Michael J. Drake papers
Photograph of Michael Drake, researcher and professor in geochemistry, planetary sciences, and meteoritics at the University of Arizona taken at the Thermodynamics in Geology conference held at Merton College, Oxford.
Collection area: History of Science
Collection dates: 1972-2008 bulk (bulk 1973-1986)
This collection is comprised of the professional papers of Michael J. Drake. Almost all of the materials relate to his career as a researcher and a professor in geochemistry and planetary sciences at the University of Arizona. The bulk of the papers date from 1973 to 1986 before he became the director of the Lunar Planetary Laboratory and head of the Department of Planetary Sciences in 1994. The largest series is the publications which is divided into four subseries; presentations, articles, books chapters, and general. Other items in the collection are his personal files, correspondences, proposals and grants, professional services, and a subject file.
Michael J. Drake was born on July 8, 1946 in Bristol, England. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology at Victoria University of Manchester, England, 1967 and earned his Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Oregon in 1972. Dr. Drake was a post-doctoral research associate at the Harvard Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts from 1972-1973. In 1973 he joined the University of Arizona faculty as an assistant professor in the Department of Planetary Sciences. He served as the associate director of Lunar Planetary Laboratory from 1978 through 1980 and became an associate professor of Planetary Sciences in 1978. In 1986 and 1987, Drake served as the Associate Dean of Science, and in 1994 he became the head of the Department of Planetary Sciences and the Director of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. He served in that capacity until his death in 2011.
Michael J. Drake was a leader in the field of extraterrestrial geology. He studied lunar rock samples, meteors and the moons of Saturn. His assisted with establishment of the University of Arizona Electron Microprobe Laboratory in 1974. He helped map the surface of Mars and was part of a NASA team that detected the presence of ice below the Martian surface in 2002.
Dr. Drake contributed to important space projects that gained international awareness for Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and the University of Arizona. These projects included the Cassini mission to explore Saturn, the Gamma-Ray Spectrometer onboard NASA's Mars Odyssey Orbiter, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the Phoenix Mars Lander.
Drake was the principal investigator for one of the most ambitious University of Arizona projects ever, OSIRIS-REx, the $800 million NASA mission designed to retrieve a sample of the near earth asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth. OSIRIS-REx is due to launch in 2016. It was the largest grant or contract the UA had ever received to date. The project was approved by NASA after 2 years of challenging work by Drake and only months before his death.
Dr. Michael J. Drake was a Regents Professor, the highest of faculty ranks reserved for full professors with exceptional achievements that have brought them national or international recognition.
A collection guide explains what's in a collection. New to using our collections? Learn how to use a collection guide.
Collection guideAccess this collection
Visit us in person to access materials from this collection. Our materials are one-of-a-kind and require special care, so they can’t be checked out or taken home.
How to cite
Learn how to cite and use materials from Special Collections in your research.