View source for Frank Press

{{Short description|American geophysicist (1924–2020)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = Frank Press
|image        = Frank Press at Seismological Observatory in Jerusalem 1953 (cropped).jpg
|alt = Press looking at a machine
|caption = Press in 1953
|office       = 19th President of the [[National Academy of Sciences]]
|term_start   = 1981
|term_end     = 1993
|predecessor  = [[Philip Handler]]
|successor    = [[Bruce Alberts]]
|office1      = 2nd Director of the [[Office of Science and Technology Policy]]
|president1   = [[Jimmy Carter]]
|term_start1  = January 20, 1977
|term_end1    = January 20, 1981
|predecessor1 = [[Guyford Stever]]
|successor1   = [[Benjamin Huberman]] (Acting)
|birth_date   = {{birth date|1924|12|4}}
|birth_place  = New York City, U.S.
|death_date   = {{death date and age|2020|1|29|1924|12|4}}
|death_place  = [[Chapel Hill, North Carolina|Chapel Hill]], [[North Carolina]], U.S.
|education    = [[City College of New York]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])<br>[[Columbia University]] ([[Master of Science|MS]], [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])
|awards       = [[William Bowie Medal]] {{small|(1979)}}<br>[[Japan Prize]] {{small|(1993)}}<br>[[Vannevar Bush Award]] {{small|(1994)}}<br>[[AAAS Philip Hauge Abelson Prize]] {{small|(1994)}}<br>[[Lomonosov Gold Medal]] {{small|(1997)}}
|module            = {{Infobox scientist
|embed             = yes
|fields            = [[Geophysics]]
|workplaces        = [[Columbia University]]<br>[[Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory]]<br>[[Caltech Seismological Laboratory]]<br>[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]<br>[[Office of Science and Technology Policy]]
|thesis_title      = Two applications of normal mode sound propagation in the ocean
|thesis_url        = https://www.proquest.com/docview/301814723/
|thesis_year       = 1949
|doctoral_advisor  = [[Maurice Ewing|Doc Ewing]]
|doctoral_students = [[Don L. Anderson]]<br>[[Charles Archambeau]]<br>[[Ari Ben-Menahem]]<br>[[Donald W. Forsyth]]}}
}}

'''Frank Press''' (December 4, 1924 – January 29, 2020) was an American [[geophysics|geophysicist]].<ref>[http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/history/highlights/frank-press.html "1981–1993 NAS President"], National Academy of Sciences online.</ref> He was an advisor to four U.S. presidents, and later served two consecutive terms as president of the U.S. [[National Academy of Sciences]] (1981–1993). He was the author of 160 scientific papers and co-author of the textbooks ''Earth'' and ''Understanding Earth''.

Press served on the [[President's Science Advisory Committee]] during the [[Presidency of John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] and [[Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson]] administrations, and was appointed by President [[Richard Nixon]] to the [[National Science Board]]. In 1977 he was appointed President [[Jimmy Carter]]'s Science Advisor and Director of the [[Office of Science and Technology Policy]], serving until 1981.<ref>[https://history.aip.org/phn/11601017.html Physics History Network]</ref>

==Early life and career==
Born in [[Brooklyn]], New York, Press graduated with a B.S. degree from the [[City College of New York]] (1944) and completed his M.A. (1946) and Ph.D. (1949) degrees at [[Columbia University]] under [[Maurice Ewing|Maurice "Doc" Ewing]]. As one of Ewing's two assistant professors, (with [[J. Lamar Worzel|J. Lamar "Joe" Worzel]] as the other) Press was a co-founder of Lamont Geological Observatory (now [[Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory]]) in Palisades, N.Y. Originally trained as an [[Oceanography|oceanographer]], Press participated in research cruises on the sailing vessels [[RV Vema]] and [[RV Atlantis]].

In the early 1950s, Press turned to [[seismology]], co-authoring with Ewing and [[Oleg Jardetzky|Jardetzky]] a seminal monograph on elastic waves in layered media. In 1957, Press was recruited by [[California Institute of Technology|Caltech]] to succeed founder [[Beno Gutenberg]] as director of the [[Caltech Seismological Laboratory|Seismological Laboratory]], a position in which he remained until 1965. The appointment was controversial in that it passed over both [[Hugo Benioff]] and [[Charles Richter]], then the laboratory's senior professors, for a much younger outsider.

Press' accomplishments in this period include the design of a long-period [[seismograph]], and the first detection of the Earth's normal modes of [[oscillation]] ("bell ringing"), excited by the [[1960 Valdivia earthquake|Great Chilean earthquake]], a pioneering application of digital processing to seismic recordings. Press was also closely involved in the construction of a lunar seismograph, first deployed by the [[Apollo 11]] astronauts (see [[Lunar seismology]]).

==Later career==
[[File:Vladimir Kirillin and Frank Press signing the United States and USSR agreement.jpg|left|thumb|Press and [[Vladimir Kirillin]] signing the United States and USSR agreement on cooperation in science and technology]]
In 1965, Press moved to [[MIT]] as department head of Earth and Planetary Sciences, where, with significant support from philanthropist [[Cecil Howard Green|Cecil H. Green]], he revitalized what had been an overly traditional geology department by hiring new faculty members. He remained at MIT until 1976, and during this time, his work included collaborations with [[Vladimir Keilis-Borok]] and [[Leon Knopoff]] on computer pattern matching techniques that could be applied to [[earthquake prediction]].

In 1976, Press became Science Advisor to President [[Jimmy Carter]] and director of the [[Office of Science and Technology Policy]]. In his capacity, he addressed a memo to the president on fossil fuels and climate change.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-14 |title=The 1977 White House climate memo that should have changed the world |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/14/1977-us-presidential-memo-predicted-climate-change |access-date=2022-06-17 |website=The Guardian}}</ref> He played a key role in the formation of the [[National Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People's Republic of China]].In 1978 he led a scientific delegation from the US to China as part of a Carter initiative.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1978-06-28 |title=Top Government Science Mission Being Sent to China Next Week (Published 1978) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/06/28/archives/new-jersey-pages-top-government-science-mission-being-sent-to-china.html |access-date=2025-11-25 |language=en}}</ref> In 1981 he was elected president of the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|U.S. National Academy of Sciences]] and was re-elected in 1987, serving for a total of 12 years.

In 1996, Press co-founded WAG (the Washington Advisory Group, later known as the Advisory Group at Huron), a global consulting company with clients that included approximately 50 leading universities. WAG played a notable role all phases of the founding of [[King Abdullah University of Science and Technology]] (KAUST) in [[Thuwal]], [[Saudi Arabia]].<ref name="Ali">{{cite book |last1=Al-Naimi |first1=Ali |title=Out of the Desert |date=2016 |publisher=Portfolio Penguin |location=Great Britain |isbn=9780241279250 |pages=254}}</ref> Press chaired that university's international advisory committee until 2010.

Press was the recipient of 30 honorary degrees. Named in his honor are [[Mount Press]], which in the [[Ellsworth Mountains]], [[Antarctica]]; and [[Osedax|''Osedax frankpressi'']], a species of whalebone-eating marine worm.

==Personal life==
Press died on January 29, 2020, at the age of 95.<ref>Langer, Emily, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/frank-press-guiding-force-in-us-science-policy-for-years-dies-at-95/2020/01/31/f73768ae-442f-11ea-b503-2b077c436617_story.html "Frank Press, a guiding force in U.S. science policy for years, dies at 95"], ''Washington Post'', January 31, 2020. Retrieved 2020-03-27.</ref> He was the father of physicist [[William H. Press]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Frank Press, White House Science Adviser, Is Dead at 95 |work=The New York Times |date=February 2020 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/01/science/frank-press-dead.html |access-date=11 April 2022|last1=Genzlinger |first1=Neil }}</ref>

==Notable accomplishments==
* President of the [[U.S. National Academy of Sciences]] (1981–1993)
* Chairman of the [[United States National Research Council|National Research Council]] (1981–1993)
* [[Office of Science and Technology Policy|Science Advisor]] to the [[President of the United States]], [[Office of Science and Technology Policy]] (1977–1981)
* Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy (1977–1981)
* Professor of [[Geophysics]] at [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] and Chairman of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
* Professor of Geophysics at [[California Institute of Technology]] and Director of the [[Caltech Seismological Laboratory]]
* Life Member of the Corporation of [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]]
* Board member of the [[Rockefeller University]], [[Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution]] (WHOI), the [[Marine Biological Laboratory]], and the [[Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute]]
* Member of the advisory council of [[CRDF Global]]
* Named three times most influential American scientist in annual surveys by ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]''
* Member of the United States [[National Academy of Sciences]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frank Press |url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/51519.html |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=nasonline.org}}</ref>
* Member of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frank Press |url=https://www.amacad.org/person/frank-press |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=American Academy of Arts & Sciences}}</ref>
* Member of the [[American Philosophical Society]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=APS Member History |url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Frank+Press&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |access-date=2022-08-15 |website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>

==Awards==
* [[National Medal of Science|U.S. National Medal of Science]]
* [[Vannevar Bush Award]]
* Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]] (1962)<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration}}</ref>
* Gold Medal, [[Royal Astronomical Society]] (1971)
* Pupin Medal, [[Columbia University]]
* [[Maurice Ewing Medal]] of the [[Society of Exploration Geophysicists]] (1982)
* [[Japan Prize]] from the [[Emperor of Japan]] (1993)
* Lomonosov Gold Medal, [[Russian Academy of Sciences]] (1997)
* [[Legion of Honour|Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur]], France
* Pick and Gavel Award, Association of American State Geologists (2007)

==Publications==
* Press, F. and R. Siever. (2001). ''Understanding Earth'', 3rd edition. W.H. Freeman. {{LCCN|00035391}} {{isbn|0716735040}}
* Press, F. (1998). The role of geoscientists in providing credible advice to government officials. ''Abstracts with Programs – [[Geological Society of America]]'', 30(7): 247.
* Press, F. (1995). [https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev.ea.23.050195.000245 Growing up in the Golden Age of Science]. ''[[Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences]]'', 23: 1–9.
* Press, F. and Allen, C. (1995). Patterns of seismic release in the Southern California region. ''[[Journal of Geophysical Research]]'', 100(B4): 6421–6430.
* Press, F. (1995). Needed: Coherent budgeting for science and technology. ''Science,'' 270(5241):&nbsp;1448–1450.
* Press, F. (1994). The restructuring of science in research universities in the post-industrial society. ''Abstracts with Programs – Geological Society of America'', 26(7): 154.
* Press, F. (1991). Geoscience education as viewed from the [[National Academy of Sciences]]. ''Journal of Geological Education'', 39(2):&nbsp;98–100.
* Press, F. (1991). Science and the public welfare. ''Earthquakes and Volcanoes'', 22(3):&nbsp;93.
* Press, F. (1990). The role of education in technological competitiveness. ''International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life Long Learning'', 1(4): 311–318. {{doi|10.1504/IJCEELL.1991.030366}}.
* Press, F. (1988). An international decade for natural disaster reduction. USGS Open-File Report No. 88-0361, pp.&nbsp;53–61.
* Press, F. and R. Siever. (1986). ''Earth.'' W.H. Freeman.
* Press, F. (1984). Science and creationism. ''Geotimes'', 29(5): 9.
* Press, F. (1981). Science and technology in the White House, 1977 to 1980; Part 1. ''Science'', 211(4478): 139–145.
* Press, F. (1981). Science and technology in the White House, 1977 to 1980; Part 2. ''Science'', 211(4479): 249–256.
* Press, F. (1975.) Earthquake Prediction. ''Scientific American'', 232(5): 14–23.
* Press, F. (1974). Structure of the Earth and Moon: A Comparison. ''Eos,'' ''Transactions, [[American Geophysical Union]]'', 55(4): 323.
* Press, F. (1972). The Earth and the Moon. ''Transactions of the [[New York Academy of Sciences]]'', 34(8): 732.
* Press, F. and D.T. Griggs. (1959). Probing the earth with nuclear explosions. Rand Corporation. Issued by the [[Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory]] as UCRL-6013.
* Press, F. (1949).''[https://www.proquest.com/docview/301814723/ Two applications of normal mode sound propagation in the ocean]'', [[Columbia University]] Ph.D.; {{ProQuest|301814723}}; {{oclc|6364305}}.

==References==
* American Institute of Physics, [https://web.archive.org/web/20130628162359/http://www.aip.org/history/acap/biographies/bio.jsp?pressf "Frank Press"], Array of Contemporary American Physicists.
* [[Judith R. Goodstein]], [https://archive.today/20130203025022/http://www.springerlink.com/content/6uya3hryl99wrd32/?MUD=MP "A Conversation with Frank Press"] ''Physics in Perspective,'' 6: 184–196. (2004).
* Caltech Oral Histories, [http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechOH:OH_Press_F "Interview with Frank Press"] (April 15, 1983).
* American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archive, [http://www.aip.org/history/ohilist/6929_1.html "Oral History Transcript – Dr. Frank Press"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112055102/http://www.aip.org/history/ohilist/6929_1.html |date=2015-01-12 }}
* {{Cite journal|author=Greenberg, Daniel S.|year=1979|title=Interview: Frank Press |journal=[[Omni (magazine)|Omni]]|number=June 1979|author-link=Daniel S. Greenberg}}
* SEG Virtual Geoscience Center, [https://web.archive.org/web/20121123125505/http://virtualmuseum.seg.org/bio_frank_press.html "Biographies: Frank Press"]
* MIT News, [http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/1993/press-0317.html "Press Wins Japan Prize"] (March 17, 1993).

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [[Marcia McNutt|McNutt, Marcia]], [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abb2626 "Frank Press (1924–2020)"], ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'', March 6, 2020. (Vol. 367, Issue 6482, pp.&nbsp;1077 {{doi|10.1126/science.abb2626}}

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{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Guyford Stever]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Director of the [[Office of Science and Technology Policy]]|years=1977–1981}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Benjamin Huberman]]<br>Acting}}
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{{s-npo|pro}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Philip Handler]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the [[National Academy of Sciences]]|years=1981–1993}}
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{{s-end}}

{{Japan Prize}}
{{NAS presidents}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Press, Frank}}
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[Category:American geophysicists]]
[[Category:American seismologists]]
[[Category:Columbia University alumni]]
[[Category:Columbia University faculty]]
[[Category:Foreign members of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Foreign members of the Russian Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Foreign members of the USSR Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Jewish American scientists]]
[[Category:Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory people]]
[[Category:Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts]]
[[Category:Members of the French Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:National Medal of Science laureates]]
[[Category:Presidents of the United States National Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]]
[[Category:Scientists from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Vannevar Bush Award recipients]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]
[[Category:Directors of the Office of Science and Technology Policy]]