University of California: In Memoriam, March 1976
Samuel Herrick, Engineering; Astronomy: Los Angeles
| 1911-1974 | |
| Professor |
Samuel Herrick was born May 29, 1911 in Madison County, Virginia and received his B.A. from Williams College in 1932. He came to Berkeley to study celestial mechanics with A. O. Leuschner and received his Ph.D. there in 1936 with a dissertation on Laplacian and Gaussian orbit methods, a comparative critique of several approaches. His entire scientific career was concerned with procedures for improving orbit calculations for minor planets, other astronomical bodies, and later, space vehicles. Among interesting minor planet orbits he studied were those of Betulia and Toro (named in honor of his wife). Toro, which crosses the orbit of the earth, is locked into a peculiar resonance between Earth and Venus, being alternately under the primary control of each planet. Herrick was the first to dramatize the importance of this branch of celestial mechanics in anticipation of manned space ships and the navigational requirements for space travel. Thus, two decades before Sputnik I, he became interested in the calculation of orbits of terrestrial artificial satellites. Shortly after World War II he introduced courses at UCLA on the orbit determination and navigation of manmade space vehicles. These were the pioneering courses of this type in the world.
In 1956, a year before Sputnik, while consulting for Systems Laboratories Corporation, he directed the orbit calculation and navigation requirements for a proposed U.S. space vehicle to leave the earth, orbit the moon, and return to earth.
Samuel Herrick was a cofounder with Captain P. V. H. Weems of the Institute for Navigation in 1946, and served as its president during 1951-53. He contributed many papers to its journal. Also he served as a consultant to many firms in problems of space navigation and celestial mechanics, including Ford Motor Co., Northrop Aircraft, Rand, Thompson-Ramo-Woolridge, North American Aviation, General Electric, and Republic Aviation. He served on the staff of the Institute for Numerical Analysis of the National Bureau of Standards in 1948-49, and as Guggenheim fellow during 1945-46 and 1952-53.
Except for a brief period in the mid-thirties, Herrick's total academic career was spent at UCLA, where he started as an instructor in astronomy in 1937, became an assistant professor in 1942, an associate professor in 1947, and a full professor in 1952. Twice he served as department chairman. After Sputnik, engineers became increasingly interested in problems of spacecraft trajectories. Appropriately, in 1962, Herrick moved into the UCLA engineering department with the joint title of professor of astronomy and engineering (later called astronautics and mechanics), where he guided the research of a number of outstanding students.
In 1952-53, Herrick served as president of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. His outstanding contributions to astronautics and space navigation were recognized by his election as fellow of the International Federation of Astronautics, to the astronomy committee of the International Federation of Astronautics, and as fellow of the International Academy of Astronautics. He received an honorary Sc.D. from Williams College in 1962.
One of the world's foremost leaders in celestial mechanics gave this reminiscence of Sam Herrick: “If he had a fault, it was that he was a perfectionist. His opus magnus on celestial mechanics and Astro-Dynamics which grew naturally from his lectures, was undoubtedly delayed ten years in its eventual publication by this fault. If every detail was not entirely up to his self-imposed standard, it could not pass muster. He strove to imbue in his students this same critical attitude towards their work. Sam will be remembered as one who strove assiduously for the things in which he believed.”
In 1934, Herrick married a student from Colombia, Betulia Toro, to whom he remained deeply devoted. They had three adopted children. The later years of his life were afflicted by ill health, a situation exacerbated by the death of his eldest son in Vietnam. In August 1973 he attended the International Astronomical Union meeting in Sydney, Australia, returned home complaining of fatigue, and perished in March 1974.
Early in his life, Sam Herrick had become intrigued by the possibility of travel in interplanetary space. He had the good fortune to live in an age when this first became possible technologically, and he had the opportunity, ability, and perseverance to play a leading role in the development of astronautics. The exploration of the solar system by probes or manned vehicles will forever be indebted to the pioneering efforts of Samuel Herrick.
Courtesy of University Archives, The Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000; http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/info
http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb9k4009c7&brand=calisphere
Title: 1976, University of California: In Memoriam
By: University of California (System) Academic Senate, Author
Date: March 1976
Contributing Institution: University Archives, The Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000; http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/info
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