Obituary of Charles Wilbur Naeser

Dr. Charles Wilbur (Chuck) Naeser, 76, of Herndon, Virginia, passed away on November 18, 2016, at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, from complications of lymphoma. He was surrounded by his family. Chuck was born in 1940 in the District of Columbia, where his father, Dr. Charles R. Naeser, was a longtime professor and Chairman of the Chemistry Department at George Washington University. Chuck graduated from Falls Church High School in 1958, obtained an A.B. in Geology from Dartmouth College in 1962 and an M.A. in 1964, and in 1967 obtained the first Ph.D. in the geological sciences awarded by Southern Methodist University. His 38-year career as a Research Geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began in 1967, first in Menlo Park, California, then in Denver for 22 years, and from 1993 in Reston, Virginia. Beginning with his Ph.D. thesis, Chuck was a pioneer in the emerging field of fission-track thermochronology, a technique for determining the age and thermal history of rocks, which was in its infancy when he began his career. He developed many of the practical techniques of the method and its wide-ranging applications that are now used in labs around the world, including determining the thermotectonic history of mountain ranges and sedimentary basins, origin and location of ore deposits, age of volcanic ashes, and evolution of landscapes. He used the method to help solve diverse geologic problems in many parts of the world, in cooperation with scientists from both within and outside the USGS. Along the way, he was always generous with his time in tirelessly introducing other scientists to the method through short courses and lectures and in mentoring students and professionals from the United States and many other countries who came to his Denver lab to learn fission-track analysis. He was an Adjunct Professor at Dartmouth College in the 1980’s and University of Wyoming (1984-1995). He served as an advisor and examiner on many M.S. and Ph.D. theses from U.S. and overseas universities and was an invited reviewer on countless manuscripts and research proposals. At the same time, he was an author on more than 330 papers and abstracts reporting the results of his own research. His publications have been cited more than 7800 times in journals and other scientific publications worldwide. Chuck retired from his long and distinguished career at the USGS in 2005. Along with his wife, Dr. Nancy D. Naeser, he remained in active research as a Scientist Emeritus at the USGS in Reston until the time of his death. In recognition of his work, Chuck was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of America (1974), received the Colorado Scientific Society 1980 Best Paper Award, was selected by Life magazine as a member of their hypothetical ideal 15-person international dream team to study the origins of early man (December 1981 issue), and was awarded the Department of Interior Meritorious Service Award (1993). He was elected a Councilor of the Colorado Scientific Society in Denver (1982-1984). In September 2016, at the 15th International Conference on Thermochronology in Brazil, he became only the second recipient of the Laslett Prize, awarded by the International Standing Committee on Thermochronology for “extraordinary contribution to the field of fission-track thermochronology.” Appropriate for someone who spent his entire career in fission tracks, his other passions were fishin’ and tracks (both actual trains and model trains, particularly the G-scale garden railway in his backyard). Rumor has it that he caught his first fish, in the Tidal Basin, at age 11 months, not long after he received his first model train set. He was Treasurer of the Denver Garden Railway Society and spent many happy hours in Virginia running model trains for the annual holiday train shows at the USGS and Colvin Run Mill Park in Reston. He remained an avid fly fisherman all his life, in beautiful mountain streams and rivers from the Rocky Mountains to the Amazon, Atlantic Coast saltwater, and the farm pond out his back gate in Virginia. He fished on cherished canoe trips to the Quetico Provincial Park wilderness area in northwestern Ontario, beginning as a child with his family and ultimately spanning nearly 60 years and four generations of the Naeser family, to his son, son-in-law, and grandson. Growing up in Virginia, Chuck was an Eagle Scout. He remained active in Scouts as Assistant Scoutmaster of BSA Troop 499 in Lakewood, Colorado, in the 1980’s. He enjoyed skiing since his earliest days at Dartmouth College where he was a manager for the ski team. His last ski day, at age 75, on Easter Sunday 2016 with his son at Copper Mountain west of Denver, was some of his “best skiing in years”—beautiful day, perfect snow. And, like so many geologists who spend time outdoors, he enjoyed birding. Since retiring, he and Nancy have spent time in Arizona, watching birds and generally thriving on their love of the West. Chuck was preceded in death by his father and his mother, Elma M. Naeser. He is survived by his wife, Nancy; daughter Christiana Naeser Zelloe of Marblehead, MA, son Robert B. Naeser of Denver, CO, and their mother, Barbara S. Naeser of Marblehead, MA; sister Dr. Margaret A. Naeser of Boston, MA; son-in-law Joseph J. Zelloe; daughter-in-law Hilarea Amthauer; four grandchildren, Jack and Molly Zelloe and Oscar and Vivian Naeser; aunt Anne Naeser of Janesville, WI; and his many caring and supportive friends. A Memorial Service will be held in the Spring. Donations may be made in Chuck’s memory to the Department of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College, 6105 Fairchild Hall, Hanover, NH 03755, or to the Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, Southern Methodist University, P.O. Box 750395, Dallas, TX 75275.