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Harold Klein
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Harold P. Klein April 1, 1921 - July 15, 2001
When, in 2000, Dr. Harold "Chuck" Klein was inducted into the NASA Ames Hall of Fame, he was cited as having "pioneered new realms of scientific research and provided insights into questions about life in the universe." During his 20 years at NASA Ames Research Center, where he became Director of Life Sciences, he not only created the exobiology and life science programs but, more than any other individual, established the Ames Research Center as the leading NASA site for the study of astrobiology. The astrobiology laboratory building at Ames was recently dedicated in his honor.
Prior to joining NASA Ames Research Center in 1963, Klein was Professor and Chairman of the Biology Department at Brandeis University in Massachusetts. He also taught at the University of California at Berkeley and at the University of Washington Medical School. Following retirement from NASA Ames Research Center in 1984, he was Scientist-in-Residence at Santa Clara University and a Senior Research Scientist and Principal Investigator at the SETI Institute.
Klein played a prominent role in the Viking project (1976 - 77) when he headed the Biology Team that performed automated life detection experiments on Mars; he also helped conceive the Viking Lander. Other space studies he was involved in included biological experiments on two Soviet cosmos space missions (1977 and 1979). He served on the U.S. Space Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences from 1985 until 1989 and chaired its Committee on Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution. He also chaired the American Institute of Biological Sciences peer review panel for NASA's Exobiology program from 1985 until 1990. In 1990 he was selected as a US Participating Scientist on the Russian Mars '96 mission."
Klein received numerous awards including the Cleveland-Newcomb Award of the AAAS, the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement, the Distinguished Alumnus award from Brooklyn College, the NASA Medal for Outstanding Leadership and a Presidential Meritorious Service Award. He was a member of several societies, including Phi Beta Kappa, the American Society of Biological Chemists, the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life, and the International Academy of Astronautics.
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NASA Ames Research Center
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