We will post all of the reminiscences about Jason and/or comments about his academic work here. If you would like to have a reminiscence or comment added, please send it to: wjm-in-memoriam@hotmail.com. You also can send or share photos or videos to the same address, and we will add them to the photos/video page.
- Lincoln Hollister – 2023-08-07
- Larry Cathles – 2023-08-07
- Frederik Simons – 2023-08-07
- Barbara Romanowicz – 2023-08-07
- Jeroen Tromp – 2023-08-07
- New York Times Obituary
- Washington Post Obituary
- Princeton University Memorial
- Love Zubiller – 2023-08-15
- Bridget Scott Akinc – 2023-08-22
- Guust Nolet – 2023-08-30
- Wuling Zhao – 2023-09-29
Lincoln Hollister
August 7, 2023
Some thoughts of Jason Morgan, a colleague and friend for over 50 years. Lincoln Hollister, Aug 5, 2023.
Jason Morgan was the last man who knew everything. He was not just a pioneer in geology, he grasped the full historical context for geological details and was fully aware of how each detail connected to everything else.
One former student wrote, “Jason was a professor at Princeton when I was a graduate student 40 years ago; he was one of the kindest, lowest-key, but most erudite and wisest people I have known. He was foremost among those who shaped and developed the modern theory of plate tectonics and put it on a sound theoretical basis. If there were a Nobel Prize in earth sciences, Jason would certainly have received it.”
“Loose lips sink ships.” Jason, a Navy veteran, followed this rule. For example, his close friends did not know he had been awarded an honorary degree by Harvard University until after the fact. He always found the good in someone even if their science was not really worthy of note. He made everyone he knew feel like they were outstanding scientists and people. His lips were not loose!
If one had a question … any question … Jason had the answer. “Ask Jason” was a frequent refrain. One former student and wife writes that they “drove him around 1600 km of the German countryside, and he knew something about everything everywhere we went.”
I chatted on the phone with Jason about four times a week, for the last 20 years since he moved to Massachusetts. The last chat was the Sunday evening when he died. He was fine then and was packing up to drive to Princeton with his children, Michele and Jason Jr, and a grandchild. The purpose of their planned visit was to see the construction holes in the ground where they had all lived. He also asked me some questions about the Colorado Plateau which we had visited on a field trip with a class.
Jason went on every field trip he could hitch a ride with. He would patiently learn from the students on the trips and would help them understand the bigger story, like how did the Colorado Plateau form? Or how did the plates move across the Earth’s surface? Every rock was a data point for understanding the bigger picture.
His patient teaching extended to a boat operator in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. On receiving the news of Jason’s death, he wrote me: “When I saw his picture I instantly remembered the man that I met briefly in 1994. He was always smiling and tried so hard to explain to me the geology in my own back yard. As an old friend of yours, I understand your sadness of your old friend passing.”
Larry Cathles
August 7, 2023
I was Jason’s first graduate student. Princeton was a very exciting place when I arrived in 1966. There was lots of discussion on how sea floor spreading might work. Jason, was hard at work demonstrating Fred Vine’s lineations meant plate tectonics. And yet somehow he found time to take on a graduate student. He was an ideal advisor, never intruding too closely in day to day work, but always available for questions, and always clear and thoughtful in discussions. We became good friends, and I later spent many fascinating visits with his family in their small apartment next to campus. Time has passed far too quickly, and it is very hard for me to believe that Jason will no longer be there for discussions and suggestions. A great many people will miss him very much, and I am certainly included in that very long list.
Frederik Simons
August 7, 2023
Jason Morgan, the Physicist, was to Geology what Darwin, the Geologist, was to Biology – towering figures with probing, synthetic minds, who became synonymous with the paradigm shifts they engendered. Evolution, for Darwin, Plate tectonics, for Jason Morgan and the very few peers of his generation.
Entire books, tens of them, have been written about the history of plate tectonics (and its acceptance) and the crucial role of Morgan in it.
His early work contributed seminally to the study of Earth’s gravitational field, the interactions between static and dynamic force fields generated by density anomalies, and how these constrain Earth’s viscosity structure on a planetary scale.
We rarely anymore cite Newton for F=ma, or Einstein about E=mc^2, and we no longer need to cite Morgan’s early work on plate tectonics, which was, essentially, universally, accepted by the late 1960s, and now the stuff of school books and college texts.
Perhaps paradoxically, Morgan (Nature, 1971), which postulated an explanation for the origin of hotspots and volcanic island chains in the *interior* of plates (thus, not part of the original theory) as a feature of convection currents in the deep mantle, remains as relevant as ever. Cited, debated, argued over, and still the stuff of NSF grant proposals like I literally just submitted, two days after his death.
Jason was patient, and Jason was kind. Jason did not envy, he did not boast, and he was not proud. It was known that his name did not appear on half or more of the publications that were written out of his collaborations with students.
When you talked to Jason he would take long pauses, to formulate deep thoughts, fed from encyclopedic knowledge and profound insight.
Barbara Romanowicz
August 7, 2023
When I think of Jason Morgan, I think about mantle plumes, of course, but my most treasured memory of him dates from the Spring 1990 AGU in Baltimore, which I had travelled to from France. At that time, the Spring AGU was a rather small meeting, and the Honors Ceremony was no frills, in a large but not huge room, and the dozen or two new Fellows – of which I was one, had to take care of themselves, and take a seat on the stage. I remember standing outside of the room, intimidated and wondering what I was supposed to do, when Jason came up to me, warmly congratulated me and asked whether anyone was accompanying me. As this was not the case, explained the process to me, and kept me company during the whole ceremony. He was a towering figure in the Geosciences community, and also a real gentleman!
Jeroen Tromp
August 7, 2023
A memory of Jason that brings a smile to my face dates to when I was a graduate student at Princeton in the 1990s. I was sitting next to my advisor, the late Tony Dahlen, and asked him how old Jason was. Jason’s office was across from Tony’s, so Tony yells across the hall: “Jason, how old are you?”. There is no answer. So, Tony yells again: “Jason, what year were you born?”. Jason yells back: “1935”. Tony replies: “Jason, you are 55 years old.”
The same year, Jason’s office was declared a fire hazard by the Princeton University Fire Marshall, because it contained about 15 man-sized stacks of reprints and papers. But if you came to ask him a question, he would be able to locate the right reference instantly, without fail.
Love Zubiller
August 15, 2023
Few college students have the opportunity to go on a geology field trip to Scotland with the father of the theory of plate tectonics. For one week in 1995, twelve of my classmates and I had the pleasure of climbing around on rocks in the windiest, bitterest, and craggiest parts of the Isle of Arran. Jason Morgan was the most down-to-earth and congenial genius-scientist a girl like me could ever hope to meet.
Unfortunately for me, I have only pictures of me with my classmates from that trip — none with my professors. The class was co-taught by another most inspiring man, Kenneth Deffeyes, who passed away several years ago in San Diego. I was so inspired by this freshman seminar and my professors that I toyed with the idea of majoring in geology. The advanced geophysics class I took afterward taught me to appreciate geology in a supportive role and to major in a field of study more appropriate to my strengths. No regrets there — being an English major rocked! (See what I did there?)
Alas, Professor Morgan is one of the people I am proudest to have known. To say that I gained a love of geology, the Earth, and all of its hidden mysteries from his class is truly special. To say that I had my first shot of Scotch at a rundown pub on the Isle of Arran, Scotland, with the Nobel-worthy pioneer of geologic science? That is priceless.
Bridget Scott Akinc
August 22, 2023
Arriving at Princeton in the fall of 1994 from California not knowing a soul from our class or the faculty, I was lucky enough to be placed in the Freshman Seminar with Professors Morgan and Deffeyes. We would be preparing for a trip to my home state of California in order to uncover the mysteries of the rock formations there. Although giants in their field, both professors insisted on being called by their first names - so as we were traipsing across the Yosemite Valley, we had Jason and Ken guiding us to take note of the clues that would tell us the story of how that beautiful place came to be.
Jason had such a kind and unassuming demeanor, and imbued an expectation that we were each capable of great discoveries, if only we took the time to use the clues of each rock, quarry and kinkband in front of us. Many of us who were intimidated by the introduction to a field by luminaries in it, not to mention being a part of a university community that seemed daunting too — and we found in the camaraderie, joy and discoveries of our daily adventures, (capped by daily dinner adventures), a true community in Jason and Ken's class. As if the John McPhee visit wasn't enough, they shared with us while we were on the trip that their friend John Nash had just heard of his winning of the Nobel Prize — it seemed genuinely surreal! To see how collaborative and how much they appreciated and cared for each other as faculty set a foundation for wonderful friendships that would carry us through the years on campus — and now 25 years since!
I marvel at how fascinated I became with geology by their enthusiasm and our quests — and when I entered the field of education with my first student teaching assignment in Trenton, I began teaching what I had learned of the topics I found most fascinating — geology!
Guust Nolet
August 30, 2023
The first time I met Jason was when he visited Scripps for a few days in the late 1970’s. Freeman Gilbert walked him around to meet some postdocs. Freeman had barely introduced me when he was called away. “I shall be back,” he said and left me, a recently minted PhD, alone with the founding father of plate tectonics. I was too shy and nervous to start the conversation and waited for him to ask a question, but Jason remained quiet. His face showed a glimpse of a smile, and behind his gold-rimmed glasses his eyes wandered to the computer plots scattered on my desk. What was he thinking? I finally had the courage to break a long silence and started to talk with him about my PhD research, when Freeman returned and led him further down the hall.
We did not meet again until years later when I joined the Princeton faculty. We quickly became friends and I worked with him on mantle plumes, especially during our joint experiment in Iceland with Richard Allen.
Jason is one of the most laureated geoscientists, but if he had an ego it never showed. During seminars he would often ask an apparently naive question within the first five minutes. Usually it wasn't naive at all but he posed it in such a way that even the younger students must have been encouraged to raise their own hands and interrupt the speaker to get something clarified. I once asked him if he did this on purpose. Jason was silent and did not respond. His face showed a glimpse of a smile. I think I know the answer.
Wuling Zhao
September 29, 2023
Jason Morgan, My Mentor, My Friend
I am extremely sad that Jason Morgan has passed away.
I came to Princeton as Jason’s graduate student in the fall of 1980. Being a young student from China entering a completely different world, I needed then not only academic mentoring but also basic logical thinking and a normal worldview to be successful in democratic America. Jason, with his brilliant intellect and big warm heart, perfectly filled the role as my mentor, not only in my career but also in my life.
Jason was a genius and a scientific giant. However, he was ever a humble person. I remember when I asked him scientific questions, once or twice, he would tell me he did not know the answer. Then he would tell me his current thoughts on these unsolved issues. He told me that the difference in research between West Point Academy and Princeton University is that there seemed always to be certain answers at West Point. But at Princeton, many scientific questions needed more research in order to reach solutions.
I originally came to the US and to Princeton carrying decades of communist indoctrination in my mind. Therefore, I usually saw history and the contemporary world with subjective and distorted views. Jason knew I was wrong but was very patient. He always explained things the way they were. Jason was not only my mentor in science but also in social issues and humanity. Starting from Jason’s enlightenment and with my decades experience living in the States, I am now able to clearly tell the truth and what is right from the false and what is wrong, on issues both in the U.S. and in the world, especially in China.
Jason was not only my Ph.D. adviser but also a family member. I spent many wonderful holidays at his house here in Princeton. My wife and son came to join me in 1985. I could not forget that after I picked them up from JFK Airport back to my Butler Apartment, a welcoming bouquet of flowers was there at the door from Jason and Cary. My son was only 6 years old but he loved to play around with Jason. He loved Jason so much that he chose his American name to be Jason.
I always will cherish the opportunity I had to host Jason and Cary at my family house in Beijing during an international science conference in the summer of 1987. They met my mother and we had a traditional family dinner. I will never forget our pleasant stroll together in two beautiful Beijing parks near my house. Unfortunately, the Tiananmen Massacre occurred, and they could not make another visit to China after Jason was awarded the Japan Prize in Tokyo.
I was fortunate to visit Jason in Boston in the spring of 2016. He took me to his office at Harvard University. We met with Michèle at Harvard’s Archeology Museum. We had dinner at his house. I told him I was going to visit many historical sites in the eastern US to catch up with my U.S. history knowledge. He told me jokingly that I should not learn “bad history” about the United States. That was before Donald Trump was elected to the White House. That was the last time I saw him.
Jason was the best mentor and the best friend of my whole life. He had a profound influence on me in all aspects of my life, especially during my life’s transition from a callow and indoctrinated Chinese youth to an informed and independent human being.