DR. GARY E. LOFGREN is a senior planetary scientist and the Lunar Curator.  He has been a research scientist and Principal Investigator in the NASA Cosmochemistry program since 1968.  He has studied lunar and terrestrial basalts, and is currently studying the origin of chondrules in meteorites. Chondrules are the most primitive and the oldest material in our solar system that is available to study.  Thus these studies will shed light on the earliest history of our solar system.  As Lunar curator his duties are twofold, 1) to maintain the scientific integrity of the lunar samples and 2) to assist scientists that want to study lunar samples to obtain the materials most appropriate for their studies.  He works with CAPTEM (Curation and Analysis Planning Team for Extraterrestrial Materials) a NASA advisory committee to meet both these objectives, and to insure that the lunar samples are used for only high quality scientific studies.  He oversees the preparation of lunar material for distribution to scientists for study, to museums for display, and for educational purposes.

Dr Lofgren’s area of expertise is experimental petrology with emphasis on experimentation at high temperatures and pressures using controlled oxidation/reduction atmospheres.  He conceived and built the Experimental Petrology Laboratory in the Solar System Exploration Division at JSC into a world recognized facility.  He pioneered the modern science of the experimental study of the kinetically controlled crystallization (dynamic crystallization) of silicate rock melts.  These studies have provided a standard for the interpretation of igneous rock textures (the relationship of minerals to one another) and other kinetically controlled phenomena and models for their formation.  Particular emphasis is placed on understanding such textural features as crystal size and shape as a function of crystal growth conditions.

Dr. Lofgren received his Ph.D. degree (1969) and B.S. degree (1963) from Stanford University and his M.A. from Dartmouth College in, all in Geology.  He began working for NASA in 1968. He served on the Lunar Sample Preliminary Examination Team. In addition to being involved in the initial examination of Apollo samples, he was involved with the geologic training of the Apollo Astronauts.  He was the geologic science training coordinator for the Apollo 15 crew and also worked with the Apollo 13, 16, and 17 crews.  He convened a Geological Society of America, Penrose Conference on the "Application of Crystal Growth Theory and Experiments to Rock Forming Processes," in 1976.  He was the leader of the Chemistry and Petrology Team of the NASA “Comparative Planetological Study of Basaltic Volcanism” Project (l976-l98l). Gary has advised on numerous graduate thesis completed at several universities around the country.  He has also advised over 20 NRC Research Fellows during their studies here at JSC.