMG has not yet been developed hand-held Raman albite had an effectively fully studies. Having started as critical determined, the five volumes spectrometer that was straight ordered distribution of Al and Si reviews of the structures and printed in 2003 and 2004 are out of Star Trek! atoms. Throughout Paul’s career, properties of specific mineral already online through GSW, the underlying theme of his groups, the RiM volumes have The breadth of the talks and thanks to Jodi and Alex. The plan feldspar research was the connec- evolved over the years to posters in the session emphasized is to continue electronic publica- tion between the details of the encompass “even petrology”, as the influence of the RiM volumes tion of RiMG and in the near crystal structures at the atomic noted by Darrell Henry (Louisiana on the careers and thinking of future to post volumes dating level and their macroscopic State) in his talk on Ti in biotite, most mineralogists. Jim Kubicki back to 2000 and earlier. thermodynamic properties and as well as experimental tech- (Penn State) reflected the feelings RiMG in Orbit? lattice parameters. This was niques. Robert Bodnar (Virginia of many in saying that being emphasized in a review by Ross Tech) took up his theme in asked to edit a RiM volume was The next volume to appear will Angel (Virginia Tech) of high- reviewing the progress in fluid one of the highest honors he had be Volume 57 A New View of the pressure crystallographic studies inclusion research since the received in his career. Several Moon to be published in coopera- of feldspars that have been made publication of the only single- speakers concluded their talks tion with NASA. since the feldspar RiM volume authored volume in the RiM with either news of forthcoming volumes in the series or informal Conclusion was last revised in 1982, and by series—volume 12 by Edwin Ian Parsons (Edinburgh) who Roedder. Novel computational proposals for new volumes, It would be false modesty to discussed the fascinating methods have also revolutionized clearly demonstrating that the underestimate the impact on the exsolution microtextures in mineralogy on all scales from series Paul Ribbe founded and disciplines of mineralogy, petrol- perthites from the Klokken bonding in minerals (Jerry Gibbs, developed over thirty years ogy, and geochemistry of the intrusion, which can only be Virginia Tech) and molecular remains a vital endeavor and a work of 963 different authors of understood in terms of the interactions (Jim Kubicki, Penn valuable resource for mineralo- 716 chapters (30,314 pages) in 56 coupling between ordering and State) to km-scale modeling of gists. While all participants at the volumes. For the curious: the un-mixing within the feldspars. metamorphism (Barb Dutrow, session expressed their thanks in entire series occupies nearly 6 feet Louisiana State). various ways to Paul Ribbe for his (1.8 m) of shelf space and weighs The other early volumes in the service to the mineralogy The last part of the session 103 pounds (46.8 kg). More than Short Course Notes series were community and for his incredible returned to the theme introduced 170,000 books have been sold to also devoted to specific mineral patience with authors and by David Vaughan, that of individuals over 30 years; about groups and built on the same editors, the last slide of Bob mineralogy being an integrated 40,000 are in libraries, and more “micro to macro” theme that was Hazen’s talk said it best. It simply study of the interaction of than 42,000 are in inventory. to become the subject of a later read, in large friendly letters, minerals with their environment. Now that the number of books in RiM volume in its own right. “Thank you Paul”. print has exceeded the number Progress in understanding Mickey Gunter (University of of miles from Manhattan to the bonding in sulfides through high- Idaho) discussed the health issues Ross Angel and Nancy Ross Moon, RiMG would appear to pressure crystallographic studies arising from mineral dusts. Virginia Tech have a solar if not a stellar future. was reviewed by Charlie Prewitt Patricia Dove (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, November 2004 (University of Arizona), a editor of the recent RiMG volume contributor to that first sulfides on , reviewed

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