HEDGEHOG - THE SCIENCE OF APOLLO
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LIN D A H A L L L I B R A R Y
HEDGE HOG
NUM B E R 6 3 • S P R I NG 2 0 1 9
THE SCIENCE
OF APOLLO
INSIDE
Geologist looks to library for answers page 8
The Balance of Preservation page 10
Exploring The American Woods page 12
President’s Message Library News
Apollo 11 Was Michelle Lahey
a Triumph in the September 29, 1957 – February 13, 2019
Turbulent 1960s Standing in wet grass in
St. Joseph, Missouri,
T
he tumultuous 1960s began with waiting for the solar eclipse
a youthful president’s exhortation on August 21, 2017,
to send astronauts safely to the moon Michelle Lahey passed
and back. It ended with that aspiration around some home-
accomplished. But the tumultuous baked treats. Knowing that Michelle and
years in between were filled with chaos, dissent, and a sense her husband, Ken, had recently committed
that a corner had been turned. to a healthier diet I asked, “are these heart-
healthy?” “They are,” Michelle answered, “in
Political assassinations plunged the nation into grief three times the sense that they were baked with love.”
in seven years. Civil unrest was everywhere at once, spawned
by protest movements espousing causes as diverse as civil That is how Michelle Lahey approached life.
rights, women’s liberation, the draft, and a war in Southeast From her family, friends, and her unalloyed
Asia that was further dividing the country. devotion to the Kansas City Royals, to her
work at the Linda Hall Library, Michelle led
Respite from the chaos came from two events each altering with her heart. That defining quality has
the culture forever. The soundtrack for the 1960s arose from made Michelle’s death on February 13, 2019
a weeklong music festival in a pasture near Woodstock, New from ALS so heartbreaking for us. Michelle
York. Years later, it remains a touchstone in popular culture. was a member of the Library’s public
Only weeks before, the men aboard Apollo 11 left earth, landed services staff for over fifteen years, the
on the moon, and traveled safely back to earth, bringing the last four as Head of Public Services. A
decade to a close on a euphoric note. The contact high was natural leader, Michelle was a consummate
temporary for few could predict the travails awaiting us. But the professional who applied her reference
“great leap for mankind” ushered in the next age of exploration librarian’s skills to all who needed her help.
and for those brief moments on the moon’s surface, and the
celebrations afterward, the flight of Apollo 11 left our nation Michelle’s quest for information, coupled with
feeling renewed, expansive, and invincible once more. the concern she had for others, will continue.
She has donated brain and spine samples
The near-giddiness engulfing the country in the aftermath of to the University of Miami ALS Clinical
the first moon landing often obscured the years of work of and Research Center in the hope that her
many, the trial and error, and the science and engineering contribution will extend knowledge about the
talent needed to put a man on the moon. To the Moon: The disease that claimed her life and help find an
Science of Apollo remedies that. By focusing on the work eventual cure. Of this final gesture of grace, I
performed for years by earth-bound scientists, this exhibition can only say, “how typical of Michelle.”
pays tribute to the brave men who traveled into space and
celebrates the work of those who made the trip possible. Michelle’s work will continue as the rest of
us endeavor to fill a large void. Few know as
much as she about science and technology
reference sources. Few possess Michelle’s
disarming smile and manor. Michelle Lahey set
Lisa M. Browar, President a high standard for herself that her friends and
colleagues will work long and hard to match.
On the cover: Buzz Aldrin descending from the Apollo 11 lunar module on July 20, 1969. –Lisa Browar
Photo credit: NASA. Image number as11-40-5866.
2
Annual Bartlett Lecture to Explore Dark Matter,
Black Holes in the Universe
The search for dark matter in the universe and the professors to speak on
identification of colliding black holes will be the subject of subjects related to the Linda
the 17th Annual Paul D. Bartlett, Sr. lecture with speaker Hall Library´s collections.
Priyamvada Natarajan, professor in the Departments of
Astronomy and Physics at Yale University. Paul D. Bartlett, Sr. was
elected chairman of the
Natarajan is a theoretical astrophysicist interested Linda Hall Library Board
in cosmology, gravitational lensing, and black of Trustees at its first
hole physics. Her research involves mapping the meeting in 1941. Under
distribution of dark matter in the universe, using the his leadership the Halls’
bending of light coming to us from distant galaxies. bequest for the creation of a
Priyamvada Natarajan
public library in Kansas City
She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2010, was used to establish this library devoted to science,
and a Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) engineering and technology. Mr. Bartlett served on the
Fellowship at the University of Colorado and has been Board until his death in 1964.
a visiting professor at the Institute for Theory and
Computation at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for The lectures are presented by the Linda Hall Library
Astrophysics. She is the author of Mapping the Heavens: in association with the Harvard-Radcliffe Club of
The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos. Kansas City, the Princeton Alumni Association of
Greater Kansas City, and the Yale Club of Kansas City.
The annual Paul D. Bartlett, Sr. Lecture was A limited number of seats for the Bartlett Lecture will
established in 2003 to bring the finest university be available on April 9 at lindahall.org.
SPRING FELLOWS
Four Fellows Scheduled to Conduct Research This Spring
The Linda Hall Library will welcome four new fellows to Veins and Dusty Lungs: Water, Public Health, and the
conduct research this spring. Environmental Legacies of Industry in Modern Mexico,
1834-1945, which will be published by the University of
Jordan Bimm, a post-doctoral scholar at Princeton Nebraska Press.
University, arrived at the Library in January to research
early American astrobiology, primarily military life-on-Mars Sadegh Foghani will conduct research on the
studies that were conducted in the 1950s. In February, development of reproductive biomedicine, stem cell,
he presented his findings in a lecture, “Astronauts and and animal biotechnology in Iran from the 1990s to the
Astrobiology: Military Space Science Before Apollo.” present. At the Library, he will explore the relationship
between American pragmatism and the development
Rocio Gomez will look into scientific discovery in the of religious and political thought of Mehdi Bazargan,
age of revolution. An assistant professor of History at the first prime minister of post-revolutionary Iran.
the University of Arkansas, Gomez earned her PhD Foghani earned his PhD in history from the University
from the University of Arizona and is the author of Silver of South Carolina.
Library News continued on page 15
3
4
OON
CK APOLLO 11’s F-1 ENGINE
T
he components of the F-1 engines that propelled
Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Mike Collins to
the moon in 1969 now bear evidence of a fierce
impact with the surface of the Atlantic Ocean and about
40 years spent on the ocean floor. Together, five F-1s
sat at the base of the first stage of the Saturn V rocket,
and the 138-foot-tall S-IC. When the S-IC stage was
exhausted, it fell away and landed in the Atlantic Ocean
at a speed of roughly 200 miles per hour. The stage,
along with the F-1 engine, sank 14,000 feet to the ocean
floor, where they would remain until 2013.
With 1.5-million pounds of thrust, the F-1 engine
was the most powerful single-nozzle, liquid-
fueled rocket engine in history. Engineers at
Rocketdyne first conceived of the engine in
1955, two years before any human-made
object orbited in space. After NASA’s
creation in 1958, the agency revived the
F-1 engine concept, and Rocketdyne
tested the first full-size prototype in 1961.
NASA aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun
stands beside an F-1 engine of the Saturn V rocket.
Photo credit: NASA. Image number NAS 1.21-350.
5
Now that the
Apollo 11 F-1
engine parts are
on dry land,
they can once
again be part of
our lives. They
have the power
to create
new experiences
and inspire
new generations.
The design of the F-1 was a scaled-up version of along the Apollo 11 flight path using deep-sea sonar.
the company’s other engines, but fabrication of the For nearly three weeks, they retrieved thrust chambers,
massive engine required new manufacturing and gas generators, injectors, heat exchangers, turbopumps,
testing techniques. Each engine consumed 6,000 fuel manifolds, and other hardware, all deformed, but
pounds of RP-1, a form of kerosene, and liquid oxygen recognizable as parts from the Apollo moon missions.
every second. Five F-1 engines clustered together
launched the massive Saturn V into space with 7.5-million Bezos Expeditions sent the recovered components to
pounds of thrust at liftoff. Launch after launch, F-1s the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center (KCSC)
propelled all the lunar missions without failure. for conservation. Instead of restoring the pieces to
their original launch condition, conservators stabilized
More than 40 years after the artifacts and removed corrosion. As Jim Remar,
the first lunar landing, Jeff president and chief executive officer of the KCSC,
Bezos, founder of Amazon explained, “The artifacts have a story and a life. We
and the aerospace didn’t want to do anything that changed their look
company Blue Origin, or appearance because that would take away some
wondered if “with the of the story.” During the stabilization process, the
right team of undersea conservators found markings proving that some of
pros, could we find and these components were part of Apollo 11.
potentially recover the
F-1 engines that started Why preserve the artifacts of spaceflight? Why do
mankind’s mission to physical remnants of history matter to us? Why did Neil
the moon?” In 2011, he Armstrong bring pieces of the Wright Flyer to the moon?
created Bezos Expeditions
Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepard
stands by the flag. Photo credit: to seek out and recover When asked why he recovered the F-1 engine parts,
NASA. Image number AS14-66-9232. the F-1 components Jeff Bezos offered an explanation. “Millions of people
from the ocean floor. were inspired by the Apollo Program. I was five years
The team searched an old when I watched Apollo 11 unfold on television,
area of one nautical mile and without any doubt, it was a big contributor to my
6
(LEFT) Work on the F-1 engines stored in the F-1 Engine Preparation Shop. Photo Credit:
NASA. Image number 6521185. (ABOVE) Buzz Aldrin’s boot print on the Moon,
part of the Apollo 11 Boot Penetration Soil Experiment. Photo Credit: NASA. Image
number AS11-40-5877.
passions for science, engineering, and exploration.” brothers’ flight with the shard of wood and piece of fabric,
Bezos worked with NASA to make the Apollo 11 F-1 Apollo artifacts can connect us to the first moon missions.
engine components available to the Smithsonian The F-1 engine parts, like the Wright Flyer pieces and the
National Air and Space Museum, in the hope that they other artifacts, or the thousands more at the Smithsonian
could once again inspire future generations. Institution, have the power to render lunar exploration
tangible instead of abstract. Artifacts make Project Apollo
Now that the Apollo 11 F-1 engine parts are on dry more than memory alone; they make it a palpable, and
land, they can once again be part of our lives. They visitable, part of our present.
have the power to create new experiences and inspire
new generations. Like other artifacts, the F-1 engine This article is an excerpt from the book Apollo
components carry marks of their history. Before they were to the Moon: A History in 50 Objects by Teasel
launched, the F-1 engines impressed with their scale and Muir-Harmony, National Geographic, 2018.
intricate design, but the flown engine parts communicate
something different. These battered fragments bear
witness to the repercussions of a journey to the moon.
You can experience immense size, the tremendous forces
they were subjected to, and the significant risks inherent
in launching – and riding – a spacecraft to the moon. You
can see the damage from their ocean impact and the
corrosion from years underwater. They connect us
to Project Apollo; to the engineers who designed,
THE F-1 ENGINE PARTS…
tested, and built them; to the astronauts who flew
to the moon; to the crew who recovered HAVE THE POWER TO
them; and to the conservators who
stabilized them for years to come. RENDER LUNAR EXPLORATION
Just as Armstrong connected
his experience to the Wright
TANGIBLE INSTEAD OF ABSTRACT.
7
Meet a Supporter
Geologist Looked to the Library
for Answers to Complex Questions
Bill Shefchik visited Scotland in 2014, one of many trips
influenced by his deep love of geology. The standing stones,
arranged in a circle near Loch Tay, in the Highlands of
Scotland, were derived by Stone-Age people from the billion-
year-old (Precambrian) schist bedrock of the region.
Bill Shefchik and Eileen Chase have an extensive personal
rock collection. The top shelf of their collection includes small
chunks of rock that show evidence of significant events,
including faulting, folding of rock strata, and the underground
flow of magma, among other Earth processes.
G eologists are part scientists, part detectives. For Bill
Shefchik, who worked at Burns & McDonnell as a
geologist for more than 36 years, the Linda Hall Library
level or folded; saturated or dry? How thick is the soil
overburden? Is there earthquake potential?”
provided the evidence in solving some of his biggest cases. Major engineering projects, such as power plants, dams,
water-treatment plants, bridges, and airports, often
Shefchik, who retired in 2013, estimated that he visited include heavy structures with concentrated loads on
the Library more than 100 times throughout his career, a small footprint or involve deep excavation. Because
drawing upon maps, technical journals, and monographs of this, design engineers work with geologists like
for his research. Shefchik’s 500-plus projects at Burns Shefchik to answer questions about the bedrock and soil,
& McDonnell included one-page memoranda that often including strength, layering, the angle of any tilted layers,
took 45 minutes to write, while others required reports and lateral variation.
that took months, or even several years, to complete.
Shefchik said his research often began in Burns
“They were all stimulating, interesting, and challenging,” & McDonnell’s own technical library, looking up
Shefchik said. “Many of them were like detective stories. publications and examining maps.
Often, I had to piece together complex, or messy,
or unusual data to understand the geology of a site. “The next step for a large project would be to go to Linda
What is the bedrock? Is it thick or thin; solid or weak; Hall Library, because it is thousands of times more vast
8
than any corporation’s technical
library,” Shefchik said. “It’s a huge,
thrilling, and almost bottomless well
Lessons Learned
of information. on the Job
Bill Shefchik presented “Down-to-Earth
Research at the Library saved clients Science: Some Powerful Little Tools in
a great deal of money, Shefchik said. the Toolbox” in October 2017 at Iowa
Knowing the basic conditions of rock State University. Learning on the job “is
and soil ahead of time reduces cost fundamental, after you have absorbed
and risks, both in investigative drilling the principles of science in school.”
Below are some of the principles that he
and during construction. In addition,
shared with students at Iowa State:
advance research often led to more
realistic cost proposals for the client Respect your data and use your data.
and enabled Burns & McDonnell to Learn your data better than anybody else,
secure projects in the first place. Bill Shefchik poses with a tracked shovel that was so you can make solid recommendations
used to excavate the shale bedrock and to create
about the data, Shefchik said. Gather
the Auxiliary Spillway alongside the previously
existing Fort Smith Dam in Arkansas. what you need to gather. Understand your
“For example, if you find that the anomalies and plot them visually. “If you
depth to bedrock is likely to be 10 Becoming a geologist was not a have multiple data points and there is one
feet instead of 400 feet, you know childhood aspiration for Shefchik, of them that doesn’t seem to fit, don’t just
to budget for a small, lower-cost but it evolved as a natural choice, as throw it out. You need to understand why
rig to do the exploratory drilling,” he and his four siblings were raised it doesn’t fit,” he said. “If you understand
the data better than anybody else, you’ll
Shefchik said. “You’re a long way by both parents to be “very open to
be able to understand why it doesn’t fit.
ahead of someone who hasn’t done receiving knowledge.” Shefchik also The anomaly sometimes can teach you a
the literature search and thus doesn’t had the opportunity to work part-time great deal about your site.”
have prior knowledge of the basic in his parents’ pharmacy for seven
site geology. years, to pay for college. Don’t stretch your data; say only
what you know.
For the last 25 years of his career,
“Likewise, if you are assisting High school science classes caused Shefchik served as a technical expert
a client in a dispute about the a significant awakening. It was at in litigation support for clients who
origin and spread of groundwater that time that Shefchik began to learn were in lawsuits. Again, he frequently
contamination beneath properties, more about the magnificence of the returned to the Linda Hall Library for
you are much more able to help Earth and its scientific complexities, in-depth geological research. “As an
expert, you not only have to know the
the involved parties reach a fair leading him to earn bachelor’s and
data better than anybody else but
settlement than a consultant who master’s degrees in Geology from the also know the science – right down
hasn’t done the research.” University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. to the fundamentals – and coming to
story continued on page 14 Linda Hall Library to get that technical
knowledge was a great way to do that.”
Visit www.lindahall.org/videos/ to view Bill Shefchik’s June 2018
Have you used the Linda Hall Library in
lecture at the Linda Hall Library, “The Plate Tectonics History of your career? We would love to hear how
the World, as Seen in Northern Scotland.” the Library has helped you in your work.
Please email development@lindahall.org.
9
Linda Hall Library and the
Balance of Preservation
I
BY ASHLEY JONES n libraries, there is an expectation that materials will be well cared for and
Preservation and Conservation Librarian kept in usable condition for as long as required by the library’s mission,
which in turn creates a need for the practice of library preservation.
Simply speaking, library preservation refers to actions or a set of activities
that aim to prolong the life and usability of an item or object. Broken down
into its fundamental components, preservation includes collections care,
conservation, digital preservation, and disaster preparedness.
Preservation of materials in research and special libraries is even
more imperative, as these types of institutions often act as permanent
repositories that curate and shape their collections over many years,
with an eye towards future research. The Linda Hall Library is no
exception – it is a perfect
example of a collection whose
strengths exist because
of institutional history and
collecting philosophy. The
Library has committed itself
to serve as a print repository
for science, technology,
and engineering, and with
that comes a responsibility
towards preservation and
long-term retention.
However, library preservation
is not just about retention, it is
also about access. Unlike a
museum, the materials that are
kept in libraries and archives
are meant to be touched,
handled, and used in a variety
of ways. It can be difficult to
balance the need to preserve
and the need for access. Still,
the role of preservation is not
to deny access, but rather
Books in the cue for
repairs or enclosures.
10Books are documented
before repairs are
made to evaluate the
book’s condition and the
success of the repair.
to guarantee it. Preservation strategies are often tied When the item itself has value, such as books of a certain
to preserving the usability of an item, as demonstrated rarity, or a copy that was owned by an important figure,
in the microfilming of newspapers, or the repair of a that must be taken into consideration when choosing
book’s binding. a course of action. Some of the same techniques
used on items of informational value are used in these
In fact, many of the decisions that preservationists instances as well. Digital surrogates can be made for
face revolve around how to preserve the item while still access purposes in order to limit wear and tear through
providing access. When dealing with items that are “at handling. However, in the case of items with artifactual
risk” – i.e. they are extremely fragile, or damaged in some value, the ability to view or handle the original item is
way – the first preservation questions to ask are, what is often desired or necessary for research. Usually, this is
important about this item? Is it the information contained when conservation treatment is utilized. Not only does
within, or is it the item itself that holds value? conservation treatment stabilize the item and allow for
continued handling, but it also considers preservation of
The answer to this question goes a long way in the item’s artifactual value in reference to materials and
determining a preservation course of action. If the binding structure when treatment decisions are made.
answer is simply the information contained within is
what has value then there are several preservation The Linda Hall Library uses many tried and true
options available, such as microfilming or digitization preservation strategies to meet the needs of its collections
– strategies known as reformatting. Of course, at the as well as the needs of its users. Over the years, various
Linda Hall Library, original items are kept even after they preservation strategies have been put into place including
have been reformatted. Additionally, steps are taken to commercial binding, enclosures and simple book repair,
continue preserving the original item through protective environmental controls, and security. Some of the most
enclosures and use of the surrogate copy for access, effective preservation measures might be described
which cuts down on wear and tear from handling. A as collection-wide activities. Strategies such as stable,
strategy for formats especially susceptible to damage moderate environments, and proper storage and handling
from use, such as journals and serials, is to send those techniques have a huge impact on the life and condition
items to a commercial bindery to be bound together for of library materials. Additionally, these strategies have the
better protection and stabilization. potential to reach a far greater portion of the collection
story continued on page 14
11Collections
Hough’s patented process enabled him to create business
cards and greeting cards from wood. The American
Woods: Exhibited by Actual Specimens and with Copious
Explanatory Text, Romeyn Hough, 1888-1928.
Exploring The American Woods
BY JASON W. DEAN
Vice President for Special Collections
S
ince arriving at the Linda Hall Library last fall, discovery. The Linda Hall Library has many of these, but
one of my pleasures has been getting to know the one I sought out was Romeyn Hough’s The American
the collection. With a collection as deep as the Woods. I remembered this item, because it is not actually
Library’s it can be complicated to grasp. a book, but a collection of 1,056 thinly sliced wood
samples in 14 volumes. I was delighted to find that we had
“How do you learn what is in the collection?” is a question a complete set.
I’ve answered when meeting patrons at the Library since
I arrived in October of last year. I have consulted well- Hough, trained as a botanist at Cornell, graduated in
known bibliographies, including Bern Dibner’s Heralds 1881. In 1886, he received a patent for his process of
of Science and Harrison Horblit’s One Hundred Books making thin slices of wood that were suitable for use
Famous in Science. I’ve spoken with my colleagues as cards but were also translucent when backlit. This
about the collections and reviewed past exhibition invention allowed him to create microscope slides and
catalogs. Perhaps the most enjoyable for me is looking to business cards from these wood slices, but also enabled
see if we have books I’ve known in previous institutions, him to work on The American Woods during the final 25
or as I call them, “old friends.” years of his life. The process allowed him to create slices
as thin as 1/2000-inch thick.
Early in my career, I worked at the library of the Amon
Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, Texas. Why this work? Romeyn’s father, Franklin B. Hough,
During that time, I worked on a joint exhibition with the was America’s first Forest Service Chief, and he wrote
Botanical Research Institute of Texas in a show that the landmark Report on Forestry of 1887. Franklin was
featured important works of natural history and botanical alarmed by the rapid depletion of the North American
12forests, outlining his views in On the Duty
of Governments in the Preservation of
Forests, presented at the 1873 meeting
of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science (a copy of which
the Library holds). It was, perhaps, his
father’s views on the need to preserve the
forests of North America that led Romeyn
Hough to his lifelong work.
On the shelf, The American Woods:
Exhibited by Actual Specimens and with
Copious Explanatory Text looks like any
late 19th- or early 20th-century American
multivolume book set. It is bound in green
cloth, embossed to appear as though
bound in fine goatskin (called morocco
in the field) and stamped in blind and
gilt with title and volume information.
However, try to open the item as one
would a book and one is presented with a
clasp. After opening the clasp, the interior
case comes out, with a paper bound text
volume and loose cards. Hough notes
that the work is designed “primarily and
principally to show, in as compact and
perfect a manner as possible, authentic
specimens of our American woods, both
native and introduced. For that end three
sections, respectively transverse, radial
and tangential to the grain, are made of
each timber, sufficiently thin to allow in
a measure the transmission of light, and
securely mounted in well-made frames.”
Of note is that a set of the 3rd edition (the Virginia Sumac from Hough’s The American Woods.
Library holds the first edition) was featured
on PBS’ Antiques Roadshow in 2013, appraised by Ken The Library’s 14 volumes of The American Woods
Sanders. While individual volumes from the publication reside in the Library’s vault, due to the rarity of the set,
are not unusual, a complete set is – as noted by as well as the stability of temperature and humidity in
Bauman Rare Books in its description of an incomplete that space. The wood slices are especially sensitive
set: “Because of the long time period over which the to changes in temperature and humidity and so its
series was produced and the fact that many buyers only placement in the vault ensure its availability to users
purchased the volumes for one region, few complete hundreds of years in the future, interested in the
sets were ever assembled; only two are recorded as woods and forests of North America at the turn of the
having been sold at auction in the past 25 years.” 20th century.
13Linda Hall Library and the Balance of Preservation
(continued from page 11)
than a more item-specific strategy such as conservation Yet, while preservation is understood to be a
treatment. This is not to say that item-specific strategies specific area of librarianship, success is dependent
are not important to an overall preservation program. upon everyone who comes into contact with
Successful programs will take all these different strategies the collections. The very nature of preservation
into account to create a balance between needs, makes it a library-wide, and community-wide
priorities, and available resources. activity. Preservation considerations are woven
into everything a library does – from acquisition
At the Linda Hall Library, much work has been decisions to the way books are shelved and
done over the past year to develop a more holistic circulated. Preservation also depends on library
preservation plan. A plan that will help with prioritization patrons and their awareness and willingness to treat
and resource allocation; ensure follow through on library materials with careful handling and a thought
preservation projects and initiatives; and create clear towards future users. Preservation now means
policies, procedures, and documentation. access for years to come.
Longtime Geologist Looked to the Library for Answers to Complex Questions
(continued from page 9)
He also enjoyed that geology intersected with his love In Iceland, Eileen Chase lies
at the edge of the 1,000-foot-high
of being outdoors, which Shefchik described as a “huge Látrabjarg Cliffs, watching some
benefit of the job.” Visiting sites all over the country, of the million Kittiwakes, Guillemots,
and Puffins that nest on the black
with different geology, allowed him to learn more about lava cliffs in the summer.
the Earth and Earth processes. He and his wife, Eileen
Chase, often plan vacations around specific geological
sites that they wish to see – often based upon research Shefchik speaks positively of the Linda Hall Library as a
done at the Linda Hall Library. Kansas City institution. In modern culture, he said, it is
challenging to get reasonable information about science.
“Then, when you go into the field and see it, you’re It often falls between two extremes, he said.
learning about the Earth at a whole new level,”
Shefchik said. “Every project site I went to provided a “At one end of the spectrum are oversimplified
tremendous learning experience.” summaries, so broad as to be almost useless,” Shefchik
said, “and at the other end of the spectrum we find the
Shefchik and Chase joined the Linda Hall Library enormously technical and complex information in most
Foundation’s major donor group, the President’s scientific publications.”
Circle, in late 2017 to show their increasing support
for the Library. Shefchik also presented the lecture The Linda Hall Library, Shefchik said, does well in bridging
“The Plate Tectonics History of the World, as Seen the gap between the two extremes, with its exhibitions,
in Northern Scotland” in June 2018 at the Library, lectures, and especially with its vast collections, which
in addition to serving as a guest lecturer at Iowa cover every point on the complexity spectrum.
State University’s Department of Geological and
Atmospheric Sciences in October 2017, as well as “If there’s something you want to know about science,”
the Omaha Section of the Association of Engineering he said, “you have a premier place right inside those big,
Geologists in November 2018. bronze doors.”
14Library News Calendar of Events
SPRING FELLOWS “The Science of Apollo”
(continued from page 3) 3.28 Space historian Andrew Chaikin will moderate a panel
that includes Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt.
John Bukowski, a professor of
mathematics at Juniata College
in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, will “Roving Down the Road Towards Understanding
conduct research for a week as the Habitability of Mars”
the recipient of a travel grant. He 4.11 John Grant, Geologist at the Smithsonian Center for
will study the work of 16th- and Earth and Planetary Studies
17th-century mathematicians.
Bukowski earned his PhD in applied
“Sabermetrics and the Empirical Analysis of Baseball”
mathematics from Brown University.
A Second Saturday Conversation with Dr. Daniel Mack
4.13 Senior Director, Quantitative Analysis/
2014 Fellow Earns Amateur Scouting with the Kansas City Royals
Prestigious Grant “Cosmic Tremors: The Quest for
Colliding Black Holes”
Library Fellowships can be
important milestones in the 4.30 Priyamvada Natarajan, Yale University
careers of scholars. Joana Gaspar 17th Annual Paul D. Bartlett, Sr. Lecture
de Freitas, a 2014 Fellow, was
awarded a prestigious European
Research Council Starting Grant “Return to the Moon”
last year. Gaspar de Freitas said
her research as a Linda Hall
5.09 Alicia Dwyer Cianciolo, Aerospace Engineer
NASA Langley Research Center
Library Fellow was fundamental to
her successful grant application.
The material she found in the
“Comprehending a Cube:
Library’s shelves was essential
in preparing her proposal to the
European Research Council.
5.21 Eighteen Months of Living with Euclid”
Russell Maret, designer, letterpress printer, typographer
In 2014, Gaspar de Freitas traveled
from the New University of Lisbon Funding for To the Moon and related programs has been
to conduct research at the Library provided by generous gifts from Mike and Millie Brown
and presented “Against the Sand and the Burns & McDonnell Foundation.
and Sea: Strategies on Coastal
Defense” in November of that Can’t attend one of our evening lectures?
year. A video of her presentation is Many of them are available on Livestream and Facebook Live, and later
archived on the Library’s website at archived at lindahall.org. Follow us on Twitter or Facebook to learn more.
www.lindahall.org/videos. All lectures are free and open to the public; however, e-tickets are
required. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. to view the exhibition.
Evening programs begin at 7:00 p.m. Find out more about these
and other great programs, and register for tickets at:
lindahall.org
Assistive listening devices are available upon request.
15L I N D A H A LL LIBRARY
HEDGEHOG
N U M B E R 63 • S p r i n g 2 0 1 9
The Spring 2019 issue shows an
illustration of a hedgehog from
Volume 8 of Georges-Louis Leclerc,
comte de Buffon’s Histoire naturelle
(1760). You can browse all 44 volumes
of this natural history encyclopedia
by visiting the Linda Hall Library’s
History of Science Collection.
HEDGEHOG
is published twice a year by
The Linda Hall Library
of Science, Engineering & Technology
5109 Cherry Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64110
816.363.4600
fax 816.926.8790
www.lindahall.orgYou can also read
