Irving Friedman was a United States. Geological Survey scientist and a pioneer in geochemistry.
Education
Born in New York City, New York, he obtained a Bachelor of Surgery degree in chemistry from Montana State University, a Master of Surgery degree in chemistry from Washington State University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in geochemistry at the.
Career
There, Friedman built the first mass spectrometer for routine measurement of the hydrogen isotope composition of water. Hydrogen has two stable isotopes and much can be deduced about the history of water from their proportions. Because of this, Friedman is called the "father of isotope hydrology."
Friedman joined the Navy in 1944.
His bio says that he was assigned to the Naval Electronics Laboratory in Washington, District of Columbia, but that organization was formed in 1945.
His training may have spanned the difference in time, though. In 1952, he joined the in Washington, District of Columbia, and worked for the for more than 43 years.
In 1962, he moved to Lakewood, Colorado, when the Isotope Geology Branch of the was created. Friedman retired from the in 1995, and remained active as an emeritus scientist
His scientific career was a pursuit of the understanding of every aspect of the water cycle.
Throughout his career, he studied water in oceans, rivers, lakes, glaciers, the atmosphere, magmas, minerals, rocks, meteorites, plants, animals and the moon. He made major contributions to a number of fields through application of stable isotope geochemistry. Friedman also made significant contributions to the development of instruments to detect helium in exploring uranium, thorium, petroleum and natural gas and in predicting earthquakes.
In the 1940s, he made major contributions to the science of hydrothermal growth of quartz which made possible the development of the synthetic quartz industry.
His work was featured in more than 200 publications. His first was published in 1945 and his last will be published posthumously in 2005 in a Professional Paper on Yellowstone National Park.
He was long associated with study of geothermal features and water issues of Yellowstone.