by Kasey Cunningham

On October 18, 2011, guests from various stages of Sean C. Solomon’s life filled the seats of the Greenewalt Lecture Hall to attend a symposium in his honor. Twenty speakers over eight hours discussed topics ranging from oceanic seismology to planetary geology, all of which have been affected by Solomon’s significant scientific contributions.

Talks included photos from his past and anecdotes of Solomon’s strong influence as a director, scientist, teacher, mentor and friend.

Not to be forgotten is the “Red Pen of Death,” referred to several times during the symposium when speakers mentioned Solomon’s meticulous editing. This included actual edited papers displayed on the projection screen, with Solomon’s signature red pen prominent on the page.   The red pen was later replaced by Word’s “track changes.”

“I have many thoughts about today,” stated former Carnegie Institution president Maxine Singer, “all the speakers managed to instruct us on Sean’s career, his personality, and his infamous red pen.”

Singer gave the introduction that kicked off the series of lectures. She told the audience of her remarkably high standards when her search for a new DTM director began in 1992. Unwilling to settle for anyone else, Singer was delighted when she caught word that Sean Solomon of MIT might be interested in the position.

Speaking of Solomon’s tremendous impact as a scientist was Brown Professor and NASA MESSENGER mission Science Team member, James Head III. Professor Head discussed the many realizations he had while working with Solomon. Some of these realizations sent him back to high school geometry after Dr. Solomon suggested ways to think about volumes of lava on the Moon. He concluded his talk by reviewing an equation; S2C2S2. The equation translates to “Sean Solomon’s Colossal Contribution to Space Science” and revealed the magnitude of Solomon’s impact.

MESSENGER Project Scientist Ralph McNutt Jr. spoke of the challenging yet thrilling journey leading to the MESSENGER launch on August 3, 2004. He stressed Solomon’s persistence in moving forward with the mission after its initial rejection in 1996.

DTM Staff scientists Erik Hauri, Scott Sheppard, Matthew Fouch, John Chambers, Diana Roman, Paul Butler, Conel Alexander, Larry Nittler, and Alycia Weinberger all spoke about their current research. Hired by Solomon to join the DTM team, they explained his crucial role in inspiring their work and making their research a possibility.  New director Linda Elkins-Tanton then introduced Solomon for the symposium’s closing remarks.

MESSENGER Science Team Member, Maria Zuber compared the life of Sean Solomon to that of Rolling Stones songwriter and founding member, Keith Richards. While at first the relationship between both men seems unclear, Zuber explained:

“Despite that fact that Keith Richards is a burnout and a drug addict, he’s a remarkable musician and one of the best songwriters who has ever lived on the face of this Earth. He is someone who achieved at that level, who had the passion in his feelings for music. It was very easy to compare that to someone else who is completely passionate and operates at the top of their game as Sean does.”

While listening to the variety of speakers, many guests agreed. Few were familiar with the entire scope of Solomon’s contributions.

“It was wonderful to celebrate Sean’s career in a holistic way,” stated Zuber. “Many of us have interacted and worked with him and are familiar with certain parts of what he does and then we realize that he has this whole other life. Some of his research is much broader then any one of us can really envision.”

While the symposium signified the end of Sean Solomon’s successful directorship, it did not in any way represent the end of his career. The question remains: what is next for Sean C. Solomon?

As McNutt Jr. commented, “Sean truly is the renaissance scholar. His is at the top of his game."

Zuber agrees.

“There will be many opportunities coming his way. Sean is at the top of his game.”