During three months in 1997 Dr. Griscom was a Fulbright-García Robles Fellow at
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City, where he chose to initiate ESR
studies of debris from the bolide impact 65 million years ago that created the 180-km-
diameter Chicxulub crater, discovered by others buried 1 km beneath México’s Yucatán
peninsula; (this impact is widely believed to have been responsible for the extinction of the
dinosaurs). In 2001 Griscom extended his studies of Chicxulub-impact materials while
Professeur Invité at Laboratoire Minéralogie–Cristallographie de Paris at Université de Paris
6, Paris, France. The culmination of this work was a 41-page chapter by Griscom, V. Beltrán-
López, K. Pope, A. Ocampo in the 3rd volume of the Springer monograph series, Impact
Studies (2003).
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City, where he chose to initiate ESR
studies of debris from the bolide impact 65 million years ago that created the 180-km-
diameter Chicxulub crater, discovered by others buried 1 km beneath México’s Yucatán
peninsula; (this impact is widely believed to have been responsible for the extinction of the
dinosaurs). In 2001 Griscom extended his studies of Chicxulub-impact materials while
Professeur Invité at Laboratoire Minéralogie–Cristallographie de Paris at Université de Paris
6, Paris, France. The culmination of this work was a 41-page chapter by Griscom, V. Beltrán-
López, K. Pope, A. Ocampo in the 3rd volume of the Springer monograph series, Impact
Studies (2003).
Using mostly the technique of electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometry, Griscom was
responsible for the discovery and/or extensive characterization of nearly all known intrinsic
and extrinsic point defects in pure silica and heavy-metal fluoride glasses, as well as
experimental and theoretical advances in characterizing fine-grained ferromagnetic
precipitates in glasses. His principal research interest since 1973 has been radiation-
induced point defects in amorphous silica (a-SiO2). His studies of radiation-induced atomic
hydrogen in a-SiO2 with H2O impurities led him in 1986 to propose the now-widely-
accepted “hydrogen” model for the buildup of radiation-induced interface states in metal-
oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structures used for computer chips. This activity in turn
catalyzed Griscom’s subsequent discovery and characterization of self-trapped holes
(STHs) in silica.
From 1993 through 1996, his research centered on radiation hardening of pure-silica-core
optical fibers for monitoring fusion-reactor plasmas, while from 1996 to 1999 he was
Principal Investigator on a Department-of-Energy-sponsored program to investigate
possible radiation-induced decomposition of candidate glasses for nuclear waste disposal.
In 2000 he devised fractal kinetics formalisms that he used to analyze the production and
decay of radiation-induced defect centers in both pure and germanium-doped silica-core
optical fibers, discovering in the process some remarkable empirical rules for the
dependencies of the rate constants on dose rate.
responsible for the discovery and/or extensive characterization of nearly all known intrinsic
and extrinsic point defects in pure silica and heavy-metal fluoride glasses, as well as
experimental and theoretical advances in characterizing fine-grained ferromagnetic
precipitates in glasses. His principal research interest since 1973 has been radiation-
induced point defects in amorphous silica (a-SiO2). His studies of radiation-induced atomic
hydrogen in a-SiO2 with H2O impurities led him in 1986 to propose the now-widely-
accepted “hydrogen” model for the buildup of radiation-induced interface states in metal-
oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structures used for computer chips. This activity in turn
catalyzed Griscom’s subsequent discovery and characterization of self-trapped holes
(STHs) in silica.
From 1993 through 1996, his research centered on radiation hardening of pure-silica-core
optical fibers for monitoring fusion-reactor plasmas, while from 1996 to 1999 he was
Principal Investigator on a Department-of-Energy-sponsored program to investigate
possible radiation-induced decomposition of candidate glasses for nuclear waste disposal.
In 2000 he devised fractal kinetics formalisms that he used to analyze the production and
decay of radiation-induced defect centers in both pure and germanium-doped silica-core
optical fibers, discovering in the process some remarkable empirical rules for the
dependencies of the rate constants on dose rate.
David L. Griscom Ph.D. is a Research physicist, retired in 2001 from Naval Research
Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, DC, after 33 years service, including 3 years as half-time
Program Manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in Arlington, VA. He
is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Ceramic Society, and he was
a Fulbright-García Robles Fellow at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico
City in 1997. Between 2000 and 2004, Griscom held visiting professorships of research at
the Universities of Paris-6&7, Lyon-1, and Saint-Etienne, France, and Tokyo Institute of
Technology. He was Adjunct Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, University of
Arizona from 2004 to 2005. The winner of the 1993 N.F. Mott Award sponsored by the
Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, the 1995 Otto Schott Award offered by the
Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung (Germany), a 1996 Outstanding Graduate School Alumnus Award at
Brown University, and the 1997 Sigma Xi Pure Science Award at NRL, Griscom is principal
author of 109 of his 187 published works, a body which is highly cited by his peers
according to his score (h=39) on the recently devised
Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, DC, after 33 years service, including 3 years as half-time
Program Manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in Arlington, VA. He
is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Ceramic Society, and he was
a Fulbright-García Robles Fellow at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico
City in 1997. Between 2000 and 2004, Griscom held visiting professorships of research at
the Universities of Paris-6&7, Lyon-1, and Saint-Etienne, France, and Tokyo Institute of
Technology. He was Adjunct Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, University of
Arizona from 2004 to 2005. The winner of the 1993 N.F. Mott Award sponsored by the
Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, the 1995 Otto Schott Award offered by the
Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung (Germany), a 1996 Outstanding Graduate School Alumnus Award at
Brown University, and the 1997 Sigma Xi Pure Science Award at NRL, Griscom is principal
author of 109 of his 187 published works, a body which is highly cited by his peers
according to his score (h=39) on the recently devised
Career Overview
| David L. Griscom, Ph.D. Physicist, Consultant |
Long-Term Research Specializations and Accomplishments
Recent Forays into Impact Geology
Footnotes to photos at top.
(2000) Dave Griscom and Pavle Premovic (Director, Laboratory for Geochemistry, Cosmochemistry &
Astrochemistry, University of Nis, Serbia) with ESR spectrometer at Universite de Paris-6.
(2001) Dave at Planetary Society expedition to Chicxulub crater ejecta outcrops, Albion Island, Belize.
(2002) Dave in practice jersey of Mandai Memorials Hockey Club, Tokyo.
(2007) Dave at GSA Penrose Conference on The Late Eocene Earth, Parc del Conero, Italy
(2000) Dave Griscom and Pavle Premovic (Director, Laboratory for Geochemistry, Cosmochemistry &
Astrochemistry, University of Nis, Serbia) with ESR spectrometer at Universite de Paris-6.
(2001) Dave at Planetary Society expedition to Chicxulub crater ejecta outcrops, Albion Island, Belize.
(2002) Dave in practice jersey of Mandai Memorials Hockey Club, Tokyo.
(2007) Dave at GSA Penrose Conference on The Late Eocene Earth, Parc del Conero, Italy
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August 2003 saw the publication [J. Non-Cryst. Solids 323 (2003) pp. 7-26: proc. Int’l Conf.
Natural Glasses-4, Lyon, France] of Griscom’s surprising case for identifying the 5,000-km2
“upland deposits” of eastern Virginia, southern Maryland, and Washington, DC, as ejecta
from the 35.5-million-year-old, 90-km-diameter Chesapeake Bay crater, which had been
discovered by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey in the early 1990’s.
Natural Glasses-4, Lyon, France] of Griscom’s surprising case for identifying the 5,000-km2
“upland deposits” of eastern Virginia, southern Maryland, and Washington, DC, as ejecta
from the 35.5-million-year-old, 90-km-diameter Chesapeake Bay crater, which had been
discovered by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey in the early 1990’s.
Paris, 2000 Belize, 2001 Tokyo, 2002 Italy, 2007