Professor Jay Melosh joined the LPL faculty in 1982. Before moving to Purdue University in 2009, he served as advisor for twelve LPL Ph.D. students and three M.S. students, and led many memorable LPL field trips. One of the world's foremost experts in impact cratering, Jay was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2003. He was named a University of Arizona Regents' Professor (2001), won the Barringer Medal of the Meteoritical Society (1999), the Gilbert Award of the Geological Society of America (2001), and the Hess Medal of the American Geophysical Union (2008). 

A tribute to Jay Melosh by colleagues Caffee, Swindle, and Turtle is available from The Meteoritical Society (Oct. 27, 2020).