Walter Alvarez (born 1940), son of Nobel Prize winning physicist Luis Alvarez, is a professor in the Earth and Planetary Science department at the University of California, Berkeley. Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Nobel Prize (Swedish: ) was established in Alfred Nobels will in 1895, and it was first awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace in 1901. ... Not to be confused with physician, a person who practices medicine. ... Portrait of Luis Alvarez Luis Walter Alvarez (June 13, 1911 – September 1, 1988) of San Francisco, California, USA, was a famed physicist of Spanish descent, who worked at the University of California, Berkeley. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... Planetary science, also known as planetology or planetary astronomy, is the science of planets, or planetary systems, and the solar system. ... Sather Tower (the Campanile) looking out over the San Francisco Bay and Mount Tamalpais. ...

Born in Berkeley, California, he earned his B.A. in geology in 1962 from Carleton College in Minnesota and Ph.D. in geology from Princeton University in 1967. Berkeley is a city on the east shore of San Francisco Bay in Northern California, in the United States. ... A Bachelor of Arts (B.A. or A.B.) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or program in the arts and/or sciences. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... , Carleton College is an independent, non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The school was founded on November 14, 1866, by the Minnesota Conference of Congregational Churches as Northfield College. ... Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Largest metro area Minneapolis-St. ... Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated Ph. ... Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ...

His grandfather is the famed physician Walter C. Alvarez and his great-grandfather Luis F. Alvarez, who worked as a doctor in Hawaii, developed a method for the better diagnosis of macular leprosy. His great-aunt Mabel Alvarez was a noted California artist and oil painter. Walter C. Alvarez from his book Incurable Physician Walter Clement Alvarez (1884 - 1978) was an American doctor. ... Luis F. Alvarez circa 1895 Luis F. Alvarez (April 1, 1853 - May 24, 1937) was born in La Puerta, a village near Oviedo, Asturias, Spain. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... For the malady found in the Hebrew Bible, see Tzaraath. ... Self Portrait, Mabel Alvarez, 1923 Mabel Alvarez (born November 28, 1891 - died March 13, 1985) was an artist and oil painter. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ...

He worked for American Overseas Petroleum Limited in The Netherlands, and in Libya at the time of Colonel Gadaffi’s revolution. Having developed a side interest in archaeological geology, he left the oil company and spent some time in Italy, studying the Roman volcanics and their influence on patterns of settlement in early Roman times. Motto: Je Maintiendrai (Dutch: Ik zal handhaven, English: I Shall Uphold) Anthem: Wilhelmus van Nassouwe Capital Amsterdam1 Largest city Amsterdam Official language(s) Dutch2 Government Parliamentary democracy Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Beatrix  - Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende Independence Eighty Years War   - Declared July 26, 1581   - Recognised January 30, 1648 (by Spain... Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi1 (Arabic:   ) (born c. ... Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska photographed from the International Space Station For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ...

Alvarez then moved to Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University, and began studying the Mediterranean tectonics in the light of the new theory of plate tectonics. His work on tectonic paleomagnetism in Italy led to a study of the geomagnetic reversals recorded in Italian deep-sea limestones, and he and his colleagues were able to date the reversals for an interval of more than 100 million years of Earth history. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory is a world-class research institution specializing in earth sciences and part of Columbia University. ... Alma Mater Columbia University is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. ... The tectonic plates of the world were mapped in the second half of the 20th century. ... Paleomagnetism refers to the study of the record of the Earths magnetic field preserved in various magnetic minerals through time. ... Recent geomagnetic reversals. ... For other uses, see Limestone (disambiguation). ...

T. Rex and the Crater of Doom book cover

Alvarez and his father Luis W. Alvarez are most widely known for their discovery (with Frank Asaro and Helen Michel) that a clay layer occurring right at the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary was highly enriched in the element iridium. Since iridium enrichment is common in asteroids, but very uncommon on the Earth, they further postulated that the layer had been created by the impact of a large asteroid with the Earth and that this impact event was the likely cause of the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event. Luis Walter Alvarez (June 13, 1911 – September 1, 1988) of San Francisco, California, USA, was a famed physicist who worked at the University of California, Berkeley. ... For other uses, see Clay (disambiguation). ... // The Cretaceous Period (pronounced ) is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic Period (i. ... Tertiary geological time interval covers roughly the time span between the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs and beginning of the most recent Ice Age, approximately 65 million to 1. ... This article is about the chemical element. ... For other uses, see Asteroid (disambiguation). ... IMPACT [1] The mission of IMPACT is to inform and connect emerging leaders through economic empowerment, civic engagement, and political involvement. ... Badlands near Drumheller, Alberta where erosion has exposed the KT boundary. ...

This iridium enrichment has now been observed in many other sites around the world. And further, the very large Chicxulub crater was identified and is now regarded as the definitive evidence of a large impact. Consequently, a majority of scientists now accept the impact scenario as the most likely cause for the K-T extinction event which occurred 65 million years ago and eliminated 85% of all species, including all of the dinosaurs. His book, T. Rex and the Crater of Doom, details the discovery of the K-T extinction event. Radar topography reveals the 180 kilometer (112 mile) wide ring of the crater (image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech) Chicxulub Crater (IPA: ) (cheek-shoo-LOOB) is an ancient impact crater buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula, with its center located approximately underneath the town of Chicxulub, Yucatán, Mexico. ... Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Thyreophora Ornithopoda Marginocephalia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 160 million years, first appearing approximately 230 million years ago. ...

In addition to his interest in extinction events and impacts, Alvarez has contributed to the understanding of Mediterranean tectonics, Roman geology and archeology, and the establishment of magnetostratigraphic correlations. The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ...

Alvarez is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the prestigious 2006 Nevada Medal and accompanying $20,000 honorarium, and the Penrose Medal, the Geological Society of America’s highest award. In 2005, he received the doctorate "Honoris Causa" in Geological Sciences from the University of Siena, Italy. The Penrose Medal was created in 1927 by R.A.F. Penrose, Jr. ... The Geological Society of America (or GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. ... An honorary degree (Latin: honoris causa ad gradum, not to be confused with an honors degree) is an academic degree awarded to an individual as a decoration, rather than as the result of matriculating and studying for several years. ... The University of Siena (Italian: Università degli Studi di Siena, abbreviation: UNISI) in Siena, Tuscany is one of the oldest and first publicly funded universities in Italy. ...

Further reading

• T. Rex and the Crater of Doom by Walter Alvarez ISBN 0-375-70210-5
• The Mountains of Saint Francis: The Geologic Events that Shaped Our Earth by Walter Alvarez (W. W. Norton, December 2008)

External links

• Walter Alvarez's Berkeley homepage