Memorial to Paul Sherman Bauer1904-1977

RICH ARD S. WILLIAMS. JR.U.S. Geological Survey. Rest on. Virginia 22092

M AGNUS M AGNUSSON University o f Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland

Iceland lost a great friend—Paul S. Bauer—to death by cancer on 23 January 1977, the fourth anniversary of the start of the catastropic volcanic eruption on Hei- maey, Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland. A native New Eng­lander. Paul was born in Lynn. Massachusetts, on 20 March 1904. His multifaceted career as a pioneer avia­tor. inventor (holder o f four U.S. patents), business­man. U.S. Naval officer, government consultant, scien­tist, and professor covered an enormously productive 72 years, spanning the history o f powered flight and the use of the airplane in the scientific exploration of polar areas.

A large bear o f a man. his often blustery personal­ity and nearly 2-m stature presented an imposing fig­ure. But his extrovert’s charisma masked a keen under-

Photograph. courtesy Harris & Ewing lying intelligence and intrinsic kindness—especially inhis usually covert assistance (influential and/or financial)

to numerous young scientists. Had he been born today he probably would have become an outstanding marine geophysicist because of his unquenchable curiosity and love o f the sea. In fact, he gave up a promising scientific career to involve himself in a series of important, usually marine-related projects as either an active participant or a behind-the- scenes instigator.

Paul was the son o f Ralph Sherman Bauer, a former mayor o f Lynn, Massachusetts. At the age o f l l , Paul became the youngest licensed ham-radio operator in the Com­monwealth o f Massachusetts. The U.S. Army actually expropriated his experimental radio for military use during World War I. He briefly attended the Massachusetts Insti­tute of Technology from 1922 to 1923, then transferred to Harvard University Engineer­ing School in 1923, where he received his Bachelor o f Science degree (cum laude) in 1927 and his Master o f Science degree in I928 (both in communication engineering). There he conducted research on various projects in the Cruft and Fatigue Laboratories during the period 1929 to 1932. He carried out additional graduate work in mathematics and physics at Harvard University from 1928 to 1930 and at M.I.T. from I939 to 1940. He attended Boston College Law School from 1940 to 1942, but World War II intervened before he received his law degree. In 1942 he attended the U.S. Navy’s Advanced Radar School at M .I.T. During 1958 and 1959 he took graduate courses in oceanography and in tectono- physics at American University in Washington. D.C.

In addition to his lifelong interest in communications and electronics, he also had an ardent involvement in aviation. In 1936. as a pioneer in establishing the practical value and feasibility o f flying solely by instruments. Paul flew from Boston, Massachusetts, to Washington, D .C ., strictly by IFR (instrument flight rules). As a businessman and con­sulting engineer during the period 1930 to 19 5 1. he founded several companies, including

2 T H E G E O L O G IC A L SOCIETY O F A M E R IC A

a small airline: Pine Tree Airways, Inc., Schooner Columbia, Inc., New England Elec­tronics Corp. (president, 1948-1951). and Electronic Devices Sales, Inc. He also served for over 40 years as president. North Shore News Company (a newspaper and magazine distributing firm) o f Lynn, Massachusetts, after the death of his father on July 13, 1941.

Paul Bauer’s career as a government consultant began over 40 years ago. Between1937 and 1949 he was appointed by three successive Massachusetts governors to serve on several different commissions in his native state: chairman. Advisory Board on Aeronau­tics o f the Massachusetts Commission on Airports and Aviation: member o f the Advisory Committee on Fish and Game; and member o f a special Commission on Conservation. After his retirement from the U.S. Navy in 1957, he collaborated part-time from 1958 to 1959 with scientists at the U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, where he worked with Dr. Lionel A. Walford. From 1959 to 1965 he was a scientific consultant to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. His most important contribution during this consultancy was to focus the attention o f the committee on the national importance o f maintaining a strong research program in marine studies.

Paul’s U.S. Navy career spanned 16 years, 11 of them on active duty. He was called to active duty in World War II in 1942 and served with distinction as an electronics officer, first in the U .S. Navy’s Aircraft Experimental and Developm ent Squadron (15 January 1943-15 March 1944), and later in the Tactical Test Division, Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland (16 March 1944-1 September 1945). for which he received a Commendation Ribbon from James Forrestal, the Secretary of the Navy.

The holder o f four U.S. patents for electronic devices, Paul was most proud o f his invention of an important component o f the Norden bombsight, an instrument critical to accurate daylight bombing during World War II. He was recalled to active duty during the Korean War in 1951.

He had his first experience with polar areas in 1955 when he was selected as a navigation officer for Operation Deepfreeze I in Antarctica to direct a U.S. Navy air squadron (Bureau of Aeronautics) in aerial reconnaissance operations from February1955 to May 1956. Deepfreeze I, under the command of Admiral George Dufek, was conducted during the 1955 to 1956 austral summer. A number o f important objectives were achieved, including completion o f logistical preparations for the first International Geophysical Year (IGY) held during the period 1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958. The main U.S. logistical base in Antarctica, McMurdo Station, was also constructed, and Little America V was established during that season.

According to Tony K. Meunier (1982, oral communication) of the U.S. Geological Survey, a student of the history o f Antarctic exploration, aerial reconnaissance opera­tions during Deepfreeze I yielded the last major geographic discoveries in Antarctica, thus closing an exhilarating era o f geographical exploration o f the continent. During this time four new mountain ranges were discovered, and the interior o f Antarctica was found to be a featureless plateau with elevations in excess of 4,300 m.

On 20 December 1955, the first transcontinental flight landed at McMurdo Station. The Antarctic experience was the capstone to Paul’s military career, and he retired from the Navy in 1957 with the permanent rank of Captain, U.S. Naval Reserve.

In 1958, shortly after his retirement from the U.S. Navy, Paul became the catalyst for the development and completion of several important marine biological research and development projects. As mentioned earlier in this paper, Paul worked with Dr. Lionel A. Walford, the director o f the Sandy Hook Research Laboratory o f the U.S. Bureau of Commerical Fisheries, and was instrumental in arranging for the support o f the publica­tion o f Walford’s monumental Allas o f the Fisheries o f the North Atlantic.

M E M O R IA L T O PA U L S H E R M A N BAUER 3

Also in 1958, Paul became interested in the hydrobiology research program that was being developed in the Office of Naval Research (ONR) under the direction of Dr. Sidney R. Galler, head o f the Biology Branch of ONR. That early interest blossomed into a close personal friendship and a fruitful if informal collaboration that resulted in a number of noteworthy accomplishments and remained uninterrupted for almost two decades until Paul’s death in 1977. Thus, for example, the Bauer-Galler collaboration led to the development of a world-class basic research program into the behavior of sharks and the accompanying development o f a unique shark research facility, including the world’s first underwater audiovisual shark behavior observatory located at the American Museum of Natural History’s field station, the Lerner Marine Laboratory (LML) on the island of Bimini in the Bahamas. The research program at the LML attracted distinguished scientists from throughout the world.

In early 1962 Paul was able to engage the attention o f the U.S. House of Representa­tives’s Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries in Galler’s plan for utilizing commercial ships as “research ships of opportunity” for the regular collection o f marine speci­mens and ancillary oceanographic data in a cost-effective manner. Paul assisted in the design of the high-speed collecting instrumentation as well as the portable laboratory that would be fastened to the deck o f the freighter and process the data and plankton that were collected while the ship was underway. His efforts were crowned with success during the field trials aboard a merchantman that traversed the North Pacific between Seattle, Washington, and Yokohama, Japan, and then back to Seattle, where the collected data and laboratory were off-loaded. His not inconsiderable enthusiasm for this project, which led to his actual participation as a laboratory aide on this voyage, was so infectious as to attract the chief counsel o f the House Committee and a distinguished lawyer, John Drewery, to accompany Paul as his assistant during the field trial.

The collaboration between Bauer and Galler led to the formation of two inter­national marine biological research organizations: The Association of Island Marine Laboratories in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean Association o f Marine Biology and Oceanography, both of which greatly facilitated the conduct o f marine biological research in the field.

From 1959 to 1968 Paul served part-time on the faculty o f American University, Washington, D .C., as an adjunct professor of earth science. From June 1966 until June1967 he was acting chairman o f the Department of Earth Sciences. It was during his professorial years that he was finally able to pursue his latent scientific interests to their fullest. His lifelong interest and aptitude in communications, navigation, physics, mathe­matics, geology, geophysics, and marine geology all came together in his association with “Project M agnet” o f the U.S. Navy. The “Project Magnet” program was directed at aerial geomagnetic surveys o f the North Atlantic area, and Paul worked effectively behind the scenes to ensure that surveys of Iceland and vicinity received first priority.

On 14 November 1963, the new island o f Surtsey appeared above the ocean’s surface. Many Icelanders and several foreign scientists quickly recognized the immense scientific value of a newly created and unsullied volcanic isle. Paul went to Iceland in late fall 1963 to view first hand the new eruption in the Vestmannaeyjar. Upon his return to the United States, he immediately set to work, in typical Bauer fashion, to make certain that the unusual opportunity presented by Surtsey be exploited to the fullest. Within 8 weeks, with the support of the American Institute of Biological Sciences and the Office of Naval Research, a conference involving key Icelandic, United States, and Canadian scientists was convened at Duke University, North Carolina. The conferees quickly designed a major international research program for Surtsey, with emphasis on the biological, geological, geophysical, and oceanographic sciences.

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To provide financial support and as a means to encourage international research on Surtsey. Paul Bauer and Steingrimur Hermannsson spearheaded the creation o f the Surtscy Research Society. Paul was cited as an Honorary Founding Member on 20 May 1965. in recognition of his generous financial support and scientific stimulation for the biological and geological research activities on Surtsey.

One outgrowth of the Surtsey work was the purchase, by Paul, o f North American (United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico) distribution rights for another English-language version of the Ösvaldur Knudsen film, “Surtur fer sunnan.” The film “Volcano Surtsey.” which he edited, has been widely distributed throughout the United States by the North Shore News Company. Inc.. of Lynn, Massachusetts, and has won several awards for excellence (winner of the Golden Eagle of CINE, in earth sciences; the Award of Merit at the Fourth Canadian International Festival of Films on Science, Toronto: and the Bronze Bucranium of the Eleventh International Exhibition of Scien­tific-Didactic Films, University o f Padua, Italy). Paul also received nationwide recogni­tion for support of the Surtsey research through a CBS documentary film. In association with Barrie McLean of the National Film Board o f Canada, Paul subsequently produced another film about Surtsey, “An Active Volcano in Evolution,” which was primarily based on footage from Ösvaldur Knudsen’s extensive cinematographic coverage of the Surtsey eruption, and additional footage from the well-known Icelandic aviator, Björn Pälsson. More scientific than the “Volcano Surtsey” movie, this second film was directed at providing more information to advanced students about the varied volcanic phe­nomena observed during the entire course o f the Surtsey volcanic activity (November1963 to July 1967). Ösvaldur Knudsen had. during this period, also produced three superb films about Surtsey and its satellite islands, Syrtlingur and J61nir: “Surtur fer sunnan” (“Birth of an Island”), “Mecf sviag laevi” (“Sequel to Surtsey”). and Jor<f ur acgi” (“Land Out of the Ocean”). In the United States, however, the two Bauer films are more widely known than the three Knudsen films.

On 21 December 1966, as the volcanic activity on Surtsey was beginning to wane (finally stopping in early July 1967), Paul was awarded the Order o f the Falcon (Commander Rank) by the President of Iceland in recognition of his stimulation of, and financial contributions to. the Surtsey research and for his overall support of geoscience research in Iceland through his trusteeship of the Bauer Scientific Trust (Massachusetts). Paul’s generous support of Icelandic geoscience research also made possible the awarding of the first Ph.D. degree in geophysics (dr. scient.) by the University of Iceland: it was awarded in 1971 to one of his many Icelandic friends. Dr. Gudimundur Pälmason, a geophysicist and chief. Division o f Natural Heat, National Energy Authority. Thörbjorn Karlsson, now Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University o f Iceland, was also a beneficiary of a Paul S. Bauer Fellowship provided to the University Science Institute.

In the mid-1960s Paul also served as an associate editor o f Ocean Science News and of Geo-M arine Technology (1965-1966) and was a consulting editor for the latter news­letter. His lifelong interest in the ocean was also manifested as a member o f the board of directors o f M ote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota. Florida, and in his work as a special scientific consultant to the laboratory. He was also cited as an Honorary Patron of the International Oceanographic Foundation. Miami, Florida, in January 1968. Paul held memberships in several professional societies, including American Geophysical Union. Geological Society of America, Seismological Society o f America. Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (Honorary Life Member), American Institute o f Astronautics and Aeronautics, American Institute of Limnology and Oceanography, and American Institute o f Biological Sciences (Life Member). He was also a member o f the Cosmos Club (Washington, D.C.) and a Fellow o f the Explorers Club (New York). In 1958 he

M E M O R IA L T O PA U L S H E R M A N BAUER 5

became a registered Professional Engineer in the District of Columbia. His scientific publications are cited at the conclusion of this article.

In addition to his wife, Winifred, Paul’s surviving family includes five children: Paul S., Jr., o f Redondo Beach, California; Elizabeth Haviland of Ames. Iowa; Robert S. of Torrance, California; Karen Mitchell of Damascus, Maryland; and Ralph S. o f Falls Church, Virginia; and 15 grandchildren.

For those who have been privileged to carry out research on Surtsey there is another more geologically ephemeral memorial to Paul Bauer in the form o f a small research hut called, fittingly, Pdlsbaer, on the northern part o f the island. Whether it be the relative permanence o f his scientific library o f more than 400 volumes posthumously given to Iceland, or the relative impermanence of PSlsbaer, each symbolizes his generosity for his many friends in Iceland. His infectious enthusiasm, his utter disdain for and ability to “get around” bureaucratic roadblocks, his ability to instigate and to support new endeavors, and his skill as a catalyst for his own ideas and those o f others will be sorely missed.

PUBLICATIONS OF PAUL S. BAUER1928 (with Bock, A. V., and Means, J. H.) Preliminary note on the elastic hysteresis of

the human aorta: Proceedings, National Academy of Sciences, v. 14, no. 8,p. 675-678.

1929 The condition o f self-oscillation o f a general triode system: Proceedings, National Academy of Sciences, v. 15, no. 1, p. 25-29. (Also in Publications from the Harvard Engineering School, 1928-29, no. 33.)

1930 Validity of minimal principles in physiology: Journal o f General Physiology, v. 13, no. 6, p. 617-619.

1931 Dissipative dynamical systems. I: Proceedings, National Academy o f Sciences, v. 17, no. 5, p. 311-314.

____ (with Hill, D. B., Edwards, H. T., and Levenson, E. J.) Physical performance inrelation to external temperature: Arbeitsphysiologie, v. 4, no. 6, p. 508-518.

1942 Preparation, during World War II, o f many still-classified papers for which hereceived a letter o f commendation from the Secretary of the Navy, James Forrestal.

1945 The citation reads, in part, “Alert in applying his thorough knowledge o f theoretical electronics and related fields toward the testing o f aviation equipment. Lieutenant Commander Bauer contributed materially to the successful prosecution of the War.”

1959 (with Norton, M. F.) Telluric currents as a source o f energy in geochemicalprocesses [abs.]: Geological Society o f America Bulletin, v. 70, no. 12, pt. 2, p. 1652.

1962 Book review o f Physical Oceanography, Defant, Albert, Pergamon Press, New York (1961): Geophysics, v. 27, no. 2 (April), p. 279-280.

1963 Book review of The Sea, v. 1, Physical Oceanography, Hill, M. N., ed.. Interscience Publishers, New York (1962): Geophysics, v. 28, no. 5 (Oct.), p. 816.

____ Book review of The Sea, v. 2, The Com position o f Sea- Water. Comparative andDescriptive Oceanography, Hill, M. N., ed.. Interscience Publishers, New York(1963): Geophysics, v. 28, no. 6 (Dec.), p. 1081.

1964 Book review of The Sea, v. 3, The Earth Beneath the Sea, H istory, Hill, M. N.. ed.. Interscience Publishers, New York (1963): Geophysics, v. 29. no. 4 (Aug.), p. 628.

1965 Surtsey: World’s youngest island: Geo-Marine Technology, v. 1, no. 3 (Feb.). p. 24-28.

____ Surtsey: World’s youngest island: Naval Research Review, v. 18, no. 4 (April),p. 1-7. (Reprint of article in Geo-Marine Technology, 1965, v. 1, no. 3, p. 24-28.)

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1967 Book review o f Environment o f Cape Thompson Region, A laska, Wilimovsky,N. J., and Wolfe, J. N., eds. (1966), U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Washington, D.C.: Bioscience, v. 17, no. 2, p. 120-121.

1969 Hearings before the Subcommittee on Oceanography o f the Committee onMerchant Marine and Fisheries: U.S. House o f Representatives, Serial No. 91-5, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D .C., p. 99-121.

1971 A feature of Iceland (book review of Hekla. A notorious vo/rawo,Thorarinsson, Sigurdur [1970] Almenna Bókafélagicì, Reykjavik): Science, v. 172, no. 3984, p. 692-693.

Prin ted in U .S .A . 11/83