Memorial to John Walter Handin 1919-1991 MEL FRIEDMAN Center for Tectonophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-3113

John Walter Handin, distinguished professor emeritus of geology and geophysics, Texas A&M University, died in Bryan, Texas, on December 18,1991. A native of southern California, John Handin earned his B.A. degree at the University of California at Los Angeles in 1942. He enlisted in the U.S. Army, served in the artillery, and participated in the liberation of Leyte in the Philippines. He left active service with the rank of lieu­ tenant colonel in 1946 and returned to UCLA, where he earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees (1948, 1949) in geology and where he met and in 1947 married Frances. Although his Ph.D. dissertation was on beach sedimentation in southern California, he spent a year (1949-1950) as a post­ doctoral fellow in the Institute of Geophysics at UCLA. There he met his lifelong friend and mentor David Griggs, and made experimental rock deformation his major scientific interest. John Handin was one of those rare individuals who are able to change the direction of their science. Along with David Griggs and M. King Hubbert, John played a major role in developing the theoretical-experimental-observational approach to structural geology and our understanding of and interest in the mechanical properties of rocks and their application to geological, geo­ physical, and engineering problems. His many achievements include landmark papers on (1) effects of confining pressure, pore fluid pressure, and temperature on the strength and ductility of sedimentary rocks, (2) effect of intermediate principal stress on rock properties, (3) independence of tensile strength of rock from effective confining pressure, (4) effect of torsional strain on rock and mineral fabrics, (5) effect of crystal anisotropy in prediction of fabric changes in marble during deformation, (7) effect of gamma radiation on rock properties, (8) experimental folding and faulting of multi- lithologic layered rock models under confining pressure, and (9) very long term creep behavior of natural salt aggregates. Handin is credited with founding two world-renowned laboratories for study of the mechanical properties of rocks at pressures and temperatures simulating deformation at depth in the earth’s crust. The first was at the Shell Development Company, Houston (1951), and the other was the Center for Tectonophysics at Texas A&M University (1967). Indeed, the labora­ tory for experimental rock deformation at Texas A&M University is dedicated to his memory. His work has been applied to a host of societal problems such as hazardous waste isolation requirements and repository design, earthquake prediction, exploration for and use of natural resources, and underground storage of petroleum and other forms of energy. He was a member or chair of 20 national advisory committees or panels, consultant to 21 organizations, and author or co-author of 126 scholarly papers, reports, and books. His strong influence on structural geol­ ogy was recognized as recently as 1988 when he received the Career Contribution Award from the Geological Society of America Division of Structural Geology and Tectonics. John Handin’s many other honors include the AIME award for Distinguished Achievement

119 120 THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA in Rock Mechanics (1970), the Distinguished Achievement Award in Research from the Associ­ ation of Former Students, Texas A&M University (1972), a Special Award for Exceptional Ser­ vice to the Science of Rock Mechanics from the U.S. National Committee for Rock Mechanics, National Academy of Sciences (1981), a Festschrift—Mechanical Behavior of Crustal Rocks, American Geophysical Union Monograph 24—Handin volume (1981), the Distinguished Achievement Medal from the Geosciences and Earth Resources Advisory Council, Texas A&M (1984), and the Walter H. Bucher Medal, for “his contributions to the understanding of the earth’s crust,” from the American Geophysical Union (1984). In addition to his accomplishments in research, John was an outstanding university profes­ sor. He joined the faculty of Texas A&M University in January 1967 as distinguished professor of geology and geophysics and founder and first director of the Center for Tectonophysics. His teaching contributions were mainly in one-on-one sessions with graduate students and col­ leagues, in comprehensive and constructive critiques of written materials, and in his perceptive questions and comments during oral examinations. His scientific and other writings are out­ standing models of creativity, clarity, and meticulous accuracy. John also served for nine years (1972-1981) as deputy dean of the College of Geosciences; during this time he and Dean Earl F. Cook put in place many of the policies and procedures that have made the College of Geo­ sciences a model at the university. The attributes that made John Handin an outstanding individual are dedication to family, friends, and his science, loyalty to his nation and institutions, the ability to express his thoughts concisely and clearly, a sense of timing for giving his thoughts maximum weight, an ability to provide scientific direction to wandering colleagues through suggestion rather than edict, and the gift to lead by example rather than by title. John is survived by his wife Frances, daughters Diane Thomason of Tyler, Texas, and Katherine Handin of New York City, granddaughter Sarah Thomason, and a host of colleagues for whom John was mentor, role model, and friend. John Handin is one of those gifted individuals the world just cannot do without, but through his students, colleagues, and publications he is available to us, as always.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF J. W. HANDIN 1951 The source, transportation, and depositions of beach sediment in southern California: Corps of Engineers, Beach Erosion Board, Technical Memoir 22,113 p. ------(with Griggs, David) Deformation of Yule Marble. II—Predicted fabric changes: Geologi­ cal Society of America Bulletin, v. 62, p. 863-885. 1953 An application of high pressure in geophysics. Experimental rock deformation: American Society of Mechanical Engineers Transactions, v. 75, p. 315-324. 1957 (with Higgs, D. V., Lewis, D. R., and Weyl, P. K.) Effects of gamma radiation on the experimental deformation of calcite and certain rocks: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 68, p. 1203-1224. 1959 (with Higgs, D. V.) Experimental deformation of dolomite single crystals: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 70, p. 245-277. 1960 (with Higgs, D. V., and O’Brien, J. K.) Torsion of Yule marble under confining pressure, in Rock deformation: Geological Society of America Memoir 79, p. 245-274. ------(with Griggs, David) Observations on fracture and a hypothesis of earthquakes, in Rock deformation: Geological Society of America Memoir 79, p. 347-364. ------(with Borg, I. Y., Friedman, M., and Higgs, D. V.) Experimental deformation of St. Peter sand. A study of cataclastic flow, in Rock deformation: Geological Society of America Memoir 79, p. 133-191. MEMORIAL TO JOHN WALTER HANDIN 121

1963 (with Hager, R. V., Jr., Friedman, M., and Feather, J. N.) Experimental deformation of sedimentary rocks under confining pressure. Pore pressure tests: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 47, p. 717-755. 1966 Strength and ductility: Section 11 in Handbook of physical constants: Geological Society of America Memoir 97, p. 223-289. ------(with Borg, I. Y.) Experimental deformation of crystalline rocks: Tectonophysics, v. 3, p. 249-368. 1967 (with Heard, H. C., and Magouirk, J. N.) The effect of the intermediate principal stress on the failure of limestone, dolomite and glass at different temperatures and strain rates: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 72, p. 611-640. 1969 On the Coulomb-Mohr failure criterion: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 74, p. 5343-5348. 1972 (with Raleigh, C. B.) Manmade earthquake and earthquake control, in Symposium on Percolation through Fissured Rocks: Stuttgart, International Society of Rock Mechanics, p. 12-D, 1-10. ------(with Friedman, M., Logan, J. M., Pattison, L. J., and Swolfs, H. S.) Experimental folding of rocks under confining pressure: Buckling of single-layer rock beams: American Geo­ physical Union Monograph 16, p. 1-28. 1974 (with Gallagher, J. J., Friedman, M., and Sowers, G. M.) Experimental studies relating to microfracture in sandstone: Tectonophysics, v. 21, p. 203-247. 1975 (with Engelder, J. T., and Logan, J. M.) The sliding characteristics of sandstone on quartz fault-gouge: Pure and Applied Geophysics, v. 113, p. 69-86. 1976 (with Friedman, M., Min, K. D., and Pattison, L. J.) Experimental folding of rocks under confining pressure. Part II—Buckling of multilayered rock beams: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 87, p. 1035-1048. ------(with Friedman, M., Logan, J. M., Min, K. D., and Steams, D. W.) Experimental folding of rocks under confining pressure: Part III—Faulted drape-folds in multilithologic layered specimens: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 87, p. 1049-1066. 1977 (with Nelson, R. A.) Experimental study of fracture permeability in porous rocks: Ameri­ can Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 61, p. 227-236. 1978 (with Johnson, B., and Gangi, A. F.) Thermal cracking of rock subjected to slow, uniform temperature changes: Reno, University of Nevada, 19th U.S. Symposium on Rock Mechanics, Proceedings, p. 259-267. 1980 (with Carter, N. L.) Rheology of rocks at high temperatures: International Society of Rock Mechanics, 4th Congress, Proceedings, v. 3, p. 97-106. ------Laboratory investigations, in Thermomechanical and Hydrochemical Modeling for a Hardrock Waste Repository Workshop Proceedings: Berkeley, University of California, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, p. 10-15. 1982 (with Friedman, M., and Bauer, S. J.) Deformation mechanisms in room-dry and water- saturated igneous rocks at effective confining pressures to 100 MPa and temperatures to partial melting: Berkeley, University of California, 23rd U.S. Symposium on Rock Mechanics Proceedings, p. 279-289. 1983 (with Bauer, S. J.) Thermal expansion and cracking of three confined, water-saturated igneous rocks to 800 °C: Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, v. 16, p. 181-198. 1984 (with Russell, J. E., and Carter, N. L.) Laboratory testing for repository characterization: Chicago, Northwestern University, 25th U.S. Symposium on Rock Mechanics Proceed­ ings, p. 1188-1218. 1986 (with Russell, J. E., and Carter, N. L.) Experimental deformation of rocksalt: American Geophysical Union Monograph 36, p. 117-160. 122 THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

1990 (with Horseman, S. T.) Triaxial-compression tests on rocksalt at temperatures from 50 to 200 °C and strain rates from 10-4 to 10^/s: American Geophysical Union Monograph 56, p. 103-110. 1993 (with Horseman, S. T., Russell, J. E. and Carter, N. L.) Slow experimental deformation of Avery Island salt, in International Salt Symposium, 7th, Kyoto, Japan, 1992: Amsterdam, Elsevier, v. 1, p. 67-74. ------(with Horseman, S. T., Russell, J. E., and Carter, N. L.) Rheology of rocksalt: Journal of Structural Geology John M. Christie Festschrift Volume.

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