Dr. Joel S. Levine
Dr. Joel S. Levine (1942- ) is an internationally recognized planetary scientist, with exceptional expertise in the atmospheres of Earth and Mars. His 41-year career as a senior research scientist in the Langley Science Directorate resulted in vital contributions to many NASA programs.
Levine was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1942. At the age of 13, he developed an interest in astronomy and the planets, had an astronomical telescope to observe the moon and planets from New York City (which was a real challenge) and attended Saturday courses in astronomy and space science at the Hayden Planetarium. He attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn, New York, and the Brooklyn College of the City University of New York where he earned a bachelor of science degree in physics with a minor in astronomy in 1964. While a graduate student at New York University, he worked as a research assistant at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) on the campus of Columbia University, where he wrote a research paper about the surface and atmosphere of Mars.
Levine was interviewed by Langley Research Center Associate Director, Dr. John Duberg, on a recruitment visit to GISS looking for scientists to work on the Viking Project at NASA Langley, which had the project leadership role. Levine joined the Langley Research Center in July 1970 and was assigned to the Aeronomy Section of the Planetary Physics Branch, which became part of the new Environmental and Space Sciences Division. He remained in the science organization for 41 years, until his retirement in 2011.
Levine’s legacy includes developing numerical models of the upper atmosphere of Mars for the Viking Project Scientist for the Viking 1 and 2 Mars Orbiter and Lander Missions and being selected as Guest Investigator on the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO) Copernicus to measure and monitor the density and distribution of atomic hydrogen, the major gas in the upper atmosphere of Mars. The OAO results were published in “Science” magazine.
In 1998, Levine was asked by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington, D.C., to identify the cause and origin of mysterious tiny white spots suddenly appearing in the hermetically sealed encasements holding the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, collectively called the “Charters of Freedom.” Levine formed and led a 12-member Charters of Freedom Research Team. Levine and his team using NASA gas detection instrumentation developed for trace gas atmospheric measurements discovered that the tiny white spots in the encasements resulted from unexpected, significantly enhanced concentrations of water vapor in the encasement atmosphere reacting with the encasement glass causing alkaline material to leach out of the glass as tiny white particles onto the Charters of Freedom. As a result of the NASA detective work, NARA reduced the water vapor content of the Charters of Freedom encasements and the problem was solved.
From 2007 to 2009, Levine was detailed to NASA Headquarters as Program Scientist for the Mars Scout Program, Mars Exploration Program, Science Mission Directorate and was selected as co-chair of NASA’s Human Exploration of Mars Science Analysis Group (HEM-SAG), of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG). HEM-SAG defined the scientific goals and objectives for the human exploration of Mars and formed the basis of the book edited by Levine and Harvard Astronomy Professor Rudolf Schild entitled, “The Human Mission to Mars: Colonizing the Red Planet.”
He also developed numerical models for the origin and evolution of the atmospheres of Earth and Mars; as Mars Scout Program Scientist, chaired the NASA Mars Scout Mission Selection Panel for the Mars Atmospheric and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) Orbiter; major participant on the NASA Instrumentation Selection Panels for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity Rover and the Mars 2020 Rover Missions; conceived and led as Principal Investigator, the Mars Aerial Regional-Scale Environmental Surveyor of Mars (ARES) robotic airplane project (ARES was one of the four finalists in the first NASA Mars Scout Mission competition. Eventually, the Phoenix Lander was selected for the mission); member of the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) Chilean Miners Rescue Support Team; served as an organizer, chair and speaker at the Viking 40th Anniversary Science Symposium, July 20, 2016; Levine is the organizer and co-chair of the NASA Workshop on Dust in the Atmosphere of Mars and Its Impact on Human Exploration, Lunar and Planetary Institute, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, June 13-15, 2017.
He is an outstanding speaker and presenter of NASA programs for a broad scope of audiences. Levine wrote over 175 scientific journal articles, book chapters and reports and edited five books on atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric change and global biomass burning and the human exploration and colonization of Mars. He has presented more than 250 technical talks at U. S. and foreign scientific meetings and conferences, and presented more than 50 invited seminars in 21 countries. Books he has edited include:
- Levine, Joel S.: The Photochemistry of Atmosphere: The Earth, The Other Planets, and Comets. Academic Press, Inc., Orlando, Florida, 518 pages, 1985.
- Levine, Joel S.: Global Biomass Burning: Atmospheric, Climatic, and Biospheric Implications. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 569 pages, 1991.
- Levine, Joel S.: Biomass Burning and Global Change, Volume 1. Remote Sensing, Modeling and Inventory Development, and Biomass Burning in Africa. The MIT Press, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, 582 pages, 1996.
- Levine, Joel S.: Biomass Burning and Global Change, Volume 2. Burning in South America, Southeast Asia, and Temperate and Boreal Ecosystems, and the Oil Fires of Kuwait. The MIT Press, Inc., 377 pages, 1996.
- Levine, Joel S. and Rudolph E. Schild: The Human Mission to Mars: Colonizing the Red Planet. Cosmology Science Publishers, Cambridge, MA, 974 pages, 2010.
Levine is a popular lecturer for Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization devoted to spreading ideas in the form of short, powerful presentations. His November 2009 TED talk, “Why We Need to Go Back to Mars” (http://www.ted.com/talks/joel_levine.html) has over 600,000 viewings and is ranked as one of the top 100 talks on the TED web site of 3000 talks. His April 2015 TED talk, “The Exploration and Colonization of Mars by Humans: Why Mars? Why Humans?” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzhSmnGcSkE) has over 55,000 viewings.
He returned to Brooklyn College in 2010 after he was invited to be the commencement speaker at his alma mater and received the Brooklyn College Distinguished Alumni Award.
Levine is widely credited with being a huge influence on the interests and careers of numerous individual researchers, professors, and students in the fields of atmospheric and planetary sciences and related STEM programs.
In addition to his bachelor of science in physics, he has a master of science in meteorology from New York University (1967), master of science in aeronomy and planetary atmospheres from University of Michigan (1973), and doctoral degree in atmospheric science from University of Michigan (1977).
His awards include: New York Academy of Sciences Halpern Award for Photochemistry (1982); NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (1983); Virginia’s Outstanding Scientist (1987); Alumni Merit Award, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan (2003); NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal (2006) and The Presidential Award from the National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) (2010) for developing a 5-year program of television programs on atmospheric and planetary sciences for minority students.
He is currently a research professor in the Department of Applied Science at the College of William & Mary, where he teaches courses in atmospheric and planetary science.
Dr. Levine and his wife, Dr. Arlene S. Levine, a former NASA Langley employee, live in Williamsburg, Virginia. They have a daughter, Lisa.