* Walter M. Elsasser; Geophysicist Won National Medal of Science

Walter M. Elsasser, 87, geophysicist who won a National Medal of Science in 1987 for his research in planetary magnetism, the movement of the Earth’s crust. A refugee of Nazi Germany, Elsasser taught and did research at various U.S. universities, most recently at Johns Hopkins University. He was one of the first scientists to find that fluid motions arising from the cooling of the Earth’s iron core could be responsible for the magnetic force-field that surrounds the Earth. His work helped establish the theory of plate tectonics and continental drift. In Baltimore on Oct. 14.