Scientist Pierrre St. Amand at 91
tr...@iwvisp.com
Pierre Saint-Amand died at the Stanford Medical Center Friday. He was
91.
Saint-Amand was born Feb. 4, 1920, in Tacoma, Wash. to Cyrias Zepherin
Saint-Amand and Mable (Berg) Saint-Amand at the Tacoma General
Hospital.
After serving honorably as a sergeant in the United States Army in
Alaska in WWII, Pierre earned a Bachelors of Science in electrical
engineering from the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. While at
Fairbanks, Pierre identified and named Alaska’s famous Denali Fault.
His early work in geology included formulating the theory of the
rotation of the Pacific Ocean Basin, which was quite controversial at
that time, and studying the Tehachapi Earthquake of 1952. He was
present at and prepared the definitive reports on the Chilean
Earthquake of 1962 and the Alaskan Earthquake of 1964.
Saint-Amand was a Navy scientist for more than 38 years, until his
retirement in 1988. His career included a two-year stint with the
State Department, where he helped establish the graduate school of
Geology at the University of Santiago in Chile. At the Naval Ordnance
Test Station China Lake (now the Naval Air Weapons Station, China
Lake), his accomplishments included groundbreaking scientific research
and patents in weather modification. His list of awards includes the
Distinguished Civilian Service Award (1967), the LTE Thompson Award
(1973), and Charter Membership in the Senior Executive Service of the
United States of America (1979).
He was also a Past President of the Ridgecrest Sister Cities
Association, International Footprinters Association Chapter 60, and
the Rotary Club of China Lake.
Saint-Amand was an avid pilot who owned his own Cessna and was
instrument and multiengine rated. His other interests included
gardening and leading geologic tours for the Maturango Museum. He was
multilingual in French and Spanish, and loved American history and
South American music and literature.
Pierre’s favorite motto was “If someone loves me, I love them back.”
He served three terms on the water board and was an emeritus member of
the Ridgecrest Regional Hospital Board of Directors.
Saint-Amand was also a driving force behind the creation of the Indian
Wells Valley Airport District, and he was on the first board of
directors.
“When it came to water, Dr. Saint-Amand’s vision for the IWV was
always long term and inclusive,” said Education and Conservation
Coordinator Lucinda Sue Crosby. “He taught me so much about water
issues and encouraged in every curious mind a deep connection to and
understanding of that most precious of natural resources locally,
nationally and globally. His command of an array of sciences, his
ability to translate statistics into relevancies and his
unconventional sense of humor served him, and us, superbly.”
Saint-Amand appears in Who’s Who in the World and is a fellow of the
Geological Society of America as well as a registered geologist and
geophysicist in California.
Through the years, Saint-Amand saw challenging and highly
instructional field experience in some most unusual settings,
including the Atacama Desert in Chile (the second driest place on
Planet Earth) and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos and Cambodia. During
his stint in Southeast Asia, he was instrumental in developing cloud
seeding at the behest of the US government. “By creating extra rain
during the monsoon season, we prevented tens of thousands of enemy
soldiers from crossing into Vietnam, thereby saving many, many
American lives.” The formerly classified program was known as “Project
Popcorn.”
Saint-Amand also aided governments in India, Canada and the Azores.
Pierre is survived by his beloved wife of 65 years Marie Saint-Amand,
children Gene Saint-Amand, Barbara (Gniewek), Dr. Denali Saint-Amand
and David Saint-Amand; grandchildren, Dr. Laurel Saint-Amand, Ian
Harper, Cyrus Saint-Amand Poliakoff, Emily Saint-Amand Poliakoff, and
Abram Saint-Amand Poliakoff.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made in
Pierre’s name to the Rotary International PolioPlus program or the
American Heart Association.
Ray Arthur