Biographical Information
Robert M. Hazen, research scientist at the Carnegie Institution of Washington's Geophysical Laboratory and Clarence Robinson Professor of Earth Science at George Mason University, received the B.S. and S.M. in geology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1971), and the Ph.D. at Harvard University in earth science (1975). After studies as NATO Postdoctoral Fellow at Cambridge University in England, he joined the Carnegie Institution's research effort.
Hazen is author of more than 330 articles and 20 books on science, history, and music. A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he has received the Mineralogical Society of America Award (1982), the American Chemical Society Ipatieff Prize (1986), the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award (1989), the Educational Press Association Award (1992), and the Elizabeth Wood Science Writing Award (1998). He has served as President and Distinguished Lecturer for the Mineralogical Society of America. Hazen's recent research focuses on the role of minerals in the origin of life, including such processes as mineral-catalyzed organic synthesis and the selective adsorption of organic molecules on mineral surfaces. He also studies factors that facilitate the emergence of complex evolving systems, including the origin of life. The phosphate biomineral hazenite was named in his honor in 2008.
Hazen's books have received widespread critical praise. The Music Men, Wealth Inexhaustible, and Keepers of the Flame, all coauthored with his wife, Margaret Hindle Hazen, explore ties between technology and culture. The Breakthrough, The New Alchemists, Why Aren't Black Holes Black, The Diamond Makers, and Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Life's Origins describe the forefront of scientific research. He has also written widely for popular audiences, including articles in Newsweek,Scientific American, New Scientist, Smithsonian Magazine, and The New York Times Magazine. His writings have been selected for inclusion in several science writing anthologies, including The Best Science Writing of 2001.
Prof. Hazen is active in presenting science to a general audience. At George Mason University he has developed courses and companion texts on scientific literacy. His books with coauthor James Trefil include the best selling Science Matters: Achieving Scientific Literacy and The Sciences: An Integrated Approach, now entering its sixth edition. Hazen also served on the team of writers for the National Science Education Standards and the National Academy's booklet Science, Eolution and Creationism. He teaches courses on symmetry in art and science, on images of the scientist in popular culture, and on scientific ethics. Hazen serves on the Committee on Public Understanding of Science of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and on Advisory Boards for NOVA (WGBH Boston), Earth & Sky, Encyclopedia Americana, and the Carnegie Council. He appears frequently on radio and television programs on science, and he developed two popular video courses: The Joy of Science and The Origins of Life, both produced by The Teaching Company.
In addition to his scientific activities, Robert Hazen is a professional trumpeter. He has performed with numerous ensembles including the Metropolitan, New York City, Boston, and Washington Operas, the Royal, Bolshoi, Jeoffrey, and Kirov Ballets, the Boston Symphony, the National Symphony, and the Orchestre de Paris. He is presently a member of the National Philharmonic and the National Gallery Orchestra.
Robert and Margaret Hazen live in Glen Echo, Maryland.