Housleyite is a rare lead- and tellurium-rich mineral first found at Otto Mountain, near Baker, California. It was named in honor of Robert Housley, former visiting professor and current visitor in geochemistry at Caltech. Housley rediscovered abandoned mines in the area, and he is credited with the discovery of several new tellurite minerals.
Jahnsite CaMnMg2Fe3+2(PO4)4(OH)2 · 8H2O
Jahnsite is actually a group of three related glassy, brittle minerals with long, prismatic crystals. It was named for Richard H. Jahns (BA '35, PhD '43), who was a professor at Caltech from 1946–60 and a pioneering engineering geologist.
Machiite Al2Ti3O9
Machiite was discovered in the Murchison meteorite, where it was thought to have either condensed or crystallized about 4.6 billion years ago, before the planets formed. It was named after Chi Ma, former postdoc and current director of Caltech's analytical facility in the geological and planetary sciences division. Ma himself has discovered more than 30 new minerals.
Wyllieite (NaCaMn)2Mn2+2Al(PO4)3
Wyllieite is a dark, translucent, and prismatic crystal that was discovered at the Old Mike Mine in Custer County, South Dakota. The complex mineral is named for Peter Wyllie, professor of geology, emeritus, at Caltech. Wyllie is a former president of the International Mineralogical Association and the Mineralogical Society of America and has received the Roebling Medal, the highest honor of the Mineralogical Society of America.
Rosemaryite NaMn2+Fe3+Al(PO4)3
Discovered in Custer County, South Dakota, rosemaryite is a member of the wyllieite group, with a prismatic and monoclinic structure (that is, it is arranged around three unequal axes of which one is at right angles to the other two). It is named in honor of Frances Rosemary "Romy" Wyllie, the managing editor of the Journal of Geology and cofounder and chair of the Caltech Architectural Tour Service, which she helped establish in 1985. The mineral wyllieite is named for her husband, Peter Wyllie.
Rossmanite (LiAl2) Al6 (BO3)3 Si6O18 (OH)4
Rossmanite was discovered near Rožná, Czech Republic, and is a member of the tourmaline group, a group of hard, crystalline boron silicate minerals identified by Dutch lapidaries in the early 1700s. Tourmalines are semi-precious stones, which can be found in a variety of colors. Rossmanite is named for George Rossman (PhD '71), professor of mineralogy at Caltech, in recognition of his work on the spectroscopy of the tourmaline-group minerals.
Paulingite (K,Ca0.5,Na)10[Si32Al10]O84·34H2O
Paulingite is a rare, microporous mineral first found in basaltic rocks from the Columbia River in Washington. It is named for the late Linus Pauling (PhD '25), professor of chemistry at Caltech and the only person ever to be awarded two unshared Nobel Prizes.
Body:
Dozens of minerals have been named after Caltech faculty, staff, alumni, and other individuals associated with the Institute over the years.
Adapted from the presentation "Minerals Named After Persons Associated With Caltech" by George Rossman, professor of mineralogy. Includes information from mindat.org, an online mineral reference.
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