ASTEROID NAMED FOR U OF A PROFESSOR

Derek Sears, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, recently had an asteroid named in his honor.

The asteroid was discovered on Feb. 28, 1981, by S.J. Bus at Siding Spring in the course of the Schmidt-Caltech Asteroid Survey. The citation for the asteroid naming reads: ".Sears has championed thermoluminescence as a tool to unravel the geologic and thermal histories of meteorites. His stewardship of the journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science has placed it at the forefront in its field.

For photographs of the asteroid, dubbed 4473 Sears, please see http://www.pigtrail.uark.edu/news.

Derek Sears, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, reacts as he realizes that an asteroid has been named in his honor.

Assistant research professor of chemistry Paul Benoit and professor Derek Sears celebrate an out-of-this-world honor: an asteroid named after Sears.

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Roger Williams University Relations (479) 575-5555, rogerw@comp.uark.edu

Melissa Blouin, science and research communications manager (479) 575-5555, blouin@uark.edu